Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Diabetics Encounter Obstacles To Obtaining ‘Breakthrough’ Inhaled Insulin Option

Morning Briefing

Early sales of MannKind Corp.’s new insulin drug Afrezza, that is delivered through an inhalation device, are disappointing as patient adoption has been slow due to factors like doctor reluctance to prescribe and an FDA-mandated lung test. In other pharma news, a provision of the health law establishing a pathway for biosimilars may save patients as much as $800 a month in co-pays.

New Medicare Payment Data Expose Doctors And Hospital Reimbursement Patterns

Morning Briefing

The Wall Street Journal digs into the trove of Medicare billing data just released by CMS and in a variety of stories reports on a California doctor’s heavy billing for an unusual procedure, a “self-referral” loophole, a Florida oncology group that submitted high bills for a discredited cancer drug, and a Virginia lab that pays doctors per blood test submitted. A Bloomberg report focuses on the high rate of bacterial infection billed by hospitals to Medicare.