Latest KFF Health News Stories
N.J.’s High Court Says State Can Deny Medicaid To Some Adult Non-Citizens
In a split decision, the New Jersey state Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling allowing Medicaid benefits to be denied to adult non-citizens who are in the U.S. legally but have been here for less than five years. In other Medicaid news, a federal judge orders Ohio to reinstate benefits for people involved in a lawsuit regarding the state’s re-determination of eligibility, and Connecticut’s Medicaid program is cutting payment rates for doctors who provide pregnancy care, perform deliveries and provide women’s preventive services.
Safety Concerns Over Procedures Prompt Insurance Coverage Changes And Court Cases
Following a Food and Drug Administration cancer warning, insurance providers are curtailing or considering limits on coverage of procedures using the laparoscopic power morcellator. Also, a Seattle medical center and the maker of medical scopes allegedly tied to so-called “superbug” outbreaks are being sued. And a former doctor pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a hepatitis C outbreak in Nevada.
Patients Increasingly Hiring Advocates To Help Navigate Difficult Health Situations
The Associated Press looks into the field of patient advocates, explaining the work they do and exploring whether they can save money. Also, a new study finds that even as many consumers face higher medical costs, fewer are contributing to health savings accounts.
Fla. Lawmakers Prepare For Budget Showdown Over Medicaid Expansion Funding
Meanwhile, in Montana, a Senate panel will hold a hearing next week on a measure to expand the state-federal low-income health insurance program.
Obamacare Is A ‘Boon’ To U.S. Economy, Adviser Says
But a Fox News poll finds that more voters still say their families are worse off because the health law costs them money.
Despite House Passage, The Bill For Finalizing A Permanent ‘Doc Fix’ Faces Impending Deadline
When Congress returns from its break, the Senate must take swift action so the congressional intervention can be completed by April 15 — otherwise physicians will face a 21 percent reduction in their Medicare payments. News outlets report on some of the issues connected to this legislation.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: New Tax Worries; Revamping Nursing Homes; Safer Herbal Supplements
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: Treating Vs. Healing, A Doctor’s Rituals, A New Kind Of Abortion Clinic
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
A selection of health policy stories from Texas, New York, Florida, Indiana, Vermont, Minnesota, North Carolina, Connecticut, Montana, Nevada and Kansas.
North Carolina lawmakers also will consider abortion-related legislation that would place more restrictions and requirements on physicians.
FTC Reaches Merger Settlement With Phoebe Putney Health Systems
The Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement with the south Georgia health system in this four-year hospital antitrust case that has been a subject of national attention and a Supreme Court ruling.
Vets’ Suicide Rates, Mental Health Concerns Drive VA Moves
A VA-authorized treatment program at an Arizona hospital was shut down after its director said that suicidal veterans weren’t receiving appropriate care. This comes on the heels of a Defense Department study on suicide rates that Sen. Joe Donnelly said reinforces the need for Congress to enact changes. And a VA hospital in Seattle is poised to add a new building dedicated to mental health treatment.
Recent Airline Tragedy Places Focus On Workplace Mental Health Issues
Employment experts say monitoring employees’ mental health status raises a variety of complicated issues and questions about how much employers should know.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg Ends 6-Year Run
Elsewhere, the Food and Drug Administration issues guidance on how to study abuse-deterrent painkillers, and measles vaccinations are up after a recent outbreak scare.
Congress Gets Deadline Extension On The Doc Fix
The Department of Health and Human Services will hold claims until April 15 even though the 21 percent reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements was scheduled to kick in April 1.
Sen. Bob Menendez Indicted On Bribery, Conspiracy Charges
The indictment charges the New Jersey senator with intervening on behalf of a Florida eye surgeon, who also was a high-dollar contributor, to help resolve Medicare billing disputes. It also alleges he pushed a port security deal in which the surgeon had a financial interest and helped the doctor’s foreign girlfriends obtain travel visas.
Gov. Scott Walker Says He Won’t Allow Wis. To Set Up Health Marketplace
“We’re going to push back,” the governor said when speaking about options if the Supreme Court rules later this year to strike down federal subsidies to consumers in states that didn’t establish their own insurance exchanges. Also in news about those marketplaces, Minnesota lawmakers are looking at a plan that would end a long-standing program to help people get insurance and transfer them instead to the state exchange.
Medicaid Expansion A Point Of Contention In Florida’s Budget Debate
The Florida House and Senate have advanced competing budget blueprints, and the Senate measure includes a Medicaid expansion plan. News outlets also offer updates on expansion efforts in Kentucky and Alaska.
Slow Response So Far For Special Obamacare Sign-Up Period
About 36,000 of an estimated 4 million people who are eligible have taken advantage of a second chance to sign up for coverage under the federal health law, with almost four weeks until the deadline. Meanwhile, The Washington Post’s Fact Checker examines the president’s assertion that the law has averted 50,000 hospital deaths and The Associated Press looks ahead to the innovation waivers that states can get beginning in 2017.
