Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including an announcement coming today for a new VA secretary and expectations for a Supreme Court decision on the challenge to the health law’s contraceptive mandate by two for-profit companies.
Waiting On The Supreme Court’s Contraceptive Mandate Decision
The Fiscal Times examines the issues before the Supreme Court on a contraceptive mandate case. Other outlets look at how the health law marketplaces interact with private insurance sales and also at a decision by Sodexo to restore health benefits to thousands of college cafeteria workers after initially blaming the health law for dropping them.
Supreme Court Strikes Down Mass. Buffer Zone For Abortion Clinics
The state had banned protesters within 35 feet of abortion clinics but the ruling by Chief Justice John Roberts said that infringed on First Amendment rights.
Advocacy Group Publicizes Child Deaths From Accidental Shootings
Almost two children a week were killed in unintentional shootings during the 12 months that followed the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to a report by the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety. In other health news, JAMA writes about a policy that helped two states ease geographic disparities in allocating donor kidneys, and The Associated Press examines the effects of a landmark court decision affecting people with disabilities.
Alaska To Be Hit Hard With Hospital Infection Penalties
Elsewhere, medical marijuana’s usefulness in treating pain is questioned after New York lawmakers legalized it.
New York High Court Strikes Down Law Banning Big Sodas
Mayor Bill de Blasio had promised last year to put the ban in front of the City Council if the courts rejected it.
Weak Hospice Oversight Makes Safety Problems Hard To Identify
The typical hospice undergoes a full government inspection about once every six years, according to The Washington Post, making it one of the least scrutinized areas of U.S. health care. Meanwhile, more than three dozen hospices and health care groups are protesting a new rule designed to avoid duplicate payments for medications, saying it puts “undue burden” on dying patients.
HHS Says Marketplace Customers Can Automatically Renew Plans
The announcement says people getting subsidies will be allowed to renew for 2015 without filing an application or going back on healthcare.gov. But consumer advocates caution that may not be the best option for those customers.
State Highlights: N.C. Lawmakers Face Off Over Medicaid Spending; Heart Surgery Ratings In Ore.
A selection of health policy stories from North Carolina, Oregon, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas.
Bill Would Bar Medicare Advantage Plans From Dropping Doctors Mid-Year
The proposal, introduced by Democrats in the House and Senate, would require insurers to finalize their doctor networks 60 days before autumn enrollment begins.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Oregon Hospital Sees Big Drop In Uninsured; $53M Budget Proposed For Washington Exchange
The number of uninsured patients treated at Oregon Health & Science University’s hospital slowed to a trickle this year, a top official said Thursday. Media outlets explore other state insurance developments related to the federal health law.
Research Roundup: Role Of Primary Care In Reducing Readmissions; Air Transport For Wounded Soldiers
This week’s studies come from JAMA Surgery, Health Affairs, National Institute for Health Care Reform, the University of Pennsylvania, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Kaiser Family Foundation.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on an HHS announcement detailing some of the marketplace enrollment plans for next fall.
State Roundup: Troubles In Kentucky; Md. Hospital Under Review
News outlets examine health developments in Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
Public Health Issues: Climate Change; Funding For Alzheimer’s Research
A medical expert calls for hospitals and health care officials to begin to plan for global warming problems, and The Wall Street Journal looks at new ways to finance research.
Patients Kept In The Dark On Costs Of Tests, Treatments
The CT Mirror examines the difficulties patients face when trying to comparison shop or simply figure out how much they might have to spend on medical treatments.
Medicare Boosts Anti-Fraud Efforts, But Problems Are Still Rife
Medicare officials recovered about $19.2 billion in fraudulent payments over the past five years, including $210 million through a new system that uses analytics to probe billing patterns, CQ Healthbeat reports. But the recovered sum is dwarfed by the size of the problem, projected to be up to $50 billion a year.
USA Today: Mental Health System Is ‘In Shambles’
The failure to provide treatment has led to crowded emergency rooms and jails and thousands of untreated people living on the streets, the newspaper reports. Other stories look at a South Carolina “telepsychiatry” program designed to provide rural patients with psychiatric help and a program in Missouri that partners police with mental health counselors.
Hillary Clinton Says Democrats Should Run On Obamacare
Meanwhile, a tea party challenger to Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Republican incumbent, is focusing on his posture to the health care law, and House Speaker John Boehner said he plans to sue the president for misuse of executive powers on issues including health care.
