Renuka Rayasam

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rrayasam@kff.org
@renurayasam

Weight-Loss Drugs Are So Popular They’re Headed for Medicare Negotiations

KFF Health News Original

The steep prices — and popularity — of Ozempic and similar weight-loss and diabetes drugs could soon make them a priority for Medicare drug price negotiations. List prices for a month’s supply of the drugs range from $936 to $1,349, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. The Inflation Reduction Act President Biden signed in […]

The GOP Keeps Pushing Medicaid Work Requirements, Despite Setbacks

KFF Health News Original

Work requirements in Medicaid expansion programs are back on the agenda in many statehouses — despite their lackluster track record. In Mississippi, the idea has momentum from GOP lawmakers advancing legislation to expand Medicaid. In Kansas, the Democratic governor proposed work requirements to try to soften Republican opposition to expansion. (She’s had little luck, so […]

As Foundation for ‘Excited Delirium’ Diagnosis Cracks, Fallout Spreads

KFF Health News Original

Major policy changes and disavowals have made this a watershed year for curbing the use of the discredited “excited delirium” diagnosis to explain deaths in police custody. Now the ripple effects are spreading across the country into court cases, state legislation, and police training classes.