Latest KFF Health News Stories
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Much Ado About Drug Prices
Democrats have hit a snag in their effort to compile a $3.5 trillion social-spending bill this fall — moderates are resisting support for Medicare drug price negotiation provisions that would pay for many of the measure’s health benefit improvements. Meanwhile, the new abortion restrictions in Texas have moved the divisive issue back to the political front burner. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interview’s KHN’s Phil Galewitz about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment, about two similar jaw surgeries with very different price tags.
Telemedicine Abortions Offer Cheaper Options but May Also Undermine Critical Clinics
A change in FDA rules during the pandemic has let women receive the drugs needed for a medical abortion by mail after a telemedicine appointment. While some abortion rights advocates hail the move, others note that these services, which are often cheaper than going to a clinic, could siphon away patients needed to keep those brick-and-mortar facilities operating.
Violación y pérdida de memoria, lo que la policía debería saber
Las supervivientes de agresiones sexuales dicen que las interacciones con las fuerzas del orden pueden ser tan intensas, y tan brutales, que agregan un trauma secundario. Denunciar una violación puede ser especialmente traumático cuando los agentes ponen en duda las historias de las víctimas.
How Rape Affects Memory, and Why Police Need to Know About That Brain Science
How a sexual assault survivor is questioned by police can greatly influence the ability to access memories of the traumatic incident. Better interview techniques might help solve more cases.
Democrats Say Abortion Is on the Line in Recall Election. But Rolling Back Rights Wouldn’t Be Easy.
Reproductive rights groups and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom argue that Californians’ access to abortion would be threatened if he is recalled. But a replacement governor’s power to restrict access to the procedure would be limited.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Vaccine Approval Moves the Needle on Covid
The FDA’s formal approval of the first vaccine to prevent covid-19 may or may not prompt doubters to go out and get shots, but it has clearly prompted employers to make vaccination a work requirement. Meanwhile, moderates and liberals in the U.S. House put aside their differences long enough to keep a giant social-spending bill on track, at least for now. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Readers and Tweeters Ponder Vaccines and Points of Fairness
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Más embarazadas con covid en cuidados intensivos, expertos enfatizan que deben vacunarse
La baja tasa de vacunación en este grupo es sorprendente, señalan médicos. Al 31 de julio, solo el 23% de las embarazadas habían recibido al menos una dosis de la vacuna contra el coronavirus, según estadísticas de los CDC.
Getting a Covid Vaccine During Pregnancy Even More Urgent as ICU Beds Fill Up
The CDC recommends that pregnant people be vaccinated against covid-19, based on new safety and effectiveness evidence on the covid vaccines.
New Moms Latched On to Remote Breastfeeding Help. Will Demand Wane as Pandemic Fades?
The pandemic forced new parents to find help with breastfeeding online. Now, some offerings are remaining virtual to help expand access to lactation support.
Long Drives, Air Travel, Exhausting Waits: What Abortion Requires in the South
Restrictive abortion regulations enacted across the South require women to drive across state lines to find safe services. With the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear a challenge to Roe v. Wade, abortion rights defenders say long drives and wait times could become the norm across much of America.
Why is the South the Epicenter of Anti-Abortion Fervor?
The Supreme Court, come autumn, will consider a Mississippi law that bans nearly all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That’s hardly the most restrictive abortion law passed in the South. How did anti-abortion views become concentrated in the South?
12,000 Square Miles Without Obstetrics? It’s a Possibility in West Texas
Big Bend Regional Medical Center, the only hospital in a sparsely populated region of West Texas, announced that because of a nursing shortage its labor and delivery unit must close for days at a time and patients must go instead to a hospital an hour away.
Women Say California Insurer Makes It Too Hard to Get Drug for Postpartum Depression
Brexanolone is a promising new treatment for postpartum depression. But one insurer’s requirement that women try four other drugs and electroconvulsive therapy before the infusion means it is out-of-reach for millions of women.
Contraception Is Free to Women, Except When It’s Not
The landmark federal health law required most commercial health plans to cover a comprehensive list of birth control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration free of charge to female patients. But health plans don’t have to cover every option, and newer methods are not included in the federal list of covered services.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Delta Changes the Covid Conversation
With covid cases on the upswing again around the country, partisan division remains over how to address the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Biden administration proposes bigger penalties for hospitals that fail to make their prices public as required. Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Tami Luhby of CNN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Biden Is Caught in the Middle of Polarizing Abortion Politics
The president, one of the last of a disappearing group of politicians who sought moderate compromises on abortion policy, is frustrating supporters. They wanted faster changes in federal rules. But abortion opponents — including Catholic bishops— are also taking him to task.
A Family Wellness Check: California Invests in Treating Parents and Children Together
The state will be the first to offer comprehensive counseling services to parents during pediatric visits as part of Medicaid.
Discretamente, Biden está transformando la red de seguridad de Medicaid
Los esfuerzos de Biden, que han sido eclipsados en gran medida por otras iniciativas económicas y de salud, representan un cambio abrupto en contra de todo lo que la administración Trump hizo para reducir el programa.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: How to Expand Health Coverage
Democrats in Congress and the states are devising strategies to expand health coverage — through the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid and a “public option.” But progress remains halting, at best. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington may have to agree on how to control prescription drug prices if they wish to finance their coverage initiatives. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote last month’s KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a very expensive sleep study.
