Trump Administration Loosens Restrictions On Short-Term Health Plans
Julie Appleby
The administration says these plans, which can now last as long as 12 months and be renewed for two years, will give consumers another less-pricey insurance option. Critics say the new rule is yet another swipe at the Affordable Care Act.
Watch: What You Should Know About The New Rule On Short-Term Health Plans
Under the Trump administration's new rule, these plans can now last as long as 12 months — instead of the Obama-era 90-day limit — and be renewed for two additional years. Critics say these changes are part of another swipe at the Affordable Care Act.
Listen: Why Red States Challenging ACA Tread Precariously On A Popular Protection
Many of the GOP-led states seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act could end up jeopardizing the health of their own residents, who suffer from preexisting conditions at rates higher than the national average. The ACA requires insurers to cover people with histories of illness and not charge them more for it. If the law is overturned, that protection could be lost, as California Healthline reporter Harriet Rowan explains on "The VICE Guide to Right Now" podcast.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Let’s Talk Politics
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call talk about health care’s emergence as a possible voting issue in the coming midterm elections. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Emmarie Huetteman about July’s “Bill of the Month”: a transgender woman’s “bait-and-switch” $92,000 surgical bill.
How Rival Opioid Makers Sought To Cash In On Alarm Over OxyContin’s Dangers
Fred Schulte
Fentanyl and other painkillers marketed as safer than Purdue Pharma’s blockbuster drug left their own trail of overdose deaths.
Listen: Inexpensive Nerve Drug Often Abused As Opioid Epidemic Grows
Gabapentin, a medication approved to help patients with nerve pain or epilepsy, is being abused by people addicted to opioids to help prolong their high or stave off withdrawal from other drugs. Kaiser Health News reporter Carmen Heredia Rodriguez talks about the problem during a wide-ranging health discussion on the NPR program "On Point."
Patients With Chronic Pain Feel Caught In An Opioid-Prescribing Debate
Will Stone, KJZZ
States are passing laws that limit a doctor's ability to prescribe opioids. Doctors and patients alike are wrestling with what that means in cases of chronic pain.
1,400 Nursing Homes Get Lower Medicare Ratings Because Of Staffing Concerns
Jordan Rau and Elizabeth Lucas
Medicare said those homes either lacked a registered nurse for “a high number of days” over three months, provided data the government couldn’t verify or didn’t supply their payroll data at all.
Medicare Reconsiders Paying For Seniors’ Spine Operations At Surgery Centers
Christina Jewett
After a USA Today Network-Kaiser Health News investigation, Medicare announced last week that it is re-evaluating whether these procedures “pose a significant safety risk” to patients.
Some Doctors, Patients Balk At Medicare’s ‘Flat Fee’ Payment Proposal
Martha Bebinger, WBUR
The Trump administration says its plan to overhaul the way Medicare pays doctors will save physicians time and paperwork. But critics worry the changes will hurt patients' care and doctors' income.
Missed Visits, Uncontrolled Pain And Fraud: Report Says Hospice Lacks Oversight
Melissa Bailey
A new government watchdog report outlines vulnerabilities in Medicare's $17 billion hospice program, pointing to inadequate services, inappropriate billing and outright fraud.
Mining A New Data Set To Pinpoint Critical Staffing Issues In Skilled Nursing Facilities
Jordan Rau
Low staffing is a root cause of many injuries in nursing homes. Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Jordan Rau explains how he connected the dots between manpower and risk at facilities nationwide, using a federal tool known as the Payroll-Based Journal.
Drug Trade Group Quietly Spends ‘Dark Money’ To Sway Policy And Voters
Jay Hancock
Grants by top pharma group to lightly regulated, politically active nonprofits dwarf its conventional campaign spending.
To Tame Prescription Prices, HHS Dips A Toe Into Drug Importation Stream
Rachel Bluth
The Trump administration signals it is willing to consider such a move if it is carefully tailored to focus solely on specific situations where a high-priced drug is made by one company.
Trying To Pinpoint Hurricane’s True Toll, Researchers Say 1,139 Died In Puerto Rico
Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
The estimate, published in the journal JAMA, dwarfs the government’s toll of 64 but is far lower than another highly touted analysis.
Stanford’s Chief Wellness Officer Aims To Prevent Physician Burnout
Barbara Feder Ostrov
Tait Shanafelt focuses on helping doctors cope with such problems as long hours and copious record-keeping, seeking to prevent burnout and reduce the rate of physician suicide. As doctors’ well-being improves, he says, so does patient care.
For Many College Students, Hunger Can ‘Make It Hard To Focus In Class’
Michelle Andrews
With rising college costs, up to half of college students’ finances are stretched so tight they report that they were either not getting enough to eat or were worried about it, studies find.
Doctors Reckon With High Rate Of Suicide In Their Ranks
Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
The devastating loss of a promising young doctor prompts soul-searching and action at one of the nation’s largest emergency room staffing companies.