KFF Health News Weekly Edition: June 2, 2023
The Debt Ceiling Deal Takes a Bite Out of Health Programs. It Could Have Been Much Worse.
By Julie Rovner
A bipartisan deal to raise the government’s borrowing limit dashed Republican hopes for new Medicaid work requirements and other health spending cuts. Democrats secured the compromise by making relatively modest concessions, including ordering the return of unspent covid funds and limiting other health spending.
As Medicaid Purge Begins, ‘Staggering Numbers’ of Americans Lose Coverage
By Hannah Recht
In what’s known as the Medicaid “unwinding,” states are combing through rolls to decide who stays and who goes. But the overwhelming majority of people who have lost coverage so far were dropped because of technicalities, not because officials determined they are no longer eligible.
More States OK Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Beyond Two Months
By Matt Volz
Montana, Alaska, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming are among the latest states moving to provide health coverage for up to a year after pregnancy through the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people.
Health Care Coalition Jockeys Over Medi-Cal Spending, Eyes Ballot Initiative
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
California Healthline has learned that a coalition of doctors, hospitals, insurers, and community clinics want to lock in a tax on health insurance companies to draw in extra Medicaid funding. It also wants to make the tax permanent.
California Governor and Democratic Lawmakers at Odds Over Billions in Health Care Funds
By Angela Hart
Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting pressure from his political allies to begin spending money on health care that the state raised by fining Californians who go without health insurance. But Newsom says the state can’t afford to.
How a Medical Recoding May Limit Cancer Patients’ Options for Breast Reconstruction
By Rachana Pradhan and Anna Werner, CBS News and Leigh Ann Winick, CBS News
The federal government’s arcane process for medical coding is influencing which reconstructive surgery options are available, creating anxiety for breast cancer patients.
Mammograms at 40? Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Spark Fresh Debate
By Ronnie Cohen
There is no direct evidence that screening women in their 40s will save lives, yet modeling suggests expanding routine mammography to include them might avert 1.3 deaths per 1,000. Highlighting the risk of false positives, some specialists call for a more personalized approach.
Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics
By Judith Graham
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of older Americans, with Black and Hispanic people at higher risk. Despite medical advances, researchers say, disparities are expected to worsen in the coming decades.
Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt
By Robert Benincasa, NPR and Nick McMillan, NPR
The “Diabetes Belt,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprises 644 mostly Southern counties where diabetes rates are high. Of those counties, KFF Health News and NPR found, more than half also have high levels of medical debt.
How to Negotiate With Resistant Aging Parents? Borrow These Tips From the Business World
By Judith Graham
Negotiation techniques can help health care providers and family caregivers find common ground with older adults who resist advice or support.
The Gun Violence Epidemic Is ‘Locking Us Back in Our Room’
By Owen Racer
As the leading cause of death for teens, firearm injuries are detrimental to more than just physical health. It takes a major toll on young people’s mental health.
Mood-Altering Mushroom Sales Bloom Despite Safety Concerns
By Sam Ogozalek, Tampa Bay Times
Illustration by Oona Zenda
The well-known “Amanita muscaria” mushroom is legal to possess and consume in 49 states. The market for gummies, powders, and capsules containing extracts of the fungus is raising eyebrows, though, amid concerns from the FDA and in the absence of human clinical trials.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Our 300th Episode!
When KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” podcast launched in 2017, Republicans in Washington were engaged in an (ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. The next six years would see a pandemic, increasingly unaffordable care, and a health care workforce experiencing unprecedented burnout. In the podcast’s 300th episode, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explores the past and possible future of the U.S. health care system with three prominent “big thinkers” in health policy: Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania, Jeff Goldsmith of Health Futures, and Farzad Mostashari of Aledade.
Watch: Payback for the Opioid Crisis: How Did the Sackler Family Skirt Liability?
KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani appeared on PBS NewsHour to discuss the ruling surrounding drugmaker Purdue Pharma's role in the opioid crisis and her reporting into the ongoing distribution of opioid settlement funds.
Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.
Readers and Tweeters Weigh Marijuana’s Merits Against Those of Alcohol or Opioids
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
