KFF Health News Weekly Edition: March 22, 2024
California’s Expanded Health Coverage for Immigrants Collides With Medicaid Reviews
Jasmine Aguilera, El Tímpano
A state policy to extend Medi-Cal to qualified Californians without legal residency is running up against a federal requirement to resume eligibility checks. The redetermination process is causing many Latinos, who make up a majority of Medi-Cal beneficiaries, to be disenrolled.
Move to Protect California’s Indoor Workers From Heat Upended by Cost Questions
Samantha Young
A years-long process that would have created heat standards for California workers in warehouses, steamy kitchens, and other indoor job sites catapulted into chaos Thursday when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration pulled its support. Regulators, saying they felt “blindsided,” approved the regulation anyway. It’s unclear what happens next.
The ACA Turns 14
Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop ‘Clawback Cruelty’
David Hilzenrath and Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group and Eric Harkleroad
Commissioner Martin O’Malley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the “injustices” of suspending people’s monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.
Biden Said Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Cut the Deficit by $160B. That’s Years Away.
Amy Sherman, PolitiFact
Savings estimated by the Congressional Budget Office from allowing the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices are based on a 10-year cumulative projection.
Rapid Rise in Syphilis Hits Native Americans Hardest
Cecilia Nowell
With U.S. syphilis rates climbing to the worst level in seven decades, public health experts and the federal Indian Health Service are scrambling to detect and treat the disease in Native American communities, where babies are infected at a higher rate than in any other demographic.
Telehealth Sites Promise Cure for ‘Male Menopause’ Despite FDA Ban on Off-Label Ads
Michael Scaturro
Most healthy men produce sufficient testosterone as they age. Yet online ads and telehealth sites are promoting testosterone drugs with flawed promises of boosting libido and busting stomach fat.
Watch: Many Americans Are Unaware of HIV Prevention Medication
Céline Gounder
Some Americans mistakenly believe medication to prevent HIV transmission through sex is just for certain groups such as gay men, but anyone who’s at risk for contracting HIV through sex could benefit.
Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirements Costing Taxpayers Millions Despite Low Enrollment
Andy Miller and Renuka Rayasam
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage program has seen anemic enrollment while chalking up millions in start-up costs — largely in technology and consulting fees. Critics say the money’s being wasted on a costly and ineffective alternative to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
Needle Pain Is a Big Problem for Kids. One California Doctor Has a Plan.
April Dembosky, KQED
The pain and trauma from repeated needle sticks leads some kids to hold on to needle phobia into adulthood. Research shows the biggest source of pain for children in the health care system is needles. But one doctor thinks he has a solution and is putting it into practice at two children’s hospitals in Northern California.
Amid Mental Health Staffing Crunch, Medi-Cal Patients Help One Another
Indira Khera
Peer leaders can help ease the shortage of mental health providers and build trust through shared experiences, state health officials say. In 2022, California started allowing counties to use Medicaid dollars to pay them for their work.
Health Workers Fear It’s Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission
Amy Maxmen
Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.
How National Political Ambition Could Fuel, or Fail, Initiatives to Protect Abortion Rights in States
Bram Sable-Smith and Rachana Pradhan
As money flows to abortion rights initiatives in states, some donors focus on where anger over the "Dobbs" ruling could propel voter turnout and spur Democratic victories up and down the ballot, including in key Senate races and the White House.
Covid and Medicare Payments Spark Remote Patient Monitoring Boom
Phil Galewitz and Holly K. Hacker
Demand for help monitoring patients’ vital signs remotely has taken off since a Medicare change in 2019. Dozens of companies now push the service to help overburdened primary care doctors — and as a revenue stream. But some policy experts say its growth has outpaced oversight and evidence of effectiveness.
As More States Target Disavowed ‘Excited Delirium’ Diagnosis, Police Groups Push Back
Renuka Rayasam
After California passed the first law in the nation to limit the disavowed term “excited delirium,” bills in other states are being introduced to help end use of the diagnosis. But momentum is being met with resistance from law enforcement and first responder groups, who cite free speech.
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