KHN Weekly Edition: March 3, 2023

Eli Lilly Slashed Insulin Prices. This Starts a Race to the Bottom.
By Bram Sable-Smith and Samantha Young Eli Lilly's news that it plans to cut insulin costs for patients will help, not hinder, the recent efforts in California and by entrepreneurs such as Mark Cuban to offer lower-cost alternatives, drug pricing experts said.

Shaved Costs, High Risk, Maximum Profits: Regulators Worry About Florida’s Butt Lift Boom
By Daniel Chang Social media marketing lures people to South Florida’s lucrative cosmetic surgery scene with the promise of cheap Brazilian butt lifts. But some researchers, patient advocates, and surgeon groups say that the risks of the procedure are generally not understood by prospective patients, and that an unsafe number of surgeries can be performed per day in office settings, maximizing profits.

Schools Struggle With Lead in Water While Awaiting Federal Relief
By Katheryn Houghton President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address that federal funds will pay to replace lead pipes in hundreds of thousands of schools and child care centers. In the meantime, schools are dealing with high lead levels now.

Guns Are the Biggest Public Health Threat Kids Face. Why Aren’t They Getting the Message?
By Elisabeth Rosenthal Today’s public service announcements on gun safety feel somewhat sanitized. It’s time to act with the same kind of visceral public campaign that helped de-glorify smoking. Would filmmakers commit to making action movies without guns, just as filmmakers stopped making smoking glamorous in films?

Watch: Dental Device at Center of Lawsuits Was Used on Patients Without FDA Review
More than 10,000 dental patients have been fitted with an Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or AGGA, according to court records. But the unproven and unregulated device has not been evaluated by the FDA, according to a months-long joint investigation by KHN and CBS News.

Biden Promises to Fight GOP on ‘Gutting’ Medicaid. Budget Talks Seem Like Another Story.
By Michael McAuliff As many lower-income Americans prepare to lose pandemic-era access to Medicaid, President Joe Biden vowed to stop Republicans from making deeper cuts to lower the national debt. Other changes may still be up for discussion.

Surprise-Billing Law Loophole: When ‘Out of Network’ Doesn’t Quite Mean Out of Network
By Harris Meyer Billing experts and lawmakers are playing catch-up as providers find ways to get around new surprise-billing laws, leaving patients like Danielle Laskey of Washington state with big bills for emergency care.

NYC Makes Clear Its Intent to Lead on Abortion Access
By Michelle Andrews Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement this year to provide abortion pills free of charge at four of New York’s sexual health clinics is the city’s latest move on abortion access. Other jurisdictions are also taking steps.

Community Workers Fan Out to Persuade Immigrant Seniors to Get Covered
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, California Health Report California has enrolled into Medi-Cal more than 300,000 older immigrant adults lacking legal residency since May, but the state doesn’t know how many more might be eligible. Community workers are now searching for them.

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Idaho Dropped Thousands From Medicaid in the Pandemic’s First Years
By Rachana Pradhan The removals, detailed in emails between state and federal health officials, hinged on disagreements over how states could disenroll people during the public health emergency. Consumer advocates fear the alleged violation signals the mess to come on April 1, when the pandemic-era Medicaid coverage mandate ends.

This Dental Device Was Sold to Fix Patients’ Jaws. Lawsuits Claim It Wrecked Their Teeth.
By Brett Kelman and Anna Werner, CBS News A dental device called AGGA has been used on about 10,000 patients without FDA approval or proof that it works. In lawsuits, patients report irreparable harm. The AGGA’s inventor and manufacturer have denied all liability in court.

Judge to Fine California Each Day It Fails to Complete Prisoner Suicide Prevention Measures
By Don Thompson More than 200 inmates killed themselves during eight years in which state prison officials failed to complete court-ordered suicide prevention safeguards. Inmates, the judge writes, have “waited far too long” for adequate mental health care.

Information Blackout Shrouds New Reports of Deaths, Injuries, and Abuse at Montana State Hospital
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR Patient injuries, abuse, and neglect have continued at the Montana State Hospital since the state-run psychiatric facility lost its federal certification due to preventable patient deaths. But state officials won’t release details, citing laws making those reports confidential.

Dementia Care Programs Help, If Caregivers Can Find Them
By Judith Graham Programs assisting people with dementia — and their caregivers — improve quality of life and care. But millions of unpaid family and friend caregivers may not know where or how to find help.

After Capping Insulin Copays, Colorado Sets Its Sights on EpiPens
By Helen Santoro Colorado’s proposed legislation to cap the copay for the EpiPen is part of a nationwide trend as more states try to shield patients from skyrocketing drug prices.

California Explores Private Insurance for Immigrants Lacking Legal Status. But Is It Affordable?
By Rachel Bluth Nearly half a million Californians without legal residency make too much to qualify for Medicaid yet they can’t afford to buy coverage. A state lawmaker is proposing to open up the state’s health insurance exchange as a first step to providing them affordable insurance.

California’s Massive Medicaid Program Works for Some, but Fails Many Others
By Angela Hart and Bernard J. Wolfson Medi-Cal serves more than one-third of the state’s population — offering a dizzying range of care to a diverse population. In the new “Faces of Medi-Cal” series, California Healthline will assess the program’s strengths and weaknesses through the lives and experiences of its enrollees.

After People on Medicaid Die, Some States Aggressively Seek Repayment From Their Estates
By Tony Leys States take drastically different approaches to recovering Medicaid money from deceased participants’ estates. Demands for repayment of Medicaid spending can drain the assets a person leaves behind, depending on where they lived.

Readers and Tweeters Urgently Plea for a Proper ‘Role’ Call in the ER
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': March Medicaid Madness
President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress spent last month sparring over whether to shield Medicare and Social Security from budget cuts — leading some to wonder if Medicaid was on the table instead. Biden and Democrats say no, but some Republicans seem eager to trim federal spending on the health program for Americans with low incomes. And ready or not, artificial intelligence is coming to medical care. Benefits, as well as unintended consequences, are likely. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more.