Weekly Edition: April 10-14
Repeal, Replace … Revise: Your Guide To How A Trump Proposal Might Change ACA Insurance
By Julie Appleby
Even though the GOP health plan is stalled by intraparty negotiations, some big insurance changes are still in the works.
Death By 1,000 Cuts: How Republicans Can Still Alter Your Coverage
By Jay Hancock
There are many ways beyond legislative repeal for the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to unravel the Affordable Care Act.
GOP Bills To Replace Obamacare Do Not Tinker With Lawmakers’ Coverage
By Michelle Andrews
Republicans are hoping to overhaul the federal health law. Among the law’s many provisions is a requirement that members of Congress and their staffs buy their health insurance on the law’s marketplaces.
As Some Holdout States Revisit Medicaid Expansion, New Data Show It Pays Off
By Shefali Luthra
Researchers concluded that because the federal government picked up so much of the tab of expanding eligibility for the low-income insurance program, expansion states didn’t have to skimp on other policy priorities to make ends meet.
Drugmakers Help Turn Patients With Rare Diseases Into D.C. Lobbyists
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Amplifying the "patient voice," those with the rarest afflictions are trained to become powerful advocates for new drugs and legislation that would help the industry.
California Presses Forward In Fight To Regulate Pharma
By Carrie Feibel, KQED
Such efforts have previously failed in the face of opposition from the drug industry, which questions their effectiveness and contends prices reflect research and development costs.
In Remote Idaho, A Tiny Facility Lights The Way For Stressed Rural Hospitals
By Anna Gorman
In a region where bears outnumber people, a small medical facility sets a modern example for rural hospitals on life support.
Coming Full Circle, Doulas Cradle The Dying
By Bruce Horovitz
Traditionally there for mothers giving birth, a doula’s role has evolved to comforting seniors facing death.
Can We Tax Away The Opioid Crisis?
By Pauline Bartolone
Lawmakers in California, like their counterparts in Congress, are considering a tax that would pay for addiction prevention and treatment efforts.
In ‘Stealth Move,’ Mich. Refines Vaccine Waivers, Improves Rate Among Kids
By Guy Gugliotta
A whooping cough and measles outbreak prompted lawmakers to require parents to personally meet with health officials before a waiver can be granted.
Tracking Air Quality Block By Block
By Ngoc Nguyen
An environmental advocacy group plans to install 100 pollution sensors at homes, schools and businesses in the congested area near the Port of Oakland to capture variations in the level of diesel contaminants.