Weekly Edition: December 20, 2019
Democrats Debate Whether ‘Medicare For All’ Is ‘Realistic’
Emmarie Huetteman
Candidates again sparred over “Medicare for All” and other approaches to health reform -- but this time they waited more than two hours before wading into health policy issues.
Yang And Sanders Use Maternal Mortality Stats To Talk About Race
Shefali Luthra and Victoria Knight
These numbers are stark.
Warren’s Argument That Millions Can’t Afford Their Rx Drugs Holds Up
Shefali Luthra
‘Medication insecurity’ is a thing.
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Portion Of Obamacare
Julie Rovner
The court, based in New Orleans, agreed with a federal judge in Texas that the individual mandate section of the Affordable Care Act could not stand after Congress eliminated the tax penalty for not having coverage. But the case now heads back to the lower court to see how much of the law can remain.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: ACA Still Under A Cloud After Court Ruling
A federal appeals court in New Orleans has agreed with a lower court that a key piece of the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. But it is sending the case back to the lower-court judge to decide how much of the rest of the law can stand. Also, Congress is leaving town after finishing work on a major spending bill that includes many changes to health policy. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.
What Would Happen If The ACA Went Away?
Julie Rovner
The Affordable Care Act has been on the books for nearly a decade. Parts of it have become ingrained in our health system ― and in our everyday life. But this could change, depending on a long-awaited 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding the law’s constitutionality.
Surprising Swings In Momentum For Legislation On Surprise Medical Bills
Rachel Bluth
A legislative compromise on how to curb unexpected out-of-network medical bills has made recent progress. But many insiders expect work to continue into 2020.
Loophole Averted After Surprise-Bill Brouhaha In Texas
Ashley Lopez, KUT
The Texas Medical Board bowed out of the rule-making process for a new law protecting consumers from surprise medical bills. Advocates hailed the new rules written by the state insurance regulators.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Reporter Says ‘Shame’ Spurred Hospital To Cancel Debt For Thousands
Dan Weissmann
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, Tenn., sued thousands of patients for unpaid medical bills. Journalist Wendi Thomas wrote about it. Months later, the hospital dropped 6,500 lawsuits.
Border Fight: Trump’s Plan To Import Cheaper Drugs From Canada Faces Hurdles
Phil Galewitz
The administration’s proposed rule to allow states to bring in prescription medications isn’t expected to provide immediate relief.
Listen: The Cost Of PrEP, The HIV Prevention Pill
KHN correspondent Shefali Luthra was among the guests on the podcast "Today, Explained" to talk about PrEP.
A Veteran Started Vaping THC To Cope With Chronic Pain. Then He Got Very Sick.
Marlene Harris-Taylor, Ideastream
A Navy veteran from Cleveland tried vaping marijuana to deal with his chronic pain. He landed in the hospital, becoming one of over 2,400 Americans who have suffered serious lung injury from vaping.
Don’t Toss That E-Cig: Vaping Waste Is A Whole New Headache For Schools And Cities
John Daley, Colorado Public Radio
E-cigarettes may look sleek, but they create toxic trash, especially at high schools where vaping is widespread. Disposable nicotine pods can be poisonous, and vape pens contain batteries and metals. Safely disposing of them can mean a trip to the local recycling center.
Valley Fever Cases Climb In California’s Central Valley — And Beyond
Barbara Feder Ostrov and Harriet Blair Rowan
California and nearby Southwestern states are seeing a sustained rise in cases of valley fever, a potentially serious lung illness caused by a fungus found in desert-type soil. As a result of global warming, the areas where the fungus can thrive are expanding, researchers say.
Parenting Your Aging Parents When They Don’t Want Help
Judith Graham
Relationships between adult children and their parents can fray with age. Experts offer help on how loved ones can preserve the love and negotiate those tension-filled final years.
Despite Quick Fixes, Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Care Still Lags
Jenny Gold
Interviews with dozens of Kaiser Permanente therapists, patients and industry experts reveal superficial changes that look good on paper but do not translate into more effective and accessible care.
California Attempts To Revive Compassionate Cannabis Programs
Mark Kreidler
After the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2016, new taxes and regulations decimated an ad hoc network that had donated cannabis for medical purposes to patients who could not afford it. A recent law seeks to revive the network, but hurdles remain.
From Clinic To Courtroom, Fighting For Immigrant Health Care
Ana B. Ibarra
Jane Garcia is CEO of La Clínica de La Raza, which operates more than 30 clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area serving a high percentage of immigrant patients. She has challenged state and federal immigration policies in court, including the Trump administration’s recent attempt to expand the “public charge” rule.
Promising Greater Safety, A Tiny Widget Creates Chaos For Tube Feeders
Mary Chris Jaklevic
A standard connector for feeding tubes was supposed to improve patient safety by preventing accidental misconnections to equipment used for IVs or other purposes. But critics say the design instead could keep patients from real food and inadvertently creates a host of new risks, including for vulnerable premature infants.
Analysis: In Medical Billing, Fraudulent Charges Weirdly Pass As Legal
Elisabeth Rosenthal
After my husband had a bike accident, we were subjected to medical bills that no one would accept if they had been delivered by a contractor, or a lawyer or an auto mechanic. Such charges are sanctioned by insurers, which generally pay because they have no way to know whether you received a particular item or service — and it’s not worth their time to investigate the millions of medical interactions they write checks for each day.