Weekly Edition: March 9, 2018
States Strive To Curb Costs For A Crucial — But Exorbitant — Hemophilia Treatment
By Barbara Feder Ostrov and Heidi de Marco
Saving the lives of people with the bleeding disorder can require high doses of expensive blood-clotting factor. Taxpayers foot much of the bill as manufacturers profit enormously.
Of ‘Miracles’ And Money: Why Hemophilia Drugs Are So Expensive
By Jenny Gold and Heidi de Marco
The market is flooded with 28 different medications for just 20,000 patients with the hereditary bleeding disorder. Yet intense competition hasn’t worked to bring costs down. Sales amount to $4.6 billion annually in the U.S.
A Health Plan ‘Down Payment’ Is One Way States Try Retooling Individual Mandate
By Rachel Bluth
As states brace for insurance market instability, some — like Maryland — take aggressive action.
CMS Issues Split Decision On Arkansas Medicaid Waiver
By Phil Galewitz
A top Senate Democrat calls the move “a mockery of the HHS ethics process" after Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma did not recuse herself in the decision to approve the Medicaid work requirement in Arkansas — the third state to get such a waiver.
How Medicaid Became A Go-To Funder For Schools
By Anna Gorman and Carmen Heredia Rodriguez and Heidi de Marco
Begun as a health care safety net for children and low-income families, Medicaid increasingly underwrites a range of services in America’s public schools.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ HHS Leaders Take To The Stump
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and new podcast panelist Anna Edney of Bloomberg News discuss this week’s spate of speeches by the leaders of the Department of Health and Human Services. They also discuss the slow progress on health legislation on Capitol Hill intended to fund the government and stabilize the individual insurance market. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week.
Jury’s In: Opioids Are Not Better Than Other Medicines For Chronic Pain
By Alex Smith, KCUR
A new study followed patients with severe chronic pain for a year and found that opioids relieved pain and increased function no better than common drugs like acetaminophen and lidocaine. But the opioids carry the risk of more serious side effects, including addiction and death.
While Talk About Opioids Continues In D.C., Addiction Treatment Is In Peril In States
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio and Jackie Fortiér, StateImpact Oklahoma
The Trump administration has talked about prioritizing the opioid crisis, but states have seen little in the way of new resources. And, in some states, getting into treatment is becoming even harder.
At New Health Office, ‘Civil Rights’ Means Doctors’ Right To Say No To Patients
By Emmarie Huetteman
The HHS civil rights division refocuses on the rights of health care providers who have moral objections to treatments such as abortion or sterilization, alarming critics.
User-Friendly Or Error-Ridden? Debate Swirls Around Website Comparing Nursing Homes
By Jocelyn Wiener
State says its new site is easier to navigate, though it remains a work in progress. Advocates for nursing home patients call it “a huge step in the wrong direction” that could endanger people’s lives.
Need A Medical Procedure? Pick The Right Provider And Get Cash Back
By Julie Appleby
Incentives to encourage health care consumers to shop around gain momentum as a means to rein in spending.
Crowded Shelters And The Vicious Flu Brew Perfect Storm For The Homeless
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
Although homeless shelters provide lifesaving protection from the winter’s cold, they also act as incubators for diseases like influenza.
Mind Over Body: A Psychiatrist Tells How To Tap Into Wisdom And Grow With Age
By Judith Graham
Seniors face tough — often life-changing — events throughout their final years. But this stage of life does not have to be limited to loss and deterioration.
From The ER To Inpatient Care — At Home
By Michelle Andrews
Some health systems are encouraging selected ill emergency department patients who are stable and don’t need intensive, round-the-clock care to opt for hospital-level care at home.
Oregon Couple’s Final Days Captured In Intimate Aid-In-Dying Video
By JoNel Aleccia
Dr. Charles Emerick and his wife, Francie, died together last spring after both being diagnosed with terminal illnesses. First, they let their daughter turn on the camera.
Mental Health Funding Tied To Florida’s Controversial Gun Legislation
By Julio Ochoa, WUSF
The same Florida bill that would put more guns in schools would provide the state with $90 million more for mental health resources, including $69 million for schools. Advocates say those funds for mental health care are desperately needed.
When Wildfire Smoke Invades, Who Should Pay To Clean Indoor Air?
By Nora Saks, Montana Public Radio
Public health agencies are set up to regulate easily controlled sources of air pollution. Wildfire smoke presents a different set of expensive challenges.
After Raising Age For Tobacco Purchases, State Sees Decreased Sales To Minors
By Jocelyn Wiener
A new study shows that, in California, moving the minimum age from 18 to 21 significantly reduced purchase by those under 18. That could be because teenagers had less access to tobacco through slightly older friends.
Health Care Revamped At L.A. County Jails
By Anna Gorman and Heidi de Marco
The effort, overseen by the county’s health services department, aims to improve care for a population with high rates of chronic disease, mental illness and drug addiction.
Rhymes Of Their Times: Young Poets Riff On Type 2
By Elaine Korry
A Bay Area public health campaign harnesses the power of poetry to confront the root causes of a diabetes epidemic that is disproportionately hitting minority youth and those from low-income homes.