Weekly Edition: November 22, 2019
No Safety Switch: How Lax Oversight Of Electronic Health Records Puts Patients At Risk
Fred Schulte and Erika Fry, Fortune
Special interests and congressional inaction blocked efforts to track the safety of electronic medical records, leaving patients at risk.
Death By 1,000 Clicks: Where Electronic Health Records Went Wrong
Fred Schulte and Erika Fry, Fortune
The U.S. government claimed that turning American medical charts into electronic records would make health care better, safer and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the system is an unholy mess. Inside a digital revolution that took a bad turn.
Five Things To Know About The Electronic Health Records Mess
Fred Schulte
The U.S. government claimed that ditching paper medical charts for electronic records would make health care better, safer and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the digital revolution has gone awry.
FDA Chief Calls For Stricter Scrutiny Of Electronic Health Records
Fred Schulte and Erika Fry, Fortune
In an interview, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb reacts to a KHN/Fortune investigation of the drawbacks and risks of electronic health records.
In This Democratic Debate, Health Care Issues Took A Back Seat
Emmarie Huetteman
The latest Democratic debate did not dwell on “Medicare for All,” despite strong divisions among the presidential candidates.
Do 160 Million Americans Really Like Their Health Plans? Kind Of
Shefali Luthra
Former Vice President Joe Biden's claim during the latest Democratic presidential debate relies on a squishy number, and the context matters.
Klobuchar Leans In On Support For Roe V. Wade, Planned Parenthood
Shefali Luthra
Some of the numbers cited by the Minnesota senator during Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate miss the mark.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Health Care Campaign
Health care is still a top issue in the Democratic primary debate for president, but the candidates’ complicated plans may be doing more to confuse than to educate voters. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Caitlin Owens of Axios and Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more health news. Also, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week.
The Startlingly High Cost Of The ‘Free’ Flu Shot
Phil Galewitz
Although many consumers pay nothing out of pocket for flu shots, insurers foot the bill. And those prices vary dramatically.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: A Medical Bill Ninja Shares Her Secrets
Dan Weissmann
On Season 3, Episode 2 of the podcast “An Arm and a Leg,” an Illinois woman harnesses a lifetime of experience — and frustration — with health care finances to help other people solve their medical bill problems.
White House Unveils Finalized Health Care Price Transparency Rule
Julie Appleby
The final directive drew swift responses from the hospital and insurance industries. The Trump administration also released a proposed rule that would require health insurers to spell out for all services beforehand just how much patients may owe for their out-of-pocket costs.
Efforts To Move The Needle On Flu Shot Rates Get Stuck
Phil Galewitz
In the past decade, federal and state governments have removed cost and access obstacles, but immunization rates remained flat. That worries public health officials.
New California Law May Expand Use Of HIV Prevention Drugs, With Caveats
Mark Kreidler
Legislation that takes effect next July will let people buy the medications without a prescription for a limited period. Medical professionals say it’s a step in the right direction but will not significantly increase the use of the medicine without additional efforts.
Drug Deals And Food Gone Bad Plague Corner Stores. How Neighbors Are Fighting Back.
Cara Anthony
Corner stores that provide groceries for those using the federal food stamp program have become magnets for violence just outside St. Louis. Gunshots ring out under the cover of darkness, windows are postered over, and the quality of food doesn’t make a trip to the corner store worth the risk. Now local residents are putting their feet down.
Listen: Neighbors Take On Corner Stores Plagued By Violence, Spoiled Food
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony appeared on America’s Heroes Group radio show, Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st” and St. Louis Public Radio’s news magazine “St. Louis on the Air” to discuss how people in low-income neighborhoods are fighting back against crime and spoiled food at their local corner stores.
It’s Obamacare Season. Here’s What You Need To Know.
Shefali Luthra
Despite repeated repeal efforts, the ACA is still intact — and with this year’s open enrollment, consumers can get some meaningful savings on coverage.
The Case Of The ACA’s Disappearing Taxes
Julie Rovner
When passing the Affordable Care Act, Democrats touted the fact that they had included many measures to pay for the bill’s expanded coverage. But nearly 10 years later, many of the “pay-fors” have been eliminated.
Medi-Cal To Expand Eligibility To Young Undocumented Adults. But Will They Enroll?
Ana B. Ibarra
California will become the first state to allow unauthorized immigrant adults to receive full Medicaid coverage when it expands eligibility to people ages 19 to 25 in January. But health officials and immigrant rights advocates wonder whether fear of federal immigration policy combined with a youthful sense of not needing health insurance will keep those young adults from joining.
Affordable Mental Health Care? It’s Getting Even Tougher to Access
Jenny Gold
More than a decade after Congress passed a law mandating equal access for mental and physical health care, Americans struggle to find affordable, in-network mental health providers.
For Newborns With Hearing Loss, Screening Opens Window To A World Of Sound
Rachel Bluth
Most infants in the United States have a hearing screening in their first few days of life. Twenty years ago, before universal newborn screening, many kids missed out on early intervention services that help children with hearing loss access sound and develop spoken language.
Despite Supreme Court Win, Texas Abortion Clinics Still Shuttered
Ashley Lopez, KUT
Three years after winning a big legal battle, abortion providers still find themselves losing the war when it comes to keeping clinics open across the huge, populous state.
Startup Seeks To Hold Doctors, Hospitals Accountable On Patient Record Requests
Lori Basheda
Despite laws requiring that health care providers hand over copies of patient records in a timely fashion, many people have trouble getting theirs. Ciitizen, a Palo Alto, Calif., company that helps cancer patients with the task, recently published a scorecard that rates hospitals, doctors and clinics on their compliance with records requests.
Facebook Live: Intimate Lessons From The Front Lines Of Family Caregiving
Family caregivers are the backbone of our nation’s system of long-term care for older adults. Every year, more than 34 million unpaid caregivers — mostly family members — provide essential aid to adults age 50 and older, helping with tasks such as bathing or dressing and, increasingly, performing complex medical tasks such as managing medications, dressing wounds and operating medical equipment.