Latest KFF Health News Stories
Out-of-network services end up costing patients big. And as insurance designs become more complicated with more tiered or narrow networks, medical bills are only going to get more tricky.
CMS Aims To Ramp Up Medicare Part D Plans’ Negotiating Power Over Drug Costs With Formulary Change
CMS is allowing the plans to pursue what are known as “indication-based formulary designs,” which are already used by private insurers. “By allowing Medicare’s prescription drug plans to cover the best drug for each patient condition, plans will have more negotiating power with drug companies, which will results in lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries,” CMS administrator Seema Verma said
The New York Times looks at how advances in medicine are shaping the high court, often allowing justices to pass the baton when they choose. Meanwhile, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh preps for his confirmation hearings that start next week.
All Eyes Are On ACA Lawsuit Slated For Arguments Next Week, As Midterms Inch Ever Closer
The lawsuit will be heard starting next Wednesday. The case is providing Democrats with talking points on the campaign trail over a potential threat to preexisting conditions protections. Meanwhile, Medicare ACOs saved CMS more than $1 billion in 2017.
First Edition: August 31, 2018
NOTE TO READERS: KHN’s First Edition will not be published Sept. 3. Look for it again in your inbox Sept. 4. Here’s today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers focus on these health issues and others.
Editorial pages focus on issues surrounding Medicaid and Medicare-For-All.
Longer Looks: Ketamine; STDs; And Pregnancy In Poor Zip Codes
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from California, Washington, Maryland, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut and Illinois.
1 Dead, 17 People Sickened In Four States By Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Empire Kosher Chicken
While federal food safety officials have issued a public safety alert, no chicken has been recalled, and a spokesman for Empire Kosher said, “We continue to very aggressively work to ensure the quality and safety of our products.”
Because water quality results from more than 100 schools aren’t expected until after they reopen, the superintendent says the district is being extra cautious. A task force is being put together to investigate infrastructure issues, but in the meantime bottled water will be provided for students and faculty.
As Consumers Become More Health Conscious, Starbucks’ Frappuccino Is Going On A Diet
Some versions of the drink contain more than twice as much sugar as a Snickers. Meanwhile, a psychology professor offers a look behind what’s going on when you get “hangry.”
“It’s not known if alcohol is safe to drink when you are pregnant,” reads the poster from Drinkwise, an Australian organization. Public health groups are outraged that the ads could create confusion when the science is clear about the harmful effects of alcohol on a fetus.
More contentious policies — like protecting patient privacy and Medicaid funding — are likely to be kicked down the road until the lame-duck session following the midterm elections. Meanwhile, the FDA wants to encourage the drug industry to develop nonaddictive alternatives to opioids, and the company that makes Narcan eyes schools as an untapped market.
Hospitals say that the fixed methodologies used by ranking sites, such as U.S. News & World Report, are unfair because each patient has unique needs. Researchers now argue that allowing patients in on the process would help correct for that.
The provision in the trade pact would require a company to wait at least a decade before relying on data generated by a brand-name rival to then obtain regulatory approval and sell its own similar medicine. “The U.S. government is working in favor of the pharma lobby and against health,” said Peter Maybarduk, who heads the access to medicines campaign for Public Citizen. In other pharmaceutical news: Pfizer’s problems at its manufacturing plant, digital pills, recalls and more.
The proposed regulation would ban recipients of Title X funds from referring women for abortions. Groups fired back at the change that issues grants for six months rather than 3 years. “Shortened and inconsistent program grant cycles that force Title X entities to semi-annually compete for funding causes undue administrative burden, detracting from health care providers’ daily work of delivering high-quality preventive health care in communities across the country,” said Clare Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association.
A new report prompted the Puerto Rican government to revise the number of storm-related deaths from 64 to 2,975, which places Hurricane Maria among one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. President Donald Trump defended the sluggish response to the emergency in Puerto Rico, saying: “It’s hard to get things on the island.”
More than half of medical collections are for less than $600, a new study finds. Even though they’re not hundreds of thousands of dollars, those unpaid bills, when set to a collection agency, can hurt a patients’ credit just as fast.
It would be a tough task to get the measure to pass, but even a failed vote would let Democrats highlight the issue on the trail, where health care is a hot topic.
