Latest KFF Health News Stories
Even Going To In-Network Hospitals Can Land You With A Big Medical Bill
When patients go to an in-network facility, they can still be treated by an out-of-network medical professional–anesthesia or pathology claims being among the most common.
Judge Denies UnitedHealthcare’s Attempt To Block New York’s Risk-Adjustment Program
The ruling means UnitedHealthcare may have to to transfer millions of dollars to New York insurers that enrolled high-cost members in their plans in 2017. News on the health law comes out of Virginia, as well.
Being able to explain how the artificial intelligence technology reached its diagnoses for dozens of eye ailments is a breakthrough and a crucial step toward outperforming the work of human doctors, according to the study in Nature Medicine.
Health data is often siloed and doesn’t move fluidly through the health system. Improving that communication could save billions of dollars a year, according to some estimates.
Right now, the RNAi drug is limited to cells that go through the liver, which is — in relative terms — easy to target. Getting the drug to other tissue, like the skin or brain, is more challenging. “It’s always been the same problem. And it’s delivery, delivery, delivery,” Steven Dowdy, a cancer biologist at the University of California, San Diego’s school of medicine, tells Stat. “It’s always been the 800-pound gorilla in the room.”
First Edition: August 14, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages examine these and other health insurance issues.
Opinion writers express views on these health topics and others.
Media outlet report on news from Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, California, New Hampshire, Kansas, Oregon, Minnesota and Georgia.
Ohio Postal Inspectors Play Detective Alongside DEA In Finding Shipments Of Opioids
The Postal Inspection Service reported that last year it gathered 40,489 pounds of illegal narcotics in light of the epidemic. In other news, an Ohio county wants to raise taxes to help children displaced by the opioid crisis.
Six Years And Billions Of Dollars Later, Dream Of Watson Being Able To Cure Cancer Is Withering
The supercomputer was supposed to change the way we treat cancer. But it has failed to live up to the hype.
With Few Clinical Trials For Alzheimer’s Drugs Under Way, Neuroligists Cite ‘Urgent Need’
Experts also raise questions about why there isn’t more outrage about the paucity of trials. “There is an element of age discrimination,” neurologist Sam Gandy said, including “the argument that those affected by dementia have already had the opportunity to have long lives.” In other news on Alzheimer’s, Massachusetts’ lawmakers pass the first bill in the nation requires special training for health care workers.
Technology To ‘Turn Off’ Genes Responsible For Trans Fats Exists. But Is It Ready For Prime-Time?
When it comes to altering genes in the food we eat, some experts want to tread carefully while others want to embrace the healthier food. In other public health news: glaucoma, the human cell atlas, c-sections, empathy, family planning apps, growth hormones, depression, online dating and more.
Jury Awards Man With Terminal Cancer $289M In Suit Against Company That Makes Weedkiller Roundup
Dewayne Johnson, 46, is a groundskeeper who used the products during his job. The jury found that Monsanto had failed to warn Johnson of the cancer risks posed by its weedkillers.
First Gene-Silencing Drug Approved By FDA — And It Comes With An Eye-Popping Price Tag
Slicing genes with drugs is the latest in a wave of hot new treatments geared toward fighting diseases in unique ways. But the price on innovation is steep. In other news, the FDA plans to streamline drug safety evaluations and a super PAC goes after Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) over the money she’s taken from the pharmaceutical industry.
Powerful Health Care Players Gear Up To Push Back Against Single-Payer In Case ‘Blue Wave’ Hits Hard
Industry players who usually don’t work together are bonding over the potential push for a single-payer system, which has become a litmus test among progressive Democrats.
The Mar-a-Lago group is led by the reclusive chairman of Marvel Entertainment, Isaac Perlmutter, 75, a longtime friend of Mr. Trump’s and a member of his West Palm Beach golf club. Veterans advocates are worried that the group is going to exert pressure on new VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.
Politico found that in 1 out of 5 states, top public health officials are not subject to any disclosure for financial holdings. This explains why Indiana Surgeon General Jerome Adams’ financial stake in tobacco and pharmaceutical stocks wasn’t publicly known until he was picked for a federal position.
Ground Opposition Against Kavanaugh Sputters As Midterms Take The Spotlight
The fight to block Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh seemed like it was going to be the battle of the year, but Democrats’ political enthusiasm is waning. Meanwhile, Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings have been set to start Sept. 4.
Short-Term Plans Allowed By Trump Not Being Embraced By State Insurance Commissioners
“These policies are substandard, don’t cover essential health benefits, and consumers at a minimum don’t understand [what they’re buying], and at worse are misled,” California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said. Health law news comes out of Tennessee, as well.
