Latest KFF Health News Stories
Burst Of Deals Reveals A Fast-Changing Health Industry Landscape
On Tuesday, health insurer Humana became the latest company to tout a new acquisition that will move the industry away from hospitals and toward clinics, doctors’ offices and surgery centers.
Fight Over Pregnant Immigrant Fizzles After Birth Certificate Shows She’s Not A Minor
The government had been gearing up for another fight of a pregnant immigrant who wanted to seek an abortion. But because she’s 19 and not 17, she is no longer in the custody of the Health and Human Services Department office that oversees housing of immigrant children.
Federal Moratorium Lifted On Funding To Make Germs More Lethal
But critics say researchers risk creating a monster germ that could escape the lab and seed a pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promised Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) he’d pass legislation that stabilizes the health law’s marketplaces. House lawmakers, however, are furious over the guarantee. Meanwhile, a new fight over abortion becomes latest wrench in year-end spending deal.
Colo. Governor Makes Emergency Request For Lawmakers To Dip Into State Coffers To Fund CHIP
Congress has been dawdling on renewing money for CHIP, causing states to scramble as their funding wells start to run dry.
Tax Bill To Take Slight Detour Back To House Following Senate Passage Then Head To Trump’s Desk
The House needs to vote on the Senate’s version once more because of legislative rules that bumped three provisions out of the legislation. But it’s expected to sail through the lower chamber once more. Media outlets take a look at how the package, which includes the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, will affect the health industry.
First Edition: December 20, 2017
oday’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Tax Bill And Health Care; Are New Blood Pressure Guidelines Making Our Numbers Go Up?
A selection of opinions on health care from news outlets around the country.
Media outlets report on news from Iowa, California, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Georgia, Texas, Ohio and Massachusetts.
Everyone Agrees Opioid Epidemic Is A Problem. But Ideas On How To Treat It Are Hotly Debated.
Clean needle exchanges, for example, often bring opinions on either side. “We don’t have a free-case-of-beer-a-month program for alcoholics,” says Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. But others point to research that shows the programs are helpful.
This Chemical Formula Helped U.S. Win WWII. But Now It’s Poisoning Americans.
At bomb-making plants and ordnance testing ranges across the United States, RDX has spread into the soil and contaminated water supplies. ProPublica investigates the chemical formula and its negative health consequences. In other public health news: college students and mental health; loneliness; dementia; and the brain’s destructive impulses.
Va. Governor Presses Lawmakers One Last Time To Expand Medicaid
Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who leaves office shortly and put the request in his two-year budget proposal to lawmakers, has repeatedly tried to get the Republican-controlled legislature to expand the program for low-income residents. In other states, problems with the Medicaid managed care program in Iowa continue to fester, and lawmakers in Nebraska raise concerns about administrative issues there.
Braced For The Worst, States Plan To Freeze CHIP Enrollment, Think About Shuttering Programs
The renewal deadline to refund CHIP passed in September, and states have been cobbling together money ever since. But for many, those back-up funds will run out in March at the latest.
Frenzy Of Hospital Mergers Reveals Frantic Attempt To Court Patients In Competitive Landscape
Patients are increasingly relying on walk-in clinics, urgent care centers or an app on their cellphone over the more costly hospital emergency room or doctor’s office. This leaves hospitals competing for fewer patients in a fairly unstable health care marketplace.
Homeopathic Treatments On Fringe Of Mainstream Medicine To Be Targeted By FDA
Officials have announced that the Food and Drug Administration is going to be cracking down on these treatments that many scientists view as modern-day snake oil. The agency plans to focus on the ones that carry the biggest safety risks, including those marketed for children or for serious diseases.
Government Asks Supreme Court To Intervene In Case Of Pregnant Immigrant Girl Seeking Abortion
The government acquiesced to the judge’s orders to allow one of the girls to get the procedure, but is still fighting the other one’s attempts. Officials only cited “differing circumstances” as to why they gave in on one.
HHS Says Employees Misconstrued Guidelines For Budget Writing As A Banned List Of Words
The agency has come under fire for providing employees with words that should be avoided as they prepare for the Fiscal Year 2019 budget process. Many took it as a banning the words that included “vulnerable” and “diversity.” But the Department of Health and Human Services says that is not the case.
Health Industry Growing Increasingly Alarmed That Tax Bill Is ‘Leaving Too Many Patients Behind’
Apart from repealing the individual mandate, the Republicans’ tax package may force tens of millions of dollars in cuts to the Medicare program and open a $1.5-trillion hole in the federal deficit that could put pressure on government health care programs such as Medicaid. Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) reiterates her confidence that GOP leadership will keep the promise to shore up the Affordable Care Act exchanges in return for her “yes” vote on the tax legislation.
The Life And Death Of The Individual Mandate: Will Scrapping ‘Toothless’ Penalty Make A Difference?
The individual mandate has become a symbol of something much greater than itself for both sides, and now the tax package wipes it out in two simple sentences. But it’s not entirely clear what the exact ramifications of getting rid of it will be, since it was always enforced with “a muffled bark and a toothless bite.” Meanwhile, some states are thinking about taking their own steps to preserve it.
First Edition: December 19, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
