Latest KFF Health News Stories
With New Rule, Administration Wants To Give States More Flexibility On ACA’s Essential Benefits
Issued late in the day on Friday, the 365-page plan also proposes other changes to the inner workings of the health insurance markets.
Health Law’s Open Enrollment To Kick Off This Week Amid Confusion, Cries Of Sabotage
Experts expect enrollment to drop significantly in part because of the Trump administration’s moves to slash funding for marketing and navigators, and to roll back policies meant to protect consumers.
First Edition: October 30, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: A Legal Twist On Talcum Powder; FDA Can Help Patients Get Experimental Meds
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Editorial pages offer different perspectives about how to proceed in addressing the current and future challenges faced by the Affordable Care Act’s individual insurance market.
Opinion writers offer their ideas about whether President Donald Trump’s declaration can have a meaningful impact on the nation’s effort to address the problem.
Research Roundup: Medicaid Payment Reform; Tanning Salon Compliance; Robotic-Assisted Surgery
Here is a selection of news coverage of other recent research:
Media outlets report on news from Connecticut, Florida, Alabama, Illinois, the District of Columbia, Arizona, California, Oregon, Ohio, Georgia and Wisconsin.
Having Heart Surgery In Afternoon Instead Of Morning Drastically Reduces Post-Op Risk
The findings are the latest in a growing body of evidence suggesting that time of day plays an important role in how well various medical treatments work. In other public health news: controversy continues over whether someone who is overweight can be healthy; the benefits of being a do-gooder; stem cell treatments; and the link between marijuana and sex.
Insys Founder Charged With Felonies Involving ‘Nationwide Conspiracy’ To Push Powerful Opioids
Prosecutors allege John N. Kapoor had been bribing doctors to prescribe his company’s drug intended for cancer patients only.
Zenefits, Co-Founder Of Startup Pay Nearly $1M To Settle With SEC
The company, which provides software to businesses in hopes of selling them health-insurance plans, made false statements to investors about whether its employees were properly licensed, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CVS Negotiating Deal To Buy Aetna, As Amazon Starts Encroaching On Drugstore Chain’s Turf
The deal reflects a blurring of traditional boundaries in health care as companies try to adjust to the ever-changing and uncertain marketplace.
Arizona Supreme Court Weighs Challenge To Medicaid Expansion
The challenge, which could affect 400,000 who gained coverage when Arizona opted to accept the federal health law’s option to expand eligibility for Medicaid, is based on an argument that the legislature needed a two-thirds majority to pass the expansion. Lower courts have rejected the claim. In other Medicaid news, a look at Maine’s referendum, Kentucky’s waiver request and controversies in Mississippi and Louisiana.
With States About To Run Out Of Money, Congress Plans CHIP Vote For Next Week
Congress missed a September deadline to renew funding for the popular program, but states had enough funds to give themselves a buffer zone. They’re quickly running out, though.
An Unintended Side Effect Of Trump’s Move To Cut Off Insurer Subsidies: Free Health Coverage
In nearly all of the 2,722 counties included in a recent report, some consumers will be able to obtain free health insurance because they qualify for larger federal premium subsidies that cover the full cost of a plan now that President Donald Trump has stopped cost-sharing payments to insurers. In other health law news: what the marketplaces are going to be like for consumers this year; navigator funding; what Americans want the path forward to be; and more.
Federal Officials Launch ‘Patient Over Paperwork’ Initiative To Hear Doctors’ Concerns About Rules
The effort is designed to see what regulations are getting in the way of doctors’ ability to spend time with patients. In other industry news, some hospitals and doctors that once complained about requirements for bundled payments are revising their assessments, and an experiment to keep nursing home residents out of the hospital is showing promise.
Those On Front Lines Of Opioid Epidemic In Hard-Hit States Dismayed By Trump’s Announcement
The emergency declaration “falls far short of actions that are needed to immediately address the magnitude and scope of this epidemic,” says Michael Botticelli, executive director of the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center. Media outlets cover reactions out of Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, Illinois and Virginia as well.
Opioid Declaration: A Step In The Right Direction Or Empty Words Without Any Punch?
While some criticize the lack of money behind the Trump administration’s public health emergency move, others are excited for the light it will shine on the opioid epidemic.
Trump Stops Short Of Declaring Opioid Crisis A National Emergency — Which Means No Extra Funds
Instead, President Donald Trump declared the epidemic a public health emergency, which is more limited status in terms of what federal and state officials can do to address the problem. Media outlets take a look at what exactly the move entails.
First Edition: October 27, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
