Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Medicare Payment Lobbying War Heats Up As More Voices Join The Fight

Morning Briefing

The campaigns center around a proposed 1.35 percent boost to Medicare Advantage. Kaiser Health News looks at how the Obama administration is trying to borrow ideas from the private sector with its Medicare plan, Medicare beneficiaries could face higher out-of-pocket drug costs as a result of the trend toward coinsurance rather than co-payments, and Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, is urging his fellow lawmakers to consider changes to the Medicare Advantage program.

Health Care Law’s Contraception Mandate Gets Day In High Court Next Week

Morning Briefing

After Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, there’s a likelihood the court will rule 5-3 against the challenge to the health law. Justice Anthony Kennedy, the likely swing vote, has appeared to voice approval of the workaround the government has already created to address conscientious objections to contraception.

GAO: Government Must Crack Down On Health Law Subsidy Fraud

Morning Briefing

An extensive investigation found that, as of last April, almost a half-million people were able to obtain subsidies for insurance purchased on the federal marketplace, despite having inconsistencies in their applications. In other health law news, Wyoming’s ACA enrollment numbers continue to climb.

Not Just In Flint: 350 Systems That Provide Water To Schools, Day Care Centers Have Failed Lead Tests

Morning Briefing

A USA Today investigation found that children’s drinking water can have such high levels that the Environmental Protection Agency would deem it “hazardous waste.” Meanwhile, New Jersey’s largest school district has begun voluntary blood tests to check children’s lead levels, D.C.’s water officials try to soothe fears over the city’s lead problems, which were “20 to 30 times worse” than Flint, and a “widespread” investigation into New York’s public housing-lead problem nets millions of documents.

Lawmakers Call For Resignations Over Flint: ‘I’ve Had Enough Of Your Phony Apologies’

Morning Briefing

At the congressional hearing, Environmental Protection Agency Chief Gina McCarthy was defiant against challenges that her agency did not do enough, and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, while apologetic, said the blame doesn’t fall completely on him.

Promising Results For Dengue Vaccine Bode Well For Zika Efforts

Morning Briefing

Researchers have been uncharacteristically optimistic about the vaccine, which protected all 21 volunteers who were injected with it and then infected with the virus. Because the Dengue and Zika viruses are in the same family, scientists could build off the work of the successful vaccine.

WHO: One In Four Deaths Caused By Unhealthy Environment

Morning Briefing

The report is part of an effort by world leaders over the past year to inform the public of the close link between issues like climate change to something an individual can relate to — their own health. A separate study links air pollution to an increased risk of diabetes.

In Quest To Treat Patients’ Pain, Doctors Struggle In Role Of Enforcer

Morning Briefing

As the warriors on the front line of one of the worst drug epidemics in U.S. history, physicians are being called upon to balance their desire to care for their patients with the desire to stem the rising crisis.

Jury Rules In Favor Of Amgen In Cholesterol Drug Patent Dispute

Morning Briefing

Some analysts and rivals say Amgen’s patents on antibodies that target a protein, called PCSK9, are too broad and thus invalid. In other news, a cost-effectiveness agency says there’s not enough evidence to deem Amgen’s cancer drug worthy of using on Britain’s state health service.

Doctors Who Receive Payments From Industry Prescribe More Brand-Name Drugs, Analysis Finds

Morning Briefing

“This feeds into the ongoing conversation about the propriety of these sorts of relationships. Hopefully we’re getting past the point where people will say, ‘Oh, there’s no evidence that these relationships change physicians’ prescribing practices,'” says Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who provided guidance on early versions of ProPublica’s analysis.

Some Surviving Co-Ops Fail To Hit Important Enrollment Benchmark

Morning Briefing

Lagging enrollment is a sign that at least four of the remaining eleven health insurance cooperatives are still on shaky financial footing despite federal loans. In other health law news, Massachusetts reminds those with subsidized plans that they must file taxes. And in Florida, families with insurance still face crippling medical debt.

Budget Committee Passes Deficit Plan That Relies On Deep Health Care Cuts

Morning Briefing

Among other things, the blueprint calls for raising the Medicare eligibility age to 67 and slashing Medicaid. In other Capitol Hill news, a mental health bill heads to the Senate floor, a Senate committee approves a bill to help opioid-addicted newborns, House lawmakers hold a hearing on Medicare’s future and the president’s mandatory spending plan for his cancer “moonshot” comes up at a hearing on NIH’s budget.

Michigan Governor To Blame Water Crisis On Systemic Failures At State Agency

Morning Briefing

Gov. Rick Snyder is set to appear in front of Congress at a hearing on Thursday, and The Associated Press obtained both his and EPA chief Gina McCarthy’s prepared testimony. “Not a day or night goes by that this tragedy doesn’t weigh on my mind — the questions I should have asked, the answers I should have demanded,” Snyder will say, while pointing a finger at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Bill Targeting GMO Labeling Requirements Dies On Senate Floor

Morning Briefing

Lawmakers had been scrambling to find a way to prevent Vermont’s mandatory labeling legislation slated to go into effect July 1. The Senate measure failed to get the 60 supporters it needed to move ahead during a procedural vote.