Latest KFF Health News Stories
VA Backlog Of Disability Claims Drops 84 Percent To Under 100,000 Cases
The 98,535 unprocessed claims older than four months is the lowest number recorded since the Department of Veterans Affairs started to track them in 2009. The beleaguered agency made the gains after hitting a peak number of 611,000 cases in 2013.
Menendez Case Continues To Take Shape
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was indicted in April for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper gifts and campaign contributions as bribes in exchange for using his office to aid Dr. Salomon Melgen.
Repeal Of Obamacare Taxes On House GOP Minds As Shutdown Looms
The caucus is also targeting full repeal of the health law as well as legislation on over-the-counter drugs and health savings accounts. Also, a standoff over Planned Parenthood funding is adding to concern over a government shutdown.
Republican Candidates’ Plans To Replace Obamacare Eclipsed By Other Campaign Issues
Politico reports that health law alternatives offered last week by Scott Walker and Marco Rubio have not helped the candidates gain any ground, while The Hill examines the difficulties presidential hopefuls face with voters who want to keep their new insurance or benefits.
Late Tax Filers Risk Big Bills, Loss Of Obamacare Subsidies
The best way to avoid the loss is to file your 2014 taxes by August 31. Elsewhere, 26 percent of employers could be hit by the so-called “Cadillac” tax on high-benefit health plans — which could also spell trouble for flexible spending accounts.
Report Finds Lack Of Competition Among Medicare Advantage Plans
The study by the Commonwealth Fund finds that in 97 percent of markets a small number of insurers dominate, which could raise concerns about some high-level insurance company mergers. Also in industry news, health analytics company Inovalon is acquiring the consulting firm Avalere Health and two large kidney-care providers plan consolidations.
First Edition: August 25, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Dueling Views On Alaska’s Medicaid Expansion; Treating Breast Cancer
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Health care stories are reported from Arizona, Pennsylvania, Washington, Illinois, Florida, Texas and New York.
Arkansas Governor Must Win Over State Lawmakers, Feds To Revamp ‘Hybrid’ Medicaid Expansion Plan
In other state Medicaid and public health program news, outlets look at developments in Nebraska, Kansas and Minnesota, as well as two multimillion-dollar fraud case settlements in New York.
Over 25 Million Americans Live With Daily Pain, Study Finds
Also, in mental health news, articles focus on schizophrenia awareness, a link between depression and heart problems for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers and cases of pre-birth depression.
New Tool Allows Consumers To Compare Cancer Treatment Costs
Elsewhere, a heart drug shows promise for cancer patients, “second cancer” cases are becoming more common and breast cancer data fails to resolve a debate on small lesions.
Mentally Ill Prisoners Waiting Too Long In Jail, Washington State Monitor Finds
In New Mexico prisons, initial steps taken to limit the use of solitary confinement seem to be working. And a program in West Virginia allows non-violent female inmates to keep their babies.
Anonymous Essay Citing Doctors’ Bad Behavior During Surgery Sparks Debate In Health Community
Meanwhile, doctors and patients are wondering how to make technologies like Facebook work best between them.
‘I’m Totally Destroyed’: Heroin Addiction, Deaths Overwhelm Communities, Health Workers
The Washington Post tells the story of the epidemic in Washington County, Pa., where 25 people overdosed over two days, and NPR reports on the epidemic from the town of Marion, Ohio.
Veterans Are Being Short-Changed On Local Health Care Options, Advocates Say
Also, in military health news, a study shows that women warriors suffer PTSD at the same rate as men, and hearing loss among service members prompts the Army to participate in a clinical drug trial.
As fallout continues from the covertly taped Planned Parenthood videos, Politico reports that two of the branches featured stopped donating fetal tissue to research several years ago. Meanwhile, a series of anti-abortion protests were held at Planned Parenthood facilities over the weekend.
Independence Blue Cross Plans To Buck The Insurer Merger Trend
In pharmaceutical news, slowing market growth in China is raising red flags for the U.S. drug industry. And GlaxoSmithKline is selling rights to an autoimmune disease medication, ofatumumab, to Novartis for $1 billion.
Ted Cruz To Take Lead Role In Anti-Planned Parenthood Campaign As He Courts Evangelicals
In other news from the Republican primary field: Scott Walker has a plan for winning Senate support for his health proposal, Rick Perry and John Kasich trade barbs on Medicaid expansion, Donald Trump tells big crowds that he will “repeal and replace” Obamacare and Bobby Jindal brags about his move against Planned Parenthood supporters.
Koch Brothers’ Health Law Opposition Set For Long Fight
The president of Americans for Prosperity, a group founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, says support for his group is growing. In other health law news, a look at efforts to improve coverage for people on Medicare and Medicaid, an appeals court temporarily stays its ruling about contraceptive coverage, California’s marketplace pledges to improve service and Speaker John Boehner hires a health care expert.
