Latest KFF Health News Stories
Fla. Governor To Continue To Press Lawsuit Against HHS Over Hospital Funding
Gov. Rick Scott says he will maintain the suit until he hears whether the Obama administration accepts the Florida legislature’s proposal for shared payments to hospitals that treat a large number of uninsured patients, though he did withdraw a preliminary injunction request. Scott alleges in the case that a federal funding cut was an effort to force Florida to expand its Medicaid program under the health law.
A number of economists predict a ruling upending the health law would lead to billions of dollars in lost health care spending. Meanwhile, state officials brace for the impact of such a decision.
Challenger Of Health Law Subsidies Is Confident, Says He Has VA Health Care
The New York Times reports that David M. King, the plaintiff in the case before the Supreme Court that will decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act, is confident he will prevail. Other stories analyze the legal arguments and the decision’s potential impact on millions of Americans.
House Proposal Would Kill Health Care Quality Agency
The House fiscal 2016 budget plan would terminate the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and spread its duties among other parts of the Department of Health and Human Services. The plan would also boost funding for a rural health grant program.
Hill Republicans Discuss Contingency Plans To Extend Temporarily Health Law Subsidies
In the event that the Supreme Court overturns this part of the health law, GOP leaders appear to be settling on plans to extend the health insurance assistance for as long as two years while also pursuing efforts to repeal other parts of the overhaul.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: How Obamacare Could Put The GOP In A Pickle; Is That Doughnut Becoming Less Deadly?
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
News outlets report on health care developments in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Arizona, Montana, California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia.
‘Unacceptable’ Numbers Of Pa. Foster Children Take Psychiatric Drugs, Report Says
A study found that 43 percent of 6- to 18-year-olds in Pennsylvania’s foster care system were given such drugs in 2012. Those children were almost three times more likely than other children on Medicaid to take psychotropic medications, which are typically prescribed to manage mental health or behavioral symptoms. And they were four times more likely to be on anti-psychotics.
California, Massachusetts Medicaid Programs Blasted
In California, a state auditor says that more than 9 million Medi-Cal enrollees in managed care plans may not have adequate access to doctors, while in Massachusetts, the program for low-income residents misspent $500 million, according to a state audit.
California Breaks Ground In Offering Health Coverage To Children In U.S. Illegally
Immigrant children would receive public health care coverage in California under a budget deal announced Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders.
Updated Birth Control Training For Counselors Cuts Unintended Pregnancies
Instead of directly educating women about IUDs and implants, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted a study to see if educating health care workers about the latest innovations regarding contraceptives would make a difference. It cut unintended pregnancies in half.
Food Industry Must Phase Out Trans Fats Over Next Three Years
While partially hydrogenated oils were once promoted by doctors, the Food and Drug Administration now says the substances clog arteries and are unsafe. Use of artificial trans fats has dropped 78 percent over the last decade but they are still found in products like microwave popcorn, whipped topping and pie crusts. The Washington Post profiles the 100-year-old professor from the University of Illinois who led the charge to ban them.
Feds Paid Too Much For Nearly Half Of UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage Patients, Audit Says
Three years of confidential negotiations between the insurer and the federal government were recently released in an audit. Elsewhere, N.J. Sen. Robert Menendez loses his bid to move his trial over corruption charges from his home state to Washington, D.C.
Some ACOs Save Money By Adding Dentists
A handful of accountable care organizations are experimenting with dental care and find it reduces ER visits. Meanwhile, new rules allow ACO doctors to send patients directly to nursing homes and optometrists are pushing to be part of the joint ventures.
Majority Polled Say Prescription Drug Prices Are Too High And Point Finger At Drugmakers
This issue is also being examined by Politico, which convened a group of doctors, insurance and drug lobbyists, policy makers and patient advocates to discuss possible solutions and options. And the Philadelphia Inquirer profiles the chair of the University of Pennsylvnia’s department of medical ethics and health policy, who has been speaking out on controlling drug costs.
Insurers Ready Merger Deals After Health Law, Managed Care Lull
The largest U.S. insurers — UnitedHealth, Anthem, Aetna, Cigna and Humana — are all looking at combinations for teaming up, but any move faces significant antitrust scrutiny. In the meantime, stocks of UnitedHealth surge on Aetna takeover speculation, with Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini in line to make up to $131 million if he loses his job because of a merger.
Rep. Fred Upton Seeks Wide Bipartisan Support Of ‘Cures’ Bill To Encourage Senate Adoption
In other congressional news, Politico examines the House Republicans’ budget and finds that increased funding for NIH and the CDC would come at the expense of other domestic programs, including the elimination of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Lawmakers are also considering a host of other legislative action or policy changes like a mental health bill, allowing grant money to pay for needle exchanges and how to improve electronic health records.
Congressional Republicans Face King V. Burwell Conundrum
GOP lawmakers are now feeling health law heat as they wrestle with the challenge of what to do if the Supreme Court strikes down the overhaul’s subsidies in states that use healthcare.gov. Party leaders are expected to brief the rank and file about possible plans and courses of action. And, in the meantime, the House is planning a set of health law repeal votes in advance of the decision.
Waiting Game For States, Consumers As Supreme Court Weighs Subsidies
The Obama administration says it has no backup plan if the high court strikes some health law subsidies, but state-based fixes could save coverage for many. In Tennessee, the governor says his state will wait and see before creating a contingency plan. And advocates rally to put pressure on officials to help people keep subsidies.
