Latest KFF Health News Stories
Vaccine Debate, Strategies Fueled By Continuing Concern About Measles Exposures
Some say outreach efforts should take a calmer tone, while the National Vaccine Advisory Committee recommends that physicians be compensated for discussing and counseling parents about the importance of getting their children vaccinated.
Rite Aid Spends $2B To Acquire Pharmacy Benefits Manager
Meanwhile, WellCare earnings report indicates that the severe flu season has taken its toll on profits.
AstraZeneca Agrees To $7.9 Million Settlement In Federal Kickback Case
The pharmaceutical company agreed to pay the federal government to settle allegations that the drug manufacturer and distributor engaged in a kickback scheme to boost sales of one of its popular heartburn medications.
Security Experts Warn 2015 Could Be The Year Of Health Care Hacking
Meanwhile, in Connecticut, lawmakers offered a proposal in response to the recent Anthem data breach that would require health insurers in the state to encrypt client information.
Report: VA System At ‘High Risk’ For Fraud, Mismanagement
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office flagged the Department of Veterans Affairs as especially vulnerable to abuse, singling out veterans’ waits for health care and inadequate IT systems.
President Obama To Sign Veterans’ Suicide Prevention Measure
In other Capitol Hill legislative news, a lobbying push by the mobile health industry is finding traction; Senate Democrats are advancing efforts to stop e-cigarette marketing to children and two Senate Republicans are holdouts in co-sponsoring a measure by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to repeal the health law.
CBO Says Deficit Will Fall Again This Year, Then Start To Widen With Higher Medicare Spending
Meanwhile, a fight between the White House and GOP lawmakers is brewing over a budget issue related to spending on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program. Without congressional intervention, the program will run out of funds in late 2016.
Obama, Staples Quibble Over Health Law Employment Issue
In an interview with BuzzFeed, the president criticized the office supply company after a news article suggested some of its hiring is based on concerns about the health law’s mandates for insuring workers. But the company later said that the story was incorrect.
Conservative Lobbying Group Works To Block Medicaid Expansion In GOP-Controlled States
Modern Healthcare reports that, even as expansion in some of these red states is possible, an organization funded by the Koch brothers is stepping up its billion-dollar game to stop further expansions. Meanwhile, news outlets from Ohio and Kansas report on in-state dynamics related to expansion plans and debates.
Obamacare Sign-Ups For 2015 Expected To Top 10 Million
With the deadline Sunday, the pace of sign-ups accelerated across the country, with particularly strong interest in the South, and officials said they expected the final tally to surpass last year’s numbers.
Questions Continue About Plaintiffs In Pending Supreme Court Health Law Challenge
The questions have to do with whether plaintiffs in King. v. Burwell have standing in the lawsuit and have created a new level of uncertainty about the case.
First Edition: February 12, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: GOP Can’t Fight Moral Imperative For Health Law; The Absurd Battle Against E-Cigs
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
A selection of health policy stories Kansas, North Dakota, California, Virginia, Connecticut, Texas, Colorado, Iowa and North Carolina.
Ill. Hospitals Grow Larger Following National Merger Trend
Meanwhile, hospitals wrestle with paying charity care costs and other bottom line issues. Also, news outlets from California, Iowa and North Carolina report on hospital developments related to mental health care.
When Exemptions Are Few, Kids Get Immunized
The Associated Press reports that Mississippi and Tennessee, which refuse to exempt school children from mandatory vaccinations based on their parents’ religious or personal beliefs, have the nation’s highest vaccination rates. And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers offer bipartisan support for the use of vaccines to inoculate against preventable infectious diseases.
Doulas — With Growing Role In Maternity Care — Seek Insurance Company Recognition
In other medical-practice news, questions emerge about whether some pediatricians are comfortable offering and are adequately trained in handling IUDs for sexually active teenagers even as this long-acting contraception option is recommended by medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.
CVS 4Q Earnings Boosted By Medicaid Growth, Specialty Drugs
Those increases offset retail losses stemming from the company’s decision to stop selling cigarettes.
Health Law Co-Ops Seek Flexibility On Financing
The long-term prospects and sustainability of these plans has been under scrutiny since December when CoOportunity Health — which offered plans in Iowa and Nebraska — was liquidated. Other health law headlines include reports about the added layer of difficulty the health law introduces into this year’s tax season and Texas’ high stakes in King v. Burwell.
Complex Medicaid Expansion Politics Take Shape In Various States
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wyoming, Utah and Montana all offer evidence of the different ways these debates are playing out around the country.
