Latest KFF Health News Stories
Lawmakers’ Approaches Differ On Over-The-Counter Birth Control
USA Today looks at the obstacles blocking congressional proposals to make birth control available over the counter. CQ Healthbeat reports that agreement has not coalesced around broad mental health legislation that stalled in the last Congress.
Obamacare Rhetoric Intensifies Ahead Of Supreme Court Decision
Increasingly, Republicans are attacking and President Barack Obama is defending the health law as the High Court nears a decision on whether some Obamacare insurance subsidies can stand. In the meantime, the GOP readies hard questions for Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who is scheduled to testify before a House panel Wednesday.
High Court’s Decision Will Help Shape Obama’s Legacy
The Washington Post and CNN look at how the Supreme Court’s decision on the latest challenge to the federal health law will play a major role in determining the president’s record.
Obama’s Speech To Catholic Health Association Makes Moral Case For Health Law
In the speech, which drew immediate GOP criticism, President Barack Obama asserted the law’s successes, saying it has insured millions and saved lives.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Voters Look To Congress To Save Subsidies; Hospital Pricing; Handling Anthrax
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
News outlets report on health issues from California, Wyoming, Washington, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and Maine.
High Court Won’t Hear Maine’s Appeal Over Medicaid Cuts
Gov. Paul LePage’s effort to cut more than 6,000 low-income young adults from the state’s Medicaid rolls died Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his administration’s appeal of a lower court ruling. The justices’ refusal means LePage must continue providing health coverage to poor 19- and 20-year-olds until at least 2019 to maintain federal funding for the state’s Medicaid program.
New Tech Offers Possible Benefits — Like Predicting Who Will Get Sick — But Also Poses Risks
Independence Blue Cross, a Philadelphia-based insurance firm, is trying to identify discharged hospital patients likely to be readmitted to the hospital using an algorithm that examines records like billing claims, labs, medications, height, weight and family history. But the practice raises some privacy concerns. In other news, NPR reports on the level of confidentiality for online health searches. And a security researcher warns that drug pumps are at risk to be hacked.
Abortion Fight Becomes Issue On 2016 Campaign Trail
Also in news from Capitol Hill, Democrats oppose Medicare cuts tucked into a provision of the fast-track trade legislation that aims to help companies hurt by trade deals.
FDA Questions Who Should Take New Cholesterol Drugs
The drugs are said to represent the biggest advance in cholesterol-lowering treatment in 20 years. But there are still questions about long-term effects. In addition, the pricetags could limit those who benefit.
Humana Enters ‘Quiet Period’ Amid Sale Rumors
The publicly traded Medicare Advantage coverage provider announced the move in an SEC filing. The company refused to comment on merger speculation, which increased when Humana also pulled out of a large health care conference.
Study: Some Hospitals Mark Up Prices More Than 10 Times Their Actual Costs
All but one of the 50 hospitals noted in the study for charging uninsured customers at this rate were owned by for-profit companies.
State Officials’ Health Law Stance Impacts Enrollment Rates, Study Says
A new report finds that the more a state embraces the Affordable Care Act through outreach and assistance programs, the better that state’s application rates and its residents’ experiences. Yet even in Kentucky, a state that embraced parts of the law, half of poor people say they have heard little about its benefits.
Judge Orders Federal Officials To Respond Today To Fla. Gov.’s Request On Hospital Funds
Gov. Rick Scott is seeking to have the dispute over a reduction in funding for hospitals serving large numbers of uninsured patients sent to mediation. The federal government says those hospitals would be better off if Florida expanded its Medicaid program. Also in Medicaid news, Arkansas quietly changes its program and Connecticut residents worry about cuts to come.
Few States Have Contingency Plans If High Court Voids Subsidies
Although millions of Americans could lose insurance if the Supreme Court rules against the administration, neither federal nor most state lawmakers have plans to deal with the potential fallout.
Obama Expresses Optimism About Outcome Of Pending Health Law Challenge
The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision this month regarding King v. Burwell, a case in which plaintiffs challenge the use of federal subsidies to buy insurance from healthcare.gov.
Government May Pay $50B For New Breakthrough Drugs, Study Estimates
According to a report by Avalere Health, a consulting firm, Medicare would bear the majority of the cost, spending $31.3 billion over the next 10 years on improved treatments for diseases like Hepatitis C and breast cancer. Medicaid is estimated to spend $15.8 billion on the drugs. Meanwhile, another report finds that health care costs may go up 6.5 percent next year.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Fla.’s ‘Foolish’ Suit On Hospital Funding; Help Rural Hospitals; ‘Surprise’ Bills
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
