Latest KFF Health News Stories
Details Emerge Regarding Personalities Involved In FDA Flap
The Wall Street Journal reports on the latest developments.
Washington – Site Of Global Conference – Focuses On Testing For HIV, Fights Stigma
Next week, the District of Columbia will host the global AIDS conference, making the city’s own personal struggle to control the epidemic especially poignant. The NewsHour reports on these efforts.
Reid Blocks Latest GOP Effort To Repeal Health Law
Senate Republicans had advanced the repeal effort as an amendment to the Bring Jobs Home Act. Meanwhile, House conservatives, who have also pressed to undo the health law, say state lawmakers now may be on the frontlines of the fight.
Viewpoints: Creating An HIV-Free Generation; Postal Service’s Struggle Over Retiree Health Benefits
A collection of editorials and opinions on health care issues from around the nation.
UnitedHealth: Higher Earnings Despite Pressuers On Medicare, Medicaid Business
The Minnesota-based insurer said second-quarter earnings rose 5.5 percent but stock falls on the company’s report of tough rate environment.
When Checks And Balances In The Pharmaceutical Marketplace Fall Short
The Washington Post explores how a trio of very expensive anemia drugs became “superstars” in the marketplace. Also, The Wall Street Journal tracks the process by which certain fake cancer drugs found their way into the United States.
Walgreen, Express Scripts Reach Deal To Renew Relationship
Walgreen and Express Scripts will again do business together, allowing hundreds of thousands of Express Scripts customers to get prescriptions from Walgreens, starting again in September. In other news, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay as much as $2.2 billion to resolve a marketing investigation.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health reform efforts.
According to a Congressional Research Service memo, the Supreme Court’s recent health law decision only touches the new Medicaid expansion provision of the health law, not penalty requirements associated with the existing program. Meanwhile, Politico Pro offers a list of states to watch as the expansion efforts continue.
State Roundup: Texas Medicaid Fraud Probes Use Controversial Tool
A selection of health policy stories from Texas, Michigan, Oregon, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maine, Ohio and Colorado.
HHS Report: Hospitals Fall Short In Meeting Error Reporting Requirements
The government report says the failure to report medical errors hampers providers’ ability to identify and fix preventable problems. Meanwhile, new Medicare data shows hospitals are making little progress in reducing preventable readmissions.
Research Roundup: Gastric Bypass Costs, Paying For Psychotherapy
This week’s studies come from the Archives of Surgery, Health Services Research and the Annals of Emergency Medicine, as well as other outlets.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports from the presidential campaign trail and from the health care marketplace.
Polling Indicates Americans Still Divided On Health Law
An NPR poll shows that a slight majority – 51 percent – favored amending rather than doing away with the health law. A Quinnipiac poll in Virginia found that 50 percent of respondents said Congress should repeal the overhaul.
Frist Urges State Leaders To Move Quickly On State-Based Exchanges
In an op-ed published Wednesday in “The Week,” former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who is also a surgeon, suggested that GOP governors rethink their rejection of the online insurance markets called for in the health law.(Frist is a member of The Kaiser Family Foundation board. KHN is an editorially independent project of the foundation.)
Scalia says press reports of a clash between him and the chief justice on the health law ruling are wrong.
The health law’s insurance exchanges make news in Michigan, where the governor won’t get House approval to start work on the marketplace, and in Oregon, where the exchange board eyes a communication campaign to help insure people.
Maine Governor’s Medicaid Plan Could Lead To ‘Direct Confrontation’ With Feds
Gov. Paul LePage views the recent Supreme Court health law decision as license to make deep cuts to Maine’s Medicaid rolls. Meanwhile, in news related to the Medicaid expansion, Arkansas officials estimate future savings of $372 million if it proceeds with the expansion.
Survey: Medicare Beneficiaries Happier With Coverage Than Younger People On Private Plans
The poll results, published in Health Affairs, found that 8 percent of seniors said their coverage was “fair” or “poor” while 20 percent of those with a plan offered through work said that.
States Draw Stark Lines On Abortion With Lawsuits And Legislation
State laws — 40 of them in 15 states — are making it harder to get an abortion in the U.S., according to a new report. Meanwhile, a House panel approves new measure to curb abortion in the District of Columbia.
