US Will Spend Over $2B To Back White House Biomanufacturing Plan
September 15, 2022
Morning Briefing
The plan, outlined with new details Wednesday, is about expanding drug manufacturing capabilities in the U.S., with an eye on future pandemic responses. Meanwhile, Roll Call notes “pandemic fatigue” may threaten funding efforts in the battle against monkeypox. The polio outbreak is also reported.
White House: It Could Take $7B To Combat Monkeypox
July 27, 2022
Morning Briefing
The nearly $7 billion estimate was presented to President Joe Biden as one of a number of different options to fund federal mitigation efforts. Meanwhile, the U.S. now has more monkeypox cases than anywhere else, and the first case in a pregnant woman has been reported.
Supreme Court Reinstates Medicare Drug Reimbursements To 340B Hospitals
June 16, 2022
Morning Briefing
Hospitals participating in the 340B program will be able to recoup billions in drug payments that Supreme Court justices unanimously decided were improperly cut. The Trump administration reduced the Medicare subsidies, and the Biden administration defended the policy.
Democrats’ Plans to Expand Medicare Benefits May Pinch Advantage Plans’ Funding
By Michelle Andrews
October 28, 2021
KFF Health News Original
As lawmakers weigh new spending provisions to cover dental, hearing and vision services for Medicare beneficiaries, a group supporting Medicare Advantage plans is airing commercials that raise concerns about the funding for those private plans.
Study Predicts Over 50% More Deaths From Liver Cancer By 2040
October 7, 2022
Morning Briefing
Analysis suggests cases of Hepatitis B and C, more alcohol usage, higher body weight, and more diabetes will be to blame. Separately, a slight drop in food poisonings from salmonella and listeria is reported, but pandemic restrictions are thought to have played a part in the fall.
Judge: HHS Must Restore Full 340B Drug Payments Until 2023
September 30, 2022
Morning Briefing
Modern Healthcare reports on a decision from District of Columbia Judge Rudolph Contreras, who found that a Health and Human Services Department lower reimbursement rate was “defective.” Meanwhile, Michigan joins efforts to crimp costs from contract travel nurses.
Despite Restraints, Democrats’ Drug Pricing Plan Could Still Aid Consumers
By Michael McAuliff
November 5, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A last-minute agreement among lawmakers restored a provision seeking to hold down rising costs of prescription medicines. Although details on which drugs will be targeted remain sketchy, the legislation would help patients buying insulin and cap Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year.
What Do We Really Know About Vaccine Effectiveness?
By Julie Appleby
November 2, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Reports of waning effectiveness and mixed messages about booster shots fuel the politicization of vaccination.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ACA Turns 14
March 21, 2024
Podcast
Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Have You Tried to Get Vaccinated?
January 29, 2021
Page
Cumbersome computer sign ups. Constant busy signals. Confusing messages from local health officials. These are just a few of the problems that KFF Health News readers report when trying to get vaccinated against covid-19.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': At GOP Convention, Health Policy Is Mostly MIA
July 18, 2024
Podcast
After an assassination attempt last weekend sent former President Donald Trump to the hospital with minor injuries, the Republican National Convention went off with little mention of health care issues. And Trump’s newly nominated vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, has barely staked out a record on health during his 18 months in office — aside from being strongly opposed to abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Renuka Rayasam, who wrote June’s installment of KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month,” about a patient who walked into what he thought was an urgent care center and walked out with an emergency room bill.
No hay que sufrir efectos secundarios con la vacuna contra covid para estar protegido
By Arthur Allen
April 28, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Si bien los síntomas muestran que el sistema inmune está respondiendo a la vacuna y que protegerá contra la enfermedad, las personas con pocos o ningún síntoma también estaban protegidas.
In Unusual Move, EU Blocks $7B Merger Of 2 American Biotech Firms
September 7, 2022
Morning Briefing
A U.S. judge had already approved the merger of Illumina, headquartered in San Diego, and Grail, which is based in Menlo Park, California. The European Union says the deal would stifle innovation in an emerging market for early cancer-detection blood tests, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Organ Centers to Transplant Patients: Get a Covid Shot or Move Down on Waitlist
By JoNel Aleccia
October 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
At issue is whether transplant patients who refuse the shots are not only putting themselves at greater risk for serious illness and death from covid-19, but also squandering scarce organs that could benefit others.
Biden Admin To Give $1.5B To States, Tribes To Help Fight Opioid Crisis
September 26, 2022
Morning Briefing
Along with the new funding, the Biden administration published new guidance to facilitate greater access to naloxone products, which treat opioid overdoses, and guidance for employers to create “Recovery-Ready Workplaces,” The Hill reported.
Student Nurses Who Refuse Vaccination Struggle to Complete Degrees
By Michelle Andrews
October 4, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration is requiring workers at health care facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments to be vaccinated. For the minority of nursing students who have refused a shot, the new policy could mean they can’t get the training they need in a hospital or other health care venue.
Biden Is Caught in the Middle of Polarizing Abortion Politics
By Julie Rovner
July 12, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The president, one of the last of a disappearing group of politicians who sought moderate compromises on abortion policy, is frustrating supporters. They wanted faster changes in federal rules. But abortion opponents — including Catholic bishops— are also taking him to task.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Our 200th Episode!
June 10, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The federal approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease has reignited the debate over drug prices and the way the Food and Drug Administration makes decisions. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden seeks to gain goodwill overseas as he announces the U.S. will provide 500 million doses of covid vaccine to international health efforts. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. And to mark the podcast’s 200th episode, the panelists discuss what has surprised them most and least over the past four years.
Funcionarios advierten sobre sitios de pruebas para covid de dudosa calidad
By Michelle Andrews
January 18, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Lo sitios de pruebas de covid han proliferado en casi todas las grandes ciudades. Pero no todos ofrecen un servicio de calidad. Cómo detectarlos.
Court Reinstates Tennessee’s 6-Week Abortion Ban
June 29, 2022
Morning Briefing
As Indiana and Iowa also look to roll back abortion access, Wisconsin’s attorney general is challenging the state’s 173-year-old ban. And birth control and Plan B controversy takes root in Missouri.
