Cuba Bets Big On An Old Antiviral As It Tries To Find Its Place Amid Global Treatment, Vaccine Race
May 14, 2020
Morning Briefing
The treatment has long been used internationally to treat dengue fever, cancer and hepatitis B and C. Studies during the SARS epidemic in 2003 suggested interferons might also be useful against coronaviruses. In other pharma news: patents, global remdesivir use, and hope from doctors.
Five Things We Found In The FDA’s Hidden Device Database
By Sydney Lupkin
June 27, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The Food and Drug Administration released two decades of previously hidden data containing millions of injuries or malfunctions by medical devices. Here’s what we’ve learned so far.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Conscience’ Rules, Rx Prices and Still More Medicare
May 9, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Joanne Kenen of Politico, Jen Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the latest news about the Trump administration’s effort to allow health care practitioners and organizations to refuse to provide care or refer patients for services that violate their conscience or religion. Also this week, the administration orders TV ads for prescription drugs to include list prices. And Tennessee wants free rein from the federal government to run its Medicaid program. Plus, Rovner interviews Joan Biskupic, author of a new book on Chief Justice John Roberts, about the behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to the 2012 ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Purveyors Of Black-Market Pharmaceuticals Target Immigrants
By John M. Glionna
September 16, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Illegal medications, sold in immigrant communities around the United States, can cause serious harm to consumers, authorities say. Law enforcement officers are cracking down, but some think more must be done.
They May Owe Nothing — Half-Million-Dollar Dialysis Bill Canceled
By Jenny Gold
July 26, 2019
KFF Health News Original
After reporting by KHN, NPR and CBS, Fresenius has agreed to waive a Montana man’s huge bill for out-of-network dialysis care.
Starving Seniors: How America Fails To Feed Its Aging
By Laura Ungar Trudy Lieberman
September 3, 2019
KFF Health News Original
One out of every 13 older Americans struggles to find enough food to eat while the federal program intended to help hasn’t kept pace with the graying population.
UnitedHealth To Offer Modest Relief For Plan Members With $1.5B Worth Of Premium Credits
May 7, 2020
Morning Briefing
Insurers are weathering the pandemic better than expected, since their costs for elective procedures plummeted. “People are hurting right now,” said UnitedHealth CEO David Wichmann when announcing the insurance company’s decision.
With ACA’s Future In Peril, California Reins In Rising Health Insurance Premiums
By Barbara Feder Ostrov Ana B. Ibarra
July 9, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Premiums will grow by an average of 0.8% next year on the state health insurance exchange. Officials cite two new policies for the relatively low rate hike: a new state tax penalty on Californians who don’t have health insurance coupled with state-based tax credits to help enrollees afford their premiums, including middle-income people who make too much money to qualify for federal financial aid.
California Gov. Newsom Proposes Penalty To Fund Health Insurance Subsidies
By Samantha Young Ana B. Ibarra
June 4, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to help an estimated 850,000 Californians pay their health insurance premiums and would fund his plan with a tax penalty on people who don’t have coverage. If he succeeds, California would be the first state to subsidize middle-income people who make too much to qualify for federal financial aid.
When A Doctor’s Screen Time Detracts From Face Time With Patients
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
July 24, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Electronic health records can help reduce medical errors, but when not used well they can strain the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Wei Wei Lee, an internist with the University of Chicago Medicine, has developed strategies to make sure tech is a tool, not a barrier.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Could The ACA Really Go Away?
July 11, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Is the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional? That was the question before a federal appeals court in New Orleans this week. Two of the three judges on the panel seemed inclined to agree with a lower court that the elimination of the tax penalty for failure to maintain coverage could mean the entire health law should fall. Also this week, President Donald Trump wants to improve care for people with kidney disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus courts blocking efforts to require drug prices in TV ads and to kick Planned Parenthood out of the federal family planning program. Plus, Rovner interviews University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley about the latest legal threat to the ACA.
At This Summer Camp, Struggling With A Disability Is The Point
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
August 13, 2019
KFF Health News Original
At a camp for kids in Nashville, physical therapists use “constraint-induced movement therapy.” It makes life tougher, temporarily, in hopes of strengthening the campers’ ability to navigate the world.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
By Brianna Labuskes
October 11, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Trump Threatens To Permanently Cut Off Funding To WHO After China Pledges $2B To Help Fight Virus
May 19, 2020
Morning Briefing
American officials decried Chinese President Xi Jinping’s decision to contribute $2 billion to the global efforts to contain the pandemic as an attempt by China to forestall closer scrutiny of whether it hid information about the outbreak to the world. Late on Monday, President Donald Trump released a scathing letter that laid out his grievances with both WHO and China, both popular targets for the president in recent weeks.
Hill Hodgepodge: Pelosi Draws From Democrats, GOP And Trump For Drug Plan
By Emmarie Huetteman
September 20, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The House speaker announced her plan for lowering drug prices, which includes negotiations between drugmakers and federal health officials.
Lawmakers Just Sent $484B Bill To Trump But They Are Already Gearing Up For Next Battle Royale
April 24, 2020
Morning Briefing
The fourth stimulus package was meant to supplement the depleted fund to help small businesses, but Democrats fought to include money for hospitals and expanded testing as well. This bill took longer to negotiate than the previous three, and it could be the last measure that gets through without an intense and public political fight.
KHN’s ‘What The Health’: Who Will Pay To Fix Problem Of Surprise Medical Bills?
June 13, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Lawmakers and patients want to eliminate “surprise” out-of-network medical bills. Hospitals, doctors and insurers say they want to eliminate them, too, but their opposition to one another’s proposals could complicate legislative efforts. Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus the latest in news about reproductive health and health care sharing ministries.
Watch: ACA’s Future And ‘Medicare-For-All’ Front And Center As Candidates Line Up For 2020
April 16, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News talks about the court case challenging the Affordable Care Act and Democratic proposals to expand Medicare on C-SPAN and NPR.
In Rural Utah, Preventing Suicide Means Meeting Gun Owners Where They Are
By Erik Neumann, KUER
August 28, 2019
KFF Health News Original
In Utah, 85% of deaths from firearms are suicides. To help people who might be vulnerable, outreach workers are discussing suicide prevention at gun shows and firearms classes.
‘Stonewall Generation’ Confronts Old Age, Sickness — And Discrimination
By JoNel Aleccia Melissa Bailey
May 22, 2019
KFF Health News Original
For a generation of LGBTQ people who lived through unprecedented social change, getting older poses new challenges — lack of services, discrimination, neglect and even abuse.
