Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant in Rural America
By Markian Hawryluk
December 17, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.
Medicare Cuts 2024 Payments For Safety Net Hospitals By Almost $1B
August 4, 2023
Morning Briefing
The CMS cut of $957 million to a fund destined to help pay hospitals that treat poor and uninsured patients is more than eight times larger than one proposed in April, Stat says. Also in the news: Cigna reports a net income fall, people want weight-loss drugs despite the costs, and more.
Long Wait for Justice: People in Jail Face Delays for Mental Health Care Before They Can Stand Trial
By Andy Miller Rebecca Grapevine
June 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
People in jail who have serious mental illness and cannot stand trial because of their condition are waiting months, or even more than a year, to get into their state psychiatric hospitals.
Medicare Could Save $245B Over A Decade If It Covered Obesity Drugs
August 3, 2023
Morning Briefing
Axios reports on a startling statistic from new research, showing how much taxpayer money could be saved over 10 years if Medicare covered weight-loss meds. Meanwhile, Stat reports that the popularity of the GLP-1 drugs has “alarmed” insurers, and patients are braced for them to halt coverage.
His-and-Hers Cataract Surgeries, But His Bill Was 20 Times as Much
By Angela Hart
Photos by Heidi de Marco
June 27, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Whether a simple operation is performed under the auspices of a hospital or at an independent surgery center can make a huge difference in cost.
Plan to Fix Postal Service Shifts New Retirees to Medicare — Along With Billions in Costs
By Michael McAuliff
February 25, 2022
KFF Health News Original
After a years-long bitter partisan fight over reforming the U.S. Postal Service’s finances and service, congressional leaders say they have a compromise. The bill, which has won endorsements from both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, would force future Postal Service retirees to use Medicare as their primary source of health coverage.
Como se esperaba, conservadores de la Corte Suprema terminan con el derecho al aborto
By Julie Rovner
June 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
El presidente Joe Biden dijo que estaba en total desacuerdo con el fallo. “Es un día triste para la corte y para el país”, dijo. “La salud y la vida de las mujeres en esta nación ahora están en riesgo”.
Why Nurses Are Raging and Quitting After the RaDonda Vaught Verdict
By Brett Kelman Hannah Norman
April 5, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The former Tennessee nurse faces prison time for a fatal error. Reaction from her peers was swift and fierce on social media and beyond ― and it isn’t over.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Maybe It’s a Health Care Election After All
March 14, 2024
Podcast
Health care wasn’t expected to be a major theme for this year’s elections. But as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured their respective party nominations this week, the future of both Medicare and the Affordable Care Act appears to be up for debate. Meanwhile, the cyberattack of the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Change Healthcare continues to do damage to the companies’ finances with no quick end in sight. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kelly Henning of Bloomberg Philanthropies about a new, four-part documentary series on the history of public health, “The Invisible Shield.” Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Researchers Link Chronic Constipation With Cognitive Decline
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
A study finds that defecation frequency may impact cognitive function. Also in the news, the benefits of maternal strep B vaccines, health care disruptions linked to preventable hospital admissions, and goals of building a real-life “bionic” person.
Study: Arthritis Drug Boosts Effect Of ‘Morning-After’ Pill For Up To 3 Days
August 17, 2023
Morning Briefing
Researchers found that using piroxicam, a common arthritis anti-inflammatory drug, with Levonorgestrel, or Plan B, significantly increased the typical effectiveness window of 24 hours. In other news, Facebook’s parent company is criticized for rating reproductive health for adults-only.
Abuse Reports Of ‘Reproductive Coercion’ Doubled After Roe Ended
October 19, 2023
Morning Briefing
New data from the National Domestic Violence Hotline show in the yearlong period after the end of Roe v. Wade, there was a near doubling of domestic violence reports involving reproductive coercion. Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has self-funded a national abortion access effort.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Contemplating a Post-‘Roe’ World
February 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In anticipation of the Supreme Court rolling back abortion rights this year, both Democrats and Republicans are arguing among themselves over how best to proceed to either protect or restrict the procedure. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health insurance when the federal government declares an end to the current “public health emergency.” Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Jay Hancock, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a couple whose insurance company deemed their twins’ stay in intensive care not an emergency.
Tres cosas sobre el debate del aborto que se entienden mal
By Julie Rovner
July 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Uno de los mitos: que la decisión de la Corte Suprema afecta solo a las mujeres que quieren realizarse el procedimiento, cuando en realidad afecta a toda la salud reproductiva.
Anti-Vaccine Ideology Gains Ground as Lawmakers Seek to Erode Rules for Kids’ Shots
By Sandy West
April 21, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Legislators in Kansas are pushing bills to expand exemptions for school vaccines, allowing religious exemptions for all vaccine requirements in the state’s schools without families having to provide any proof of their beliefs. Similar bills are being introduced around the nation as the anti-vaccine movement gains traction among politicians.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Not-So-Health-y GOP Debate
August 24, 2023
Podcast
The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 cycle took place without front-runner Donald Trump — and with hardly a mention of health issues save for abortion. Meanwhile, in Florida, patients dropped from the Medicaid program are suing the state for not giving them enough notice or a way to contest their being dropped from the program. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Despite Doctors’ Concerns, Pharmacists Get More Leeway to Offer Treatment With Testing
By Michelle Andrews
March 31, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In the battle against covid, pharmacies became a key place for consumers to seek vaccines and testing. Some states are expanding pharmacists’ work to include directly prescribing drugs for customers who seek some routine, point-of-care tests, such as those for flu or strep throat. But doctor groups oppose the move.
CMS Releases Final Rule That Would Cut Doctor And Hospital Pay Next Year
November 3, 2023
Morning Briefing
The final regulation is in line with proposed payment cuts that were published over the summer. Many doctors can expect to see a decrease in their reimbursements, unless Congress steps in. CMS also released another Medicare rule that moves forward with a plan to claw back funds from some hospitals to compensate for 340B overpayments.
Why Medicare Doesn’t Pay for Rapid At-Home Covid Tests
By Michelle Andrews
January 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The laws governing Medicare don’t provide coverage for self-administered diagnostic tests, which is precisely what the rapid antigen tests are and why they are an important tool for containing the pandemic.
Medicare Enrollment Blitz Doesn’t Include Options to Move Into Medigap
By Harris Meyer
November 9, 2021
KFF Health News Original
TV ads and mailings targeting seniors tout Medicare Advantage plans this time of year, but millions choosing traditional Medicare make a costly and difficult decision about Medigap coverage, which gets much less attention.
