A Covid Test Medicare Scam May Be a Trial Run for Further Fraud
By Susan Jaffe
May 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Before the covid-19 public health emergency ended, Medicare advocates around the country noticed a rise in complaints from beneficiaries who received at-home covid tests they never requested. Bad actors may have used seniors’ Medicare information to improperly bill the federal government — and could do it again, say federal investigators.
A Guide to Help You Keep Up With the Omicron Subvariants
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
May 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
How different are the seemingly endless stream of emerging omicron subvariants from one another and how protected are we?
Three Things About the Abortion Debate That Many People Get Wrong
By Julie Rovner
July 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The commonly repeated myths include arguments that only women who are pregnant are affected by the decision overturning Roe v. Wade, that Democratic lawmakers could have codified abortion protections before, and that Congress can easily get rid of federal laws restricting abortion.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Health Spending? Only Congress Knows
December 15, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Top negotiators in Congress have agreed to a framework for government spending into next year, but there are details to iron out before a vote — such as the scheduled Medicare payment cuts that have providers worried. Also, the Biden administration reopens its program allowing Americans to request free covid-19 home tests, as hopes for pandemic preparedness measures from Congress dim. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
As Big Pharma and Hospitals Battle Over Drug Discounts, Patients Miss Out on Millions in Benefits
By Sarah Jane Tribble Emily Featherston, InvestigateTV
November 16, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The number of pharmacies dispensing 340B discounted drugs soared to more than 31,000 this year. Drugmakers struck back by halting some discounts. Hospitals say they are losing millions of dollars — and cutting back services to patients — as a result.
Community Health Centers’ Big Profits Raise Questions About Federal Oversight
By Phil Galewitz Bram Sable-Smith
August 15, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Nonprofit federally funded health centers are a linchpin in the nation’s health care safety net because they treat the medically underserved. The average profit margin is 5%, but some have recorded margins of 20% or more in three of the past four years.
Ex-Eye Bank Workers Say Pressure, Lax Oversight Led to Errors
By Madelyn Beck, WyoFile Rae Ellen Bichell
November 20, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Corneas, the windshields of the eye, are the most transplanted part of the human body. But four former employees at Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank told of numerous retrieval problems, including damage to eyes and removal from the wrong body.
Guía para entender a las subvariantes de ómicron
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
May 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
¿Qué tan diferentes son estas subvariantes entre sí? ¿Puede la infección por una subvariante proteger a alguien de la infección por otra? Y, ¿qué tan bien funcionan contra estas variantes las vacunas que se desarrollaron antes de la aparición de ómicron?
Hospitals Divert Primary Care Patients to Health Center ‘Look-Alikes’ to Boost Finances
By Phil Galewitz
Photos by Heidi de Marco
September 9, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Medicare and Medicaid pay “look-alike” health centers significantly more than hospitals for treating patients, and converting or creating clinics can help hospitals reduce their expenses.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Judicial Body Blow to the ACA
March 30, 2023
Podcast
A federal judge in Texas has dealt a big setback to the Affordable Care Act. The same judge who tried in 2018 to declare the entire ACA unconstitutional has now ruled that the law’s main provisions for preventive care are unconstitutional and, therefore, unenforceable nationwide. Also this week, North Carolina became the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Redes sociales alimentan obsesión por las drogas para bajar de peso, sin hablar de riesgos
By Darius Tahir Hannah Norman
April 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
La competencia para hacerse con un mercado que podría valer $100.000 millones al año, solo para los fabricantes de medicamentos, ha desencadenado una ola de publicidad que preocupa a las autoridades sanitarias y médicos de todo el mundo.
Reclaman revisar viejas restricciones que previenen que hombres gay y bisexuales donen tejidos
By Rae Ellen Bichell
May 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Defensores piden que las pautas para los tejidos donados por hombres gays y bisexuales sean las mismas que aplican al resto del cuerpo humano.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, December 10, 2024
December 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Uninsured rates, UnitedHealthcare shooting arrest, Trump’s health nominees, 340B discounts, weight loss drugs, aging at home, and more.
No-Cost Preventive Services Are Now in Jeopardy. Here’s What You Need to Know.
By Julie Appleby
April 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A federal judge’s recent ruling on the Affordable Care Act is by no means the final word. Even parsing its impact is complicated. Here are key issues to watch as the case works its way through the legal system.
A Trans Teen No Longer Feels Welcome in Florida. So She Left.
By Stephanie Colombini, WUSF
May 25, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Josie sensed Florida lawmakers were threatening her health care and ability to be herself at school. So she left. Families of other trans youth are plotting exits as well.
After a Brief Pandemic Reprieve, Rural Workers Return to Life Without Paid Leave
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
January 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Coastal and politically progressive states have passed stronger paid sick and family leave policies, but many workers in rural America are left out, facing tough decisions when choosing between caring for themselves or sick family members or keeping their jobs.
Movimientos en contra de las vacunas perjudican a los niños más vulnerables
By Amy Maxmen
March 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
La desinformación, junto con un movimiento por el derecho de los padres que aleja la toma de decisiones de la salud pública, ha contribuido a las tasas de vacunación infantil más bajas en una década.
Clinics Say State’s New Medicaid Drug Program Will Force Them to Cut Services
By Samantha Young
January 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
On Jan. 1, California started buying prescription drugs for its nearly 14 million Medicaid enrollees, a responsibility that had primarily been held by managed-care insurance plans. State officials estimate California will save hundreds of millions of dollars by flexing its purchasing power, but some health clinics expect to lose money.
It’s ‘Telehealth vs. No Care’: Doctors Say Congress Risks Leaving Patients Vulnerable
By Sarah Jane Tribble
January 31, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Congress’ $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package included a two-year extension of pandemic-era funding that helped telehealth services grow nationwide. But that cash bridge, embraced by those delivering services to patients in rural areas, doesn’t provide much certainty for the future of remote medicine.
Por qué el sarampión, la tos ferina y otras enfermedades graves podrían resurgir con RFK Jr.
By Arthur Allen
December 6, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Expertos afirman que una confluencia de factores podría causar el resurgimiento de epidemias mortales de enfermedades como el sarampión, la tos ferina y la meningitis, o incluso de polio.
