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.
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.
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.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Congress Is Out. The Presidential Campaign Is In.
August 3, 2023
Podcast
Congress is in recess until after Labor Day, and lawmakers won’t have much time when they return to get the government funded before the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Republican campaign for president has begun in earnest, and while repealing the Affordable Care Act is no longer the top promise, some candidates have lively ideas about what to do with federal health programs. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Phil Galewitz, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month,” about how a bill that should never have been sent created headaches for one patient.
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.
Watch: Young Man Faces Medical Bankruptcy — Even With Insurance
October 2, 2020
KFF Health News Original
“CBS This Morning” tells the story of Matthew Fentress, a young man who has had serious heart disease for six years. It’s the latest story in the ongoing crowdsourced Bill of the Month investigation.
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.
Some Illinois Prisoners Remain In Jail Despite New Medical Release Law
September 5, 2023
Morning Briefing
AP reports that although it’s been over a year since the Coleman Act went into effect, an investigation found fewer prisoners have been released than expected, thereby remaining in jail even though they are dying or disabled. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker defended the numbers in a press conference.
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.
Many Women Mistreated By Medical Staff During Pregnancy, Survey Finds
August 23, 2023
Morning Briefing
Of about 2,400 women polled, 20% reported that they had been verbally abused, had their requests for help go unanswered, had their physical privacy infringed upon, or received threats to withhold treatment, the CDC survey found. Plus, news on breast cancer, Plan B, abortion in Illinois, and more.
Next Year’s Medicare Part B Premiums Will Drop 3%
September 28, 2022
Morning Briefing
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that 2023 Medicare Part B premiums would drop 3% — the first time in a decade that has happened. The Biden administration says the decrease is primarily due to expected savings on prescription drugs with Medicare now able to negotiate some costs and limited coverage of Aduhelm.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 7: After a Rural Town Loses Hospital, Is a Health Clinic Enough?
By Sarah Jane Tribble
November 10, 2020
KFF Health News Original
In Fort Scott, Kansas, the Community Health Center’s big green-and-white sign replaced Mercy Hospital’s name on the front of the town’s massive medical building. In the final chapter of Season One: “No Mercy,” we have an appointment to see what’s inside.
Readers and Tweeters Diagnose Greed and Chronic Pain Within US Health Care System
January 19, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
White House Asks For $10B More To Battle Covid
November 16, 2022
Morning Briefing
The money is sought by the end of the year to go to new vaccines and treatments. But on Tuesday Senate lawmakers voted to end the federal covid emergency declaration. NBC News’ data analysis finds covid hospitalizations and deaths are falling in the U.S.
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.
Grupos de base lideran el camino para cerrar la brecha de mortalidad infantil en Colorado
By Rae Ellen Bichell
June 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Aunque Colorado se encuentra entre los estados más saludables del país, las disparidades en salud entre distintos grupos raciales y étnicos son visibles. Y un indicador clave es la mortalidad infantil.
What Happened When the Only ER Doctor in a Rural Town Got COVID
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio
December 4, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Hospitals across the country are struggling as staffers get infected with the coronavirus. It’s especially tough for small, rural hospitals, where even one doctor out sick can upend patient capacity.
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.
HHS’ $5B ‘Project NextGen’ Aims To Develop New Coronavirus Shots, Drugs
May 12, 2023
Morning Briefing
Axios reports that the majority of that funding will go to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for public-private partnerships — similar to the Operation Warp Speed model — to create next generation covid treatments and “pan-coronavirus vaccines.”