This Dental Device Was Sold to Fix Patients’ Jaws. Lawsuits Claim It Wrecked Their Teeth.
By Brett Kelman Anna Werner, CBS News
March 1, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A dental device called AGGA has been used on about 10,000 patients without FDA approval or proof that it works. In lawsuits, patients report irreparable harm. The AGGA’s inventor and manufacturer have denied all liability in court.
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.
Kaiser Permanente’s Third Quarter Finances Show $1.5B Loss
November 7, 2022
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, a financially-troubled Mississippi hospital failed to reach a deal with a medical campus that was planning to take over the facility, AP reports. In other news, Microsoft has an AI tool that transcribes doctor-patient discussions, at the expense of sharing sensitive info with tech giants.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Walz Record
August 8, 2024
Podcast
Vice President Kamala Harris this week officially became the Democratic nominee for president and named Minnesota governor and former U.S. congressman Tim Walz as her running mate. Meanwhile, a new study finds the number of abortions taking place since the overturn of “Roe v. Wade” continued to rise into early this year, despite the imposition of abortion bans around the country. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
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.
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.
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.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, June 16, 2022
June 16, 2022
Morning Briefing
Thursday’s roundup covers medical debt, covid vaccines, 340B payments, abortion, monkeypox, baby formula, guns, forever chemicals, and more.
Patent Battle Over Generic Versions Of Gilead HIV Drug Settled
September 13, 2022
Morning Briefing
Five drugmakers had proposed generic versions of Gilead’s HIV and hepatitis B drugs and are now licensed to sell them from around 2031 onward. Also in the news: Medicare advantage star ratings, and more.
Readers and Tweeters Weigh In on Medical Debt, the Obesity Epidemic, and Opioid Battles
June 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: How to Avoid a Big Bill for Your COVID Test
By Dan Weissmann
November 30, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Tests for the coronavirus are supposed to be free. And, usually, they are. But sometimes … things happen. Here’s how to avoid getting a surprise bill for a test.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': End-of-Year Chaos on Capitol Hill
December 19, 2024
Podcast
Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate successfully negotiated an enormous end-of-Congress health package, including bipartisan efforts to address prescription drug prices — only to see it blown up at the last minute after Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump applied pressure. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court accepted its first abortion-related case of the term, and the attorney general of Texas sued a doctor in New York for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas patient. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF President and CEO Drew Altman about what happened in health policy in 2024 and what to expect in 2025.
