Watch: When a Surprise Helper During Surgery Is Out-of-Network
July 27, 2020
KFF Health News Original
“CBS This Morning” features the July installment of KHN-NPR’s Bill of the Month about a surgical assistant’s out-of-network bill for helping during knee surgery.
Becerra Tells Medicare To Review Premiums After Aduhelm Price Drop
January 11, 2022
Morning Briefing
The demand from Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is “highly unusual,” Stat reports. Becerra’s actions could lead to lower Medicare Part B costs — after standard premiums jumped 15% for 2022.
Listen: Tough Talk On Capitol Hill
By Julie Rovner
May 15, 2020
KFF Health News Original
KHN’s Julie Rovner joined other journalists on Friday’s ‘On Point’ broadcast to talk about health news, including states relaxing their stay-at-home orders and Capitol Hill hearings featuring testimony before Congress by Drs. Anthony Fauci and Rick Bright.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Senators Have Mental Health Crises, Too
February 23, 2023
Podcast
When U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression this month, he got an unusual reaction from his colleagues in Congress: compassion. It’s a far cry from how politicians once kept their mental health issues under wraps at all costs. Meanwhile, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is stirring up controversy by proposing that all politicians over age 75 be required to pass a mental competency test to hold office. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Oklahoma House Passes Anti-Abortion Bill Like Texas’, Only Stricter
May 20, 2022
Morning Briefing
Under the new law, “fertilization” is defined as the moment egg and sperm meet, and it also prohibits medicine-induced abortions (beyond when Plan B pills work). The bill moved to the desk of Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is expected to sign it. For more longer-read stories about abortion and the current threat to reproductive health in the U.S., scroll down to our Weekend Reading section.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Still Waiting for That Trump Health Plan
August 6, 2020
KFF Health News Original
President Donald Trump keeps promising a comprehensive plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. And he keeps not delivering. Meanwhile, members of Congress and White House officials seem unable to agree on a new COVID-19 relief bill. And Missouri becomes the sixth state where voters approved a Medicaid expansion ballot measure. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Transition Interrupted
November 12, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Former Vice President Joe Biden is now the president-elect nearly everywhere but inside the Trump administration, where the president refuses to concede and has ordered officials not to begin a formal transition. That is a particular problem for health care as the COVID-19 pandemic surges. Meanwhile, there’s good news on the vaccine front, but it’s unlikely one will arrive by winter. And the ACA was back before the Supreme Court — again. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Shefali Luthra of the 19th News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: High Court’s Surprising Abortion Decision
June 29, 2020
KFF Health News Original
In a decision that surprised both sides of the polarized abortion debate, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that would require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times join KHN’s Julie Rovner to break down what happened, what comes next and how this case could provide a clue to the one challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
By Sarah Jane Tribble
September 29, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Listen to “Where It Hurts,” each episode debuting on Tuesdays, from Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
Sex Abuse Survivors Reject Boy Scouts’ $2.7B Payout Offer
January 5, 2022
Morning Briefing
Seventy-five percent of the nearly 54,000 claimants in the case needed to approve the payout, but just 73% did. Meanwhile, as the surprise medical billing law comes into effect, some lawmakers are already pushing for changes to the process, to “line up” with what they say was Congress’ intent.
COVID Crackdowns at Work Have Saved Black and Latino Lives, LA Officials Say
By Anna Almendrala
October 15, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Strict enforcement of coronavirus protocols at factories and shops where some of the worst outbreaks have occurred has reduced the racial and ethnic disparities in COVID deaths and illness, say public health officials. They want to expand the effort by creating workplace safety councils.
Republican Convention, Day 2: Pomp, the Pandemic and Planned Parenthood
By the staffs of KHN and PolitiFact
August 26, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Tuesday night’s speakers offered positive views on President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic. The first lady and Trump, himself, took advantage of the trappings of the White House in setting the scene.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: The $7,000 COVID Test And Other Lessons From SEASON-19
By Dan Weissmann
June 1, 2020
KFF Health News Original
“An Arm and a Leg” wraps an all-COVID podcast season with three different perspectives on what the pandemic is costing us — and what might come next.
Cities Brace For ‘Collision Course’ Of Heat Waves And COVID-19
By Brett Dahlberg, WXXI
June 25, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Rochester, New York, and other cities have already weathered the first blasts of excessive heat, and they have done it while cooling centers and spray parks have been closed due to the pandemic.
Trump Administration Approves First Medicaid Block Grant, in Tennessee
By Phil Galewitz
January 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The plan, long endorsed by conservatives, would give the state broad authority in running the health insurance program for the poor in exchange for capping its annual federal funding.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Protests And The Pandemic
June 4, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The outrage over the death of an African American man, George Floyd, after he was restrained and knelt on by Minneapolis police officers has sparked national protests, including in places where the coronavirus is still spreading. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s attempt to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization could have ramifications for Americans. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Mary Agnes Carey of KHN and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews Jonathan Oberlander, a University of North Carolina health policy professor and the editor of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, about articles examining the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of health inequity and structural racism.
Watch: Teaching Teens How To Navigate Racism In America
June 26, 2020
KFF Health News Original
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony appeared on KSDK’s “Today in St. Louis” with host Rene Knott to discuss the unwritten rules that Black teens learn to try to safely navigate other people’s racist assumptions.
2022 Medicare Advantage Sign Ups Jump 9% On Last Year
January 18, 2022
Morning Briefing
Reports say that there’s been an 8.8% rise in Medicare Advantage enrollments, as of Jan. 1, over the same period last year. But while most beneficiaries in Parts A and B are expected to join Advantage plans by next year, the spending may still outpace traditional paid health costs.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Plans To Add $3.4B For Health Care Research
December 8, 2021
Morning Briefing
The Facebook founder and his wife are adding the money to their charitable foundation over 15 years. In other health industry news, United Healthcare loses a $60 million lawsuit, and Centene settles with the state of Kansas with a $28 million payment.
Adults Under 60 Should Get Hepatitis B Vaccine, CDC Panel Recommends
November 4, 2021
Morning Briefing
Tens of millions of people, mainly in the 30 to 59 age group, may be advised to get hepatitis B shots (with people below 30 largely covered, after a 1991 decision to vaccinate kids). Separately, scientists uncover why some people have Alzheimer’s-risk brain chemistry, but no dementia.
