Trump Highlights Health Agenda With Vow To Lower ‘Unfair’ Drug Prices
By Julie Rovner
February 6, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The president laid out a series of goals, including lowering prescription prices, pursuing an end to the HIV epidemic and boosting funding for childhood cancers.
HHS Finalizes Rule Seeking To Expel Planned Parenthood From Family Planning Program
By Julie Rovner
February 22, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The new regulation would drop previous rules for the Title X program requiring that women with unintended pregnancies be told about all options, including abortion. It would also mandate that organizations separate facilities providing federally funded services from those providing abortions.
Drugmakers Betting Big On Gene Therapy By Investing Combined $2B Into Manufacturing Pricey Treatments
December 2, 2019
Morning Briefing
And Pfizer and Novartis are leading the pack. The risks involved with drugmakers building their own manufacturing plants are big but so are the potential rewards. In other pharmaceutical news: a high-stakes bet on heart drugs, an invite-only club for biotech CEOs, President Donald Trump’s importation plan, and more.
California Looks To Lead Nation In Unraveling Childhood Trauma
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
March 6, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The Golden State, in a movement spearheaded by its first-ever surgeon general, stands to become a vanguard for the nation in tracing adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, to the onset of physical and mental illness. But what can a pediatrician, with her 15-minute time slots and extensive to-do list, do about the ills of an absent parent or a neighborhood riddled with gun violence?
Google Jumps Into Fitness Tracking Business With $2.1B Fitbit Acquisition
November 4, 2019
Morning Briefing
The entry into the crowded field marks the latest effort by tech giants to secure a piece of the lucrative wearables marketplace.
Poderosas voces interfieren con propuesta para hacer más difícil evitar las vacunas
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
June 14, 2019
KFF Health News Original
A medida que legisladores de California intentan normas de vacunación infantil más estrictas, se enfrentan con situaciones generadas por funcionarios de alto perfil que las apoyan.
After A Rural Hospital Closes, Delays In Emergency Care Cost Patients Dearly
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Photos by Christopher Smith
August 19, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The loss of the longtime hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., forces trauma patients to deal with changing services and expectations.
Mulvaney: Trump Brought Down Drug Prices For The First Time In 50 Years
By Shefali Luthra
April 15, 2019
KFF Health News Original
It’s “within spitting distance of something that’s true,” said one health economist. But our fact check found it wasn’t quite there.
A ‘Transformational Gift’: 3 Universities, Cleveland Clinic To Split $1B For Teaching, Research
November 14, 2019
Morning Briefing
Money from the sale of The Lord Corp. is being split evenly between Duke, MIT, USC and the Cleveland Clinic. The $261 million gifts to each institution, considered among the largest contributions ever given to universities, come with few restrictions. In other research funding news, Virginia Tech announces a venture with Children’s National Hospital.
Newsom Diverges Sharply From Washington With Health Care Budget
By Samantha Young and Ana B. Ibarra
January 11, 2019
KFF Health News Original
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made health care a priority in his proposed state budget, asking lawmakers to authorize state-funded financial aid for health insurance, impose a penalty on uninsured Californians and expand Medicaid coverage to unauthorized immigrants.
New Hospital In Stanford Opens With Pricey Cutting-Edge Tech, Promises To ‘Reduce Burdens On Patients, Staff’
November 18, 2019
Morning Briefing
But health care skeptics warn that robotic and other upgrades in the $2.1B facility will accelerate the rise of costs over time that would be passed down to patients. Health technology news is on a cost-cutting effort in Utah that pays off and privacy issues, as well
Constraining Specialists From Billing Out-Of-Network Prices Would Lower Health Spending By $40B A Year
December 17, 2019
Morning Briefing
Specialists like anesthesiologists have more power to negotiate higher in-network payments because they’re able to bill so much out-of-network. Limiting that power would have a significant effect on spending, a new study finds. Congress has been working to find a way to curb out-of-network surprise bills, but although they’ve made progress in recent weeks, nothing has passed yet.
Hospitales infantiles claman de nuevo por la ayuda de los votantes, pero ¿la necesitan?
By Ana B. Ibarra
October 18, 2018
KFF Health News Original
A pesar de la naturaleza positiva de estos pedidos, algunos expertos en salud y analistas electorales cuestionan que los hospitales le pidan dinero tantas veces a los contribuyentes.
Children’s Hospitals Again Cry For Help From Voters. But Are They Really Hurting?
By Ana B. Ibarra
October 18, 2018
KFF Health News Original
California’s 13 children’s hospitals are asking voters in November to approve $1.5 billion in bonds to help them pay for construction and equipment, the third such measure in 14 years. Some health care experts and election analysts believe the repeated financial requests aren’t justified.
Even Doctors Can’t Navigate Our ‘Broken Health Care System’
By Judith Graham
May 2, 2019
KFF Health News Original
A physician’s frustration navigating a medical emergency with his elderly father reveals a complex, dysfunctional system.
CMS Crafts Plan B Over 340B Hospital Reimbursement Cuts In Response To Judge’s Ruling
July 31, 2019
Morning Briefing
A federal judge earlier in the year blocked the Trump administration’s Medicare cuts to 340B hospitals, saying the new rates aren’t lawful for 2018 and 2019. However, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras did not grant hospitals the permanent injunction. Now CMS is walking a careful line with its new proposal. Other news from CMS involves hospital prices, transparency in quality information, patient data, and more.
Hospitals Check To See If Patients Are Donor-Worthy — Not Their Organs, But Pockets
By Phil Galewitz
January 28, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Hospitals often contract with market data firms to screen patients’ wealth. That software allows the hospitals to gauge patients’ propensity to donate based on public records, including property and stock ownership and campaign donations.
Planned Parenthood’s ‘Risky Strategy’ To Update Its Image
By Shefali Luthra and Anna Maria Barry-Jester
April 17, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The nation’s largest reproductive health services provider is in the midst of a high-stakes effort to showcase what it considers its vital role in providing community health care.
Meth Vs. Opioids: America Has Two Drug Epidemics, But Focuses On One
By April Dembosky, KQED
May 7, 2019
KFF Health News Original
In the West and Midwest, 70% of local law enforcement says meth is the bigger threat. It’s also a more difficult addiction to treat.
New Medicare Advantage Tool To Lower Drug Prices Puts Crimp In Patients’ Choices
By Susan Jaffe
September 17, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Federal officials are allowing the private insurance plans to use “step therapy” for drugs administered by doctors. In step therapy, patients must first use cheaper drugs to see if they work before receiving more expensive options.