Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Potentially Monumental Case Over Extent To Which States Can Regulate PBMs
January 13, 2020
Morning Briefing
Pharmacy benefits managers, the controversial middlemen in the drug pipeline, are a favorite target to blame for higher prescription drug costs. A Supreme Court decision on how much oversight states can place on PMBs could send shock waves through the debate over health care costs. In other pharmaceutical news: genetic testing and proprietary data, lax oversight of the 340B drug program, a startup with the possible answer to high drug costs, and more.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Trump, GOP Fight Back On Health Care
October 25, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Ollstein of Politico discuss a flurry of proposals from the Trump administration on prices Medicare pays for drugs and the Affordable Care Act.
Aspiring Doctors Seek Advanced Training In Addiction Medicine
By Will Stone, KJZZ
March 22, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Once a tiny specialty that drew mostly psychiatrists, addiction medicine is expanding its accredited training to include primary care residents and “social justice warriors” who see it as a calling.
Readers And Tweeters Take Dialysis Providers To Task: Nowhere But In The USA
August 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Low-Income Californians Feel Twice The Burn From Wildfires
By Ana B. Ibarra
September 4, 2018
KFF Health News Original
People living near highways and agricultural and industrial zones get hit with a “double whammy” when smoke blows into their neighborhoods, where the air is often polluted already.
The Collapse Of A Hospital Empire — And Towns Left In The Wreckage
By Barbara Feder Ostrov Lauren Weber
Photos by Heidi de Marco
August 20, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Jorge A. Perez and his management company, EmpowerHMS, helped run an empire of rural hospitals. Now, in a staggering implosion, 12 of them have entered bankruptcy and eight have closed their doors, leaving hundreds of residents without jobs and their communities without lifesaving emergency medical care. So, what happened?
Two Crises In One: As Drug Use Rises, So Does Syphilis
By Anna Gorman
February 14, 2019
KFF Health News Original
A significant portion of syphilis transmission in heterosexuals occurs among people who use drugs, particularly methamphetamine, a new report shows. Public health officials warn that you can’t treat one problem without addressing the other.
Vaccine Storage Too Often Fails To Meet Standards
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
February 12, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Federal officials regulate the handling of vaccines that are provided through the Vaccines for Children program, which offers the medicines generally for children whose families could not afford them. But there is no federal oversight of how these drugs are stored among other health care providers.
Planned Parenthood To Spend $45M On 2020 Elections; Trump Gets Reward For Fulfilling Anti-Abortion Promises
January 17, 2020
Morning Briefing
Planned Parenthood said the $45 million will fund canvassing and grassroots operations, along with digital and TV ads in nine key states. “Our country is at a crossroads, but now it’s time for us to reclaim our power,” said Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes. Meanwhile, Susan B. Anthony List and its affiliated super PAC will launch a $52 million effort to reelect President Donald Trump, who scored big victories for the anti-abortion movement during his time in office.
A Parent-To-Parent Campaign To Get Vaccine Rates Up
By Alex Olgin, WFAE
February 25, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Kim Nelson started the group South Carolina Parents for Vaccines after learning that religious exemptions from vaccine requirements were way up in her community.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
By Brianna Labuskes
April 5, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
No Cash, No Heart. Transplant Centers Require Proof Of Payment.
By JoNel Aleccia
December 5, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The case of a Michigan woman told to fundraise $10,000 for a heart transplant sparked viral outrage, but experts say “wallet biopsies” are common.
Smaller States Worry Sweeping $48B Opioid Settlement Won’t Be Fairly Divided In Terms Of Need
October 25, 2019
Morning Briefing
States have been trying to hammer out a settlement with drug companies, but with so many voices in the conversation, it’s been tricky to find compromises that satisfy everyone’s concerns. “Any global opioid settlement that doesn’t reflect the unique and unprecedented damage imposed on West Virginia through the opioid epidemic should be DOA,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey tweeted. In other news on the opioid epidemic: hospitals take a page from the cities and states; overdose deaths go beyond fentanyl; and how doctors are avoiding pain patients.
Incendios forestales afectan el doble a californianos de bajos recursos
By Ana B. Ibarra
September 4, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Ya viven en vecindarios a pocas millas de fábricas y carreteras. Los incendios solo han agravado los problemas de salud de esta población vulnerable.
Medicare Eases Readmission Penalties Against Safety-Net Hospitals
By Jordan Rau
September 26, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Penalties will total $566 million for all hospitals. But many that serve a large share of low-income patients will lose less money than they did in previous years.
How Much Difference Will Eli Lilly’s Half-Price Insulin Make?
By Bram Sable-Smith
March 12, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Eli Lilly released a half-price generic version of its own short-acting insulin. At $137.35 per vial, the generic insulin is priced at about the same level as Humalog was in 2012.
FTC Likely To Prevail In Demands That Health Systems Report Information On Certificates Of Public Advantage
October 25, 2019
Morning Briefing
Section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which the FTC cited in its information demands, gives the agency broad investigative authority to demand information from companies for use in research, legal experts point out. Other health system and hospital news comes out of Florida, Illinois, New York, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Cáncer, qué importa. En California, el café sigue siendo el rey
By Ana B. Ibarra
August 31, 2018
KFF Health News Original
A pesar de la pasión de los californianos por el café, a los vendedores les preocupa que las advertencias sobre el cáncer publicadas en sus puertas no se vean exactamente como señales de bienvenida
Cancer, Schmancer. In California, Coffee Is King
By Ana B. Ibarra
August 31, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The Golden State, with the rare support of the Trump administration, is seeking to circumvent a court order that would require cancer warnings in every establishment that sells a hot cup of Joe.
Advocates Wary Of Google’s $2.1B Deal To Acquire Fitbit When Tech Giant Is Under Scrutiny For Antitrust Violations
November 6, 2019
Morning Briefing
As concerns mount over Google’s market power and gathering of health data, consumer groups and some lawmakers are calling for regulators to take a closer look. Google is looking for a stronger presence in wearables.
