California Scrambles To Contain ‘Unprecedented’ Hepatitis A Outbreaks
By Stephanie O'Neill
September 26, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Hundreds of people, most of them homeless, have been infected. In San Diego County, where 17 people have died, critics fault authorities for being slow to act.
As California Weighs Soda Warning Labels, Tax In Berkeley Shown To Dilute Sales
By Ana B. Ibarra
April 19, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Sales of sugary drinks dropped in the city by nearly 10 percent a year after tax took effect in 2015, while bottled water sales rose, researchers report.
GOP Bills To Replace Obamacare Do Not Tinker With Lawmakers’ Coverage
By Michelle Andrews
April 11, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Republicans are hoping to overhaul the federal health law. Among the law’s many provisions is a requirement that members of Congress and their staffs buy their health insurance on the law’s marketplaces.
Moms Of Children With Rare Genetic Illness Push For Wider Newborn Screening
By Anna Gorman
October 5, 2017
KFF Health News Original
California is one of only a handful of states nationwide that screens babies for the gene mutation that causes a rare brain disease — a test that dramatically increases a sick child’s chances of survival.
Everyone Says We Must Control Exorbitant Drug Prices. So, Why Don’t We?
By Jay Hancock
September 25, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Any momentum to address prescription drug costs has been lost amid rancorous debates over replacing Obamacare and stalled by roadblocks erected via lobbying and industry cash.
To Grow Market Share, A Drugmaker Pitches Its Product To Judges
By Jake Harper, Side Effects Public Media
August 4, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Some drug courts offer participants a full range of evidence-based treatment, including medication-assisted treatment. Others don’t allow addiction medications at all. And some permit just one: Vivitrol.
Follow The Money: Drugmakers Deploy Political Cash As Prices And Anger Mount
By Jay Hancock Elizabeth Lucas Sydney Lupkin
July 24, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Embattled opioid seller Mallinckrodt is one of many pharmaceutical companies boosting political contributions and lobbying on Capitol Hill.
Reactions To The GOP Health Bill: Voices From The States
May 10, 2017
KFF Health News Original
What will happen to people with preexisting conditions is one worry some Americans expressed; the high costs of insurance under Obamacare is another.
Health Insurers Try Paying More Upfront To Pay Less Later
By Mark Zdechlik, Minnesota Public Radio
July 17, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Some health plans are beginning to offer free maintenance care for people with chronic health problems, hoping that spending a little more early on will save a lot of money in the long run.
Hospitals Find Asthma Hot Spots More Profitable To Neglect Than Fix
By Jay Hancock Rachel Bluth Daniel Trielli
December 6, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Months of reporting and rich hospital data portray life in the worst asthma hot spot in one of the worst asthma cities: Baltimore. The medical system knows how to help. But there’s no money in it.
Move To End DACA Leaves Some Young Immigrants Fearing For Their Health
By Barbara Feder Ostrov Anna Gorman
September 6, 2017
KFF Health News Original
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program made it possible for young adults who came into the country illegally as children to get jobs with insurance and, in some states including California, Medicaid. Now that coverage is in peril.
Tension Heats Up On Capitol Hill Over Drug Discount Program As Cuts Go Into Effect
January 3, 2018
Morning Briefing
Hospitals and big pharma are waging a war over the 340B program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to give steep discounts to hospitals and clinics that serve high volumes of low-income patients.
Without Price Breaks, Rural Hospitals Struggle To Stock Costly, Lifesaving Drugs
By Sarah Jane Tribble
September 18, 2017
KFF Health News Original
A federal drug program blocks rural hospitals from getting discounts on rare-disease drugs, forcing staff to cut back on supplies of lifesaving medicines.
The Next Obamacare Battleground: Subsidies For Out-Of-Pocket Costs
By Ana B. Ibarra
March 31, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Exchange enrollees and insurers fret over a lawsuit that could end federal help with copays and deductibles.
A Community Seeks Answers, Assurances About Health Care — In 10 Languages
By Ana B. Ibarra Kellen Browning
June 5, 2017
KFF Health News Original
A forum for Asian immigrants in Oakland draws a crowd so large some attendees had to be seated in an overflow room. Many immigrants are eager for information relevant to them as changes to the health care system are debated in Washington.
La próxima batalla del Obamacare: subsidios para gastos de bolsillo
By Ana B. Ibarra
March 31, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Los subsidios que ayudan a las personas con sus copagos y deducibles, distintos a los créditos impositivos para pagar las primas, están en medio de una batalla legal luego de una demanda republicana.
Senate Bipartisan Bill To Curb Opioid Crisis Includes 3-Day Prescription Limit, $1B In Additional Funding
February 28, 2018
Morning Briefing
Lawmakers are aggressively ramping up their efforts to fight the nation’s drug epidemic. In addition to the new measure, chairs of the two primary health committees in Congress pledged to push more legislation within the next months.
Obamacare’s History Littered With Near-Death Experiences
By Julie Rovner
July 28, 2017
KFF Health News Original
The Affordable Care Act has repeatedly faced opposition in Congress and the courts, but it has continued to survive.
Senate Democrats Push For Additional $25B In Opioid Funding In Federal Budget
January 10, 2018
Morning Briefing
“Make no mistake: This is a national public health emergency, and we still don’t see a robust federal response. The current federal budget negotiations give us an opportunity to right this wrong,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who is working with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) to get more money. In related news, journalist Sam Quinones testified as a rare single witness during a Senate hearing on the drug epidemic. And opioids emerge as a campaign issue in the primary election battle of onetime drug czar nominee Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.)
To Help Ward Off Alzheimer’s, Think Before You Eat
By Judith Graham
April 6, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Good nutrition has been linked to a boost in senior citizens’ cognitive skills.
