Inventing A Machine That Spits Out Drugs In A Whole New Way
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
May 26, 2016
KFF Health News Original
A refrigerator-sized machine could someday make lifesaving drugs on site when outbreaks occur or where medicine is in short supply, like on the battlefield.
Anti-Abortion Forces Regroup In Wake Of Supreme Court Decision
By Julie Rovner
July 20, 2016
KFF Health News Original
The setback prompts some to change direction, others to stay the course.
Smokers’ Ranks Look Conspicuously Sparse In Obamacare
By Phil Galewitz
May 4, 2016
KFF Health News Original
Federal data suggest that many smokers aren’t confessing to their tobacco habit to avoid paying higher health care premiums, thwarting insurers.
Court Decision Leaves Undocumented Immigrants’ Health Care Options In Limbo
By Ana B. Ibarra
Photos by Heidi de Marco
July 29, 2016
KFF Health News Original
Deportation-relief programs would have meant access to subsidized health care.
Immigration Ban Shakes Medical Industry That Relies Heavily On Foreign Professionals
January 31, 2017
Morning Briefing
In 2014, more than 15,000 foreign health care workers, nearly half of them physicians and surgeons, received H-1B visas, which are designed to bring skilled labor into the U.S. Meanwhile, hospitals are scrambling to identify patients who were scheduled to come into the country to receive medical care and will be affected by the ban.
Should Federal Retirees Opt For Medicare?
By Michelle Andrews
March 15, 2016
KFF Health News Original
When people retire from federal government jobs, they can keep their federal plan as primary coverage but may face penalties for late Medicare sign-ups later on.
How And Where To Dump Your Leftover Drugs — Responsibly
By Emily Bazar
June 1, 2016
KFF Health News Original
With the nation’s opioid crisis worsening, officials want you to dispose of unwanted or expired prescription drugs. But finding a convenient take-back site requires time and patience.
Children Exposed To Hepatitis C May Be Missing Out On Treatment
By Elana Gordon, WHYY
July 28, 2016
KFF Health News Original
Hepatitis C can be passed from mothers to babies, but it often is not diagnosed until much later in a person’s life. Specialists are debating new screening practices to catch the disease earlier.
Anti-Abortion Groups Rejuvenated By Trump Win
December 12, 2016
Morning Briefing
“This is the strongest the pro-life movement has been since 1973,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List. A renewed push for “personhood” laws is expected to be one of its first moves.
Fantasy Sports Fueling A Rise In Online Gambling Addiction
By Ana B. Ibarra
March 30, 2016
KFF Health News Original
Seeing more problem gamblers than ever before, the state is investing in education, training and prevention.
Drugmakers Manipulate Orphan Drug Rules To Create Prized Monopolies
By Sarah Jane Tribble Sydney Lupkin
January 17, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Drugmakers have brought almost 450 orphan drugs to market and collected rich incentives but nearly a third of those products aren’t new or were repurposed multiple times, an investigation shows.
Abbott Sues To Halt Its Troubled $5.8B Merger With Alere
December 8, 2016
Morning Briefing
Abbott Laboratories cites a drop in in the medical test-developer’s financial outlook in the lawsuit. Alere says it has complied with terms of the merger deal and that the filing is “without merit.”
Gun Violence And Mental Health Laws, 50 Years After Texas Tower Sniper
By Lauren Silverman, KERA
August 2, 2016
KFF Health News Original
Trying to prevent gun violence by tying it to mental health legislation began in 1966 when a young gunman killed 16 people in Austin, Texas. But some believe the approach is misguided.
HHS Announces Plans To Curtail Consumers’ Use Of Short-Term Insurance Policies
By Jordan Rau
June 8, 2016
KFF Health News Original
The plans, which do not qualify as coverage under the Affordable Care Act and put consumers at risk of a tax penalty, can siphon healthy people away from the online marketplaces because they are generally less expensive.
Montana’s ‘Pain Refugees’ Leave State To Get Prescribed Opioids
By Corin Cates-Carney, Montana Public Radio
July 22, 2016
KFF Health News Original
With rising awareness of opioid abuse, some pain patients say doctors are less likely to prescribe them. One Montana sufferer goes to great lengths to get his prescription — he flies to California.
Medicare Sets Modest Part B Premium Increases For 2017
November 11, 2016
Morning Briefing
Federal officials say they will tap reserves to help keep beneficiaries’ costs down.
Ga., Calif. Hospitals Sue Blue Cross Plan For Sending ER Reimbursements To Patients
By Andy Miller, Georgia Health News
June 30, 2016
KFF Health News Original
The lawsuits allege that the practice costs the hospitals money because the patients often spend the funds.
Old Motels Get New Life Helping Homeless Heal
By David Gorn
Photos by Heidi de Marco
June 29, 2016
KFF Health News Original
Using run-down motels to care for and temporarily house homeless people recently discharged from the hospital helps stabilize them inexpensively, preventing unnecessary and costly returns to ERs and hospitals.
Vaccines Are Not Just For Kids
By Anna Gorman
July 13, 2016
KFF Health News Original
California’s leading physician organization is heading a drive to convince adults they need their vaccinations, too.
Medicare’s Efforts To Curb Backlog Of Appeals Not Sufficient, GAO Reports
By Susan Jaffe
June 10, 2016
KFF Health News Original
Investigators from the GAO call for HHS to improve oversight of the Medicare appeals process and streamline it to make sure repetitive claims are handled more efficiently.
