In Rural Utah, Preventing Suicide Means Meeting Gun Owners Where They Are
By Erik Neumann, KUER
August 28, 2019
KFF Health News Original
In Utah, 85% of deaths from firearms are suicides. To help people who might be vulnerable, outreach workers are discussing suicide prevention at gun shows and firearms classes.
Hill Hodgepodge: Pelosi Draws From Democrats, GOP And Trump For Drug Plan
By Emmarie Huetteman
September 20, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The House speaker announced her plan for lowering drug prices, which includes negotiations between drugmakers and federal health officials.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
By Brianna Labuskes
October 11, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Cuba Bets Big On An Old Antiviral As It Tries To Find Its Place Amid Global Treatment, Vaccine Race
May 14, 2020
Morning Briefing
The treatment has long been used internationally to treat dengue fever, cancer and hepatitis B and C. Studies during the SARS epidemic in 2003 suggested interferons might also be useful against coronaviruses. In other pharma news: patents, global remdesivir use, and hope from doctors.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Fetal Tissue Research Is Latest Flashpoint In Abortion Debate
June 6, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail federally funded research using fetal tissue, the backlash from former Vice President Joe Biden’s support for the anti-abortion Hyde Amendment and how health policy intersects with both trade and immigration policy.
Dems Launch Inquiry Into Administration’s Small-Business Aid Distribution After Watchdogs Sound Alarm
June 16, 2020
Morning Briefing
“The administration should release the names of all P.P.P. borrowers — as the S.B.A. routinely does for similar loan programs,” the lawmakers demanded after inspectors general warned Congress that previously unknown Trump administration legal decisions could substantially block their ability to oversee more than $1 trillion in spending related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Doctors Concerned Rural Health Care Will Be Affected By Trump’s Visa Freeze
June 24, 2020
Morning Briefing
“You need these H-1B physicians who are willing to go to Alabama, Georgia, you know, parts of the beltway that just don’t have enough doctors,” said Mahsa Khanbabai, an attorney with the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The health care worker exemption in the order only applies to people who are caring for COVID patients or doing research on the coronavirus.
The Deep Divide: State Borders Create Medicaid Haves And Have-Nots
By Laura Ungar
October 2, 2019
KFF Health News Original
State borders can highlight Medicaid’s arbitrary coverage. On the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, low-income people struggle with untreated health issues. But on the Illinois side, people in similar straits can get health care because their state expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.
Governor’s ‘Mental Health Czar’ Seeks New Blueprint For Care In California
By Rob Waters
August 29, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Thomas Insel, who ran the National Institute of Mental Health for 13 years before casting his lot with Silicon Valley, is taking a temporary break from his senior position at a health care startup to advise Gov. Gavin Newsom on how to remake mental health care in the Golden State.
Obesity Stigma And Yo-Yo Dieting, Not BMI, Are Behind Chronic Health Conditions, Dietitian Claims
By Julie Appleby
September 17, 2019
KFF Health News Original
With nearly 72% of U.S. adults considered overweight or obese, the pressing question is: Is it possible to be overweight and healthy at the same time? The science falls short.
UnitedHealth To Offer Modest Relief For Plan Members With $1.5B Worth Of Premium Credits
May 7, 2020
Morning Briefing
Insurers are weathering the pandemic better than expected, since their costs for elective procedures plummeted. “People are hurting right now,” said UnitedHealth CEO David Wichmann when announcing the insurance company’s decision.
Caen en picada las nuevas inscripciones en Covered California
By Ana B. Ibarra
January 30, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Las nuevas inscripciones cayeron casi un 24% para los planes de 2019. Algunos expertos dicen que esta baja no es una sorpresa.
New Covered California Sign-Ups Plummet
By Ana B. Ibarra
January 30, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Even though the number of people renewing their Covered California health plans increased this year, new enrollment plunged by nearly a quarter compared with last year, posting a bigger drop than the federal health insurance exchange, healthcare.gov, which saw a 16 percent decrease. Officials largely blame the elimination of the federal tax penalty for people without insurance.
UCSF Medical Center Backs Off Plan To Deepen Ties With Dignity Health
By Jenny Gold
May 28, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The University of California’s flagship San Francisco hospital system cut off negotiations with the Catholic-run health care system in the face of heated opposition from UCSF faculty and staff.
State Lawmakers Eye Federal Dollars To Boost Mental Health Counseling By Peers
By Rob Waters
July 1, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Medicaid pays for mentoring of mental health patients by “peer supporters,” but only if they are state-certified. California is one of two states with no certification program. Legislation pending in Sacramento would change that — if the governor backs it.
Grief Grew Into A Mental Health Crisis And A $21,634 Hospital Bill
By Laura Ungar
October 31, 2019
KFF Health News Original
She spent five days in the hospital undergoing psychiatric care. The bill she got is about the same price as a new Honda Civic.
Among Hurdles For Those With Opioid Addictions: Getting The Drug To Treat It
By Nina Feldman, WHYY
August 16, 2019
KFF Health News Original
It can be difficult to get a prescription for buprenorphine, one of the gold standards for treating opioid use disorder. And not all pharmacies stock the drug.
A Million Californians Don’t Have Clean Drinking Water. Where Do They Live?
By Harriet Blair Rowan
June 28, 2019
KFF Health News Original
More than 10% of residents in 12 California counties don’t have safe drinking water, according to a California Healthline analysis of state water data. State lawmakers have pledged $130 million a year to help bring clean drinking water to Californians who need it.
Federal Appeals Court Takes Up Case That Could Upend U.S. Health System
By Julie Rovner
July 9, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The Affordable Care Act is again being put to the test after a lower court judge ruled the massive health law unconstitutional. Could the case ricochet back to the Supreme Court in the throes of the 2020 presidential campaign season?
Lawmakers Just Sent $484B Bill To Trump But They Are Already Gearing Up For Next Battle Royale
April 24, 2020
Morning Briefing
The fourth stimulus package was meant to supplement the depleted fund to help small businesses, but Democrats fought to include money for hospitals and expanded testing as well. This bill took longer to negotiate than the previous three, and it could be the last measure that gets through without an intense and public political fight.