‘We Decided Enough’s Enough’: California Secures 200M Masks A Month At Cost Of $1B
April 8, 2020
Morning Briefing
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that his government has struck a deal with a consortium of suppliers to receive 200 million N95 respiratory and surgical masks for front line workers. In other news from the state, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti orders all city residents to wear a mask or bandana when shopping. And news outlets report developments from other areas of the state, as well.
Senate Approves $2T Stimulus Package With Checks To Some Americans, $100B In Grants For Hospitals
March 26, 2020
Morning Briefing
The deal is the product of a marathon of negotiations among Senate Republicans, Democrats and President Donald Trump’s team that nearly fell apart as Democrats insisted on stronger worker protections, more funds for hospitals and state governments, and tougher oversight over new loan programs intended to bail out distressed businesses. “A fight has arrived on our shores,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said. “We did not seek it. We did not want it. But now, we are going to win it.” The House is set to vote on Friday.
A ‘No-Brainer’? Calls Grow For Medicare To Cover Anti-Rejection Drugs After Kidney Transplant
By JoNel Aleccia
July 17, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Banking on new cost estimates, a bipartisan coalition in Congress is poised to try — once again — to end a three-year limit on coverage for lifesaving medication required to keep the organs functioning.
Cancer’s Complications: Confusing Bills, Maddening Errors And Endless Phone Calls
By Anna Gorman
February 27, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Carol Marley has pancreatic cancer — and dealing with its financial toll has become her full-time job.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ New Year, New Health Proposals
January 10, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Democratic governors and mayors are unveiling new ideas to control costs and expand coverage. The federal government shutdown has spared most health agencies, but not all. And learn the latest on that lawsuit out of Texas, which is threatening the Affordable Care Act once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week. Rovner also interviews KHN’s Jordan Rau about the latest “Bill of the Month.”
‘This Should Not Be About Politics’: House Overwhelmingly Passes $8.3B Coronavirus Funding Bill
March 5, 2020
Morning Briefing
The bill includes about $7.7 billion in new discretionary spending to bolster vaccine development, research, equipment stockpiles and state and local health budgets, as government officials and health workers fight to contain the outbreak. The House moved unusually quick in a rare sign of bipartisanship in a highly divided Congress. It next goes to the Senate.
Even As Many Go Hungry, Farmers Dump Crops. Trump Administration Aims For Win-Win Fix With $19B Plan.
April 24, 2020
Morning Briefing
With the usual food distribution chain disrupted due to the coronavirus outbreak, farmers are plowing unused produce back into the field. Yet food banks struggle to feed millions of newly unemployed Americans. While a federal plan will throw $19 billion dollars at the problem, it must still overcome the transportation challenges that created it in the first place. Other food supply issues reports on the meat industry, food plant safety and alleged price gouging on eggs.
Why It’s So Hard To Predict How Much Funding 9/11 First Responders Need
By Michael McAuliff
July 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Eighteen years ago, most first responders were not thinking about their future health when they spent hours searching “The Pile” for the remains of terror victims. Today, their illnesses are a slow-moving epidemiological nightmare that has been as difficult for scientists to study as it has been easy for politicians to overlook.
West Virginia Reaches Opioid Settlement Deal With Most Drug Companies For $1.25B
March 3, 2020
Morning Briefing
This would be the first deal among about 3,000 lawsuits that exist nationwide. Details must still be resolved on payments to local, state groups as well as hospitals and others. The plan also does not apply to two key drugmakers, Purdue Pharma and Mallinckrodt. News on the national drug epidemic is from California, as well.
Health Care Industry Spends $30B A Year Pushing Its Wares, From Drugs To Stem Cell Treatment
By Liz Szabo
January 8, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Critics say patients are often misled by ads that advocate high-priced drugs or genetic tests.
Hospitals Say $100B Allocated From Stimulus Package Is Woefully Inadequate–And They Can’t Even Get Those Funds
April 17, 2020
Morning Briefing
Only about $30 billion has been distributed thus far from a pot of $100 billion earmarked for hospitals and health-care providers. In addition to that, the distribution of the relief money didn’t take hot spots into account, so the places that in most need say they are getting shortchanged.
El año del “vapeo”: dramático aumento del uso de cigarrillos electrónicos en jóvenes
By Ana B. Ibarra
December 18, 2018
KFF Health News Original
El “vaping” va en contra de la tendencia: el consumo de alcohol, de tabaco tradicional y de marihuana están bajando. El cigarrillo electrónico crece.
The Year Of The Vape: Teen E-Cigarette Use Spikes
By Ana B. Ibarra
December 18, 2018
KFF Health News Original
More than a third of high school seniors said they have vaped in the past year — up nearly 10 percentage points from the previous year. The dramatic jump comes despite efforts by public health officials, educators and lawmakers to reverse the e-cigarette trend among youths, including a recent proposal to ban retail sales of flavored tobacco products in California.
Brechas profundas: fronteras estatales resaltan la enorme disparidad en Medicaid
By Laura Ungar
October 2, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Las fronteras estatales se han convertido en líneas divisorias arbitrarias entre los que tienen Medicaid y los que no, y los pacientes con problemas financieros similares enfrentan destinos de salud muy diferentes.
Feds Say California May Have Spent Nearly $1B On Ineligible Medi-Cal Beneficiaries
By Barbara Feder Ostrov
December 14, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The potentially improper payments occurred in 2014 and 2015, when the state says it was under pressure from a massive influx of new applicants due to the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.
$1.25B Opioid Settlement Date Set In West Virginia Where Death Rate Is Highest
March 6, 2020
Morning Briefing
The Aug. 31 trial date serves as a deadline for the proposed settlement, the nation’s first as businesses consider thousands of other lawsuits. Other news on the epidemic comes from Missouri, Vermont and Kansas.
Doughnut Hole Is Gone, But Medicare’s Uncapped Drug Costs Still Bite Into Budgets
By Michelle Andrews
March 29, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Beneficiaries pay 25 percent of the price of their brand-name drugs until they reach $5,100 in out-of-pocket costs. After that, their obligation drops to 5 percent. But it never disappears.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Medicare-For-All’? More? Some?
January 24, 2019
KFF Health News Original
“Medicare-for-all” has become the rallying cry for Democrats in the new Congress. But there is a long list of other ways to increase insurance coverage. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to chip away at the Medicaid program for the poor, and new rules could mean higher costs for individual health insurance in 2020. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week.
Lawmakers Barrel Toward $7.5B Emergency Funding Plan With Unusual Speed For Divided Congress
March 3, 2020
Morning Briefing
Negotiators worked through the weekend to try to finalize the spending bill, which is looking like it will far exceed the amount President Donald Trump requested. But disagreement over provisions intended to ensure affordability of vaccines and other medications may hold up agreement. Meanwhile, local and state health departments, already stretched to their limits, are eager to get the aid.
This Year’s Flu Is Hitting Children Especially Hard, And Experts Stay It’s Still Not Too Late To Get Vaccine
February 4, 2020
Morning Briefing
The CDC reports influenza B, which causes more significant illness in children than in adults, is the dominate strain of flu this year. Public health news is on liver transplants, pain sensitivity, autism, primary care, Alzheimer’s disease, and emergency room care.