Poderosas voces interfieren con propuesta para hacer más difícil evitar las vacunas
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
June 14, 2019
KFF Health News Original
A medida que legisladores de California intentan normas de vacunación infantil más estrictas, se enfrentan con situaciones generadas por funcionarios de alto perfil que las apoyan.
Hospitals Check To See If Patients Are Donor-Worthy — Not Their Organs, But Pockets
By Phil Galewitz
January 28, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Hospitals often contract with market data firms to screen patients’ wealth. That software allows the hospitals to gauge patients’ propensity to donate based on public records, including property and stock ownership and campaign donations.
After A Rural Hospital Closes, Delays In Emergency Care Cost Patients Dearly
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Photos by Christopher Smith
August 19, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The loss of the longtime hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., forces trauma patients to deal with changing services and expectations.
Even Doctors Can’t Navigate Our ‘Broken Health Care System’
By Judith Graham
May 2, 2019
KFF Health News Original
A physician’s frustration navigating a medical emergency with his elderly father reveals a complex, dysfunctional system.
Drugmakers Betting Big On Gene Therapy By Investing Combined $2B Into Manufacturing Pricey Treatments
December 2, 2019
Morning Briefing
And Pfizer and Novartis are leading the pack. The risks involved with drugmakers building their own manufacturing plants are big but so are the potential rewards. In other pharmaceutical news: a high-stakes bet on heart drugs, an invite-only club for biotech CEOs, President Donald Trump’s importation plan, and more.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
By Brianna Labuskes
January 4, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Google Jumps Into Fitness Tracking Business With $2.1B Fitbit Acquisition
November 4, 2019
Morning Briefing
The entry into the crowded field marks the latest effort by tech giants to secure a piece of the lucrative wearables marketplace.
Planned Parenthood’s ‘Risky Strategy’ To Update Its Image
By Shefali Luthra and Anna Maria Barry-Jester
April 17, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The nation’s largest reproductive health services provider is in the midst of a high-stakes effort to showcase what it considers its vital role in providing community health care.
A ‘Transformational Gift’: 3 Universities, Cleveland Clinic To Split $1B For Teaching, Research
November 14, 2019
Morning Briefing
Money from the sale of The Lord Corp. is being split evenly between Duke, MIT, USC and the Cleveland Clinic. The $261 million gifts to each institution, considered among the largest contributions ever given to universities, come with few restrictions. In other research funding news, Virginia Tech announces a venture with Children’s National Hospital.
Look-Up: Infection Risk Factors At Nursing Homes Near You
September 5, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the body’s response to an infection. Explore infection risk factors at nursing homes in your state. This tool tracks infection-related deficiencies and staffing levels for nursing homes that take Medicare and/or Medicaid.
New Hospital In Stanford Opens With Pricey Cutting-Edge Tech, Promises To ‘Reduce Burdens On Patients, Staff’
November 18, 2019
Morning Briefing
But health care skeptics warn that robotic and other upgrades in the $2.1B facility will accelerate the rise of costs over time that would be passed down to patients. Health technology news is on a cost-cutting effort in Utah that pays off and privacy issues, as well
Meth Vs. Opioids: America Has Two Drug Epidemics, But Focuses On One
By April Dembosky, KQED
May 7, 2019
KFF Health News Original
In the West and Midwest, 70% of local law enforcement says meth is the bigger threat. It’s also a more difficult addiction to treat.
Unwitting Patients, Copycat Comments Play Hidden Role In Federal Rule-Making
By Sarah Jane Tribble
September 11, 2018
KFF Health News Original
As HHS decided to cut $1.6 billion in drug payments to hospitals, it weighed thousands of comments generated by a pharmaceutical-funded advocacy group.
CMS Crafts Plan B Over 340B Hospital Reimbursement Cuts In Response To Judge’s Ruling
July 31, 2019
Morning Briefing
A federal judge earlier in the year blocked the Trump administration’s Medicare cuts to 340B hospitals, saying the new rates aren’t lawful for 2018 and 2019. However, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras did not grant hospitals the permanent injunction. Now CMS is walking a careful line with its new proposal. Other news from CMS involves hospital prices, transparency in quality information, patient data, and more.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Medicare-For-All’ For Dummies
February 14, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The “Medicare–for-all” debate is already in full swing, but what does that phrase even mean? Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner for a beginner’s guide to the next big health policy debate. For “extra credit,” the panelists provide their favorite health policy stories of the week, and as a special Valentine’s Day bonus, their favorite #HealthPolicyValentines.
Constraining Specialists From Billing Out-Of-Network Prices Would Lower Health Spending By $40B A Year
December 17, 2019
Morning Briefing
Specialists like anesthesiologists have more power to negotiate higher in-network payments because they’re able to bill so much out-of-network. Limiting that power would have a significant effect on spending, a new study finds. Congress has been working to find a way to curb out-of-network surprise bills, but although they’ve made progress in recent weeks, nothing has passed yet.
Costly Confusion: Medicare’s Wellness Visit Isn’t The Same As An Annual Physical
By Michelle Andrews
March 20, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Medicare doesn’t pay for an annual physical, but it does cover an annual wellness visit focused on preventing disease and disability by coming up with a “personalized prevention plan” for future medical issues. It is important to use the correct term when scheduling a doctor’s visit.
In Potential Opioids Lawsuits Settlement, Purdue Pharma Offers $10B-$12B And For Sackler Family To Cede Control Of Company
August 28, 2019
Morning Briefing
According to reports on settlement talks, the bulk of the funds would come from restructuring Purdue Pharma under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that would transform it from a private company into a “public beneficiary trust.” That would allow the profits from all drug sales, including the opioid painkiller OxyContin, to go to the plaintiffs of a nationwide consolidated lawsuit over the alleged role drugmakers played in the epidemic. The company would also give its addiction treatment drugs to the public without cost.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Drug Prices Are Rising Again. Is Someone Going To Do Something About It?
January 17, 2019
KFF Health News Original
As drugmakers hike prices, interest to rein them in grows on Capitol Hill. Next week marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion decision, and both the House, whose leaders back abortion rights, and the Senate, controlled by abortion foes, are holding statement votes. And the government shutdown is still affecting health programs. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues.
Facebook Live: The Cancer Divide
October 5, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Californians and Americans are living longer with cancer — but some are living longer than others. California Healthline’s Facebook Live addresses disparities in cancer diagnosis, treatment and care — and what can be done about them.