Midterm Results Show Health Is Important To Voters But No Magic Bullet
By Julie Rovner
November 7, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Even though they are taking control of the House, Democrats will be unlikely to advance many initiatives on health that don’t meet Republican approval since the GOP controls the Senate and the White House. But they can block any efforts to weaken the Affordable Care Act or change Medicaid or Medicare.
Escalating Global Recall Of Zantac Doesn’t Have Roots In Government Oversight But Rather A Tiny Online Pharmacy
November 11, 2019
Morning Briefing
The startup with only 14 employees raised flags with U.S. regulators over the safety of Zantac leading to an ever-growing recall of the product. “I had a fairly dim view of drug quality in the United States going into this, but we’ve discovered tons of problems I never even thought of — and they’re all over the place,” said Adam Clark-Joseph, one of Valisure’s founders. In other pharmaceutical news: the patent battle over the HIV prevention drug; 340B payment cuts; and Congress’s struggle to contain high drug prices.
UnitedHealth’s $4.3B Purchase Of Physician Group Approved By FTC With Conditions
June 20, 2019
Morning Briefing
The FTC alleged the UnitedHealth-DaVita deal would create a monopoly in the Las Vegas area and that the combination would have resulted in higher health-care costs and weaker competition for on quality, services and other amenities.
Massachusetts Stroke Patient Receives ‘Outrageous’ $474,725 Medical Flight Bill
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
December 21, 2018
KFF Health News Original
After a 34-year-old woman suffered a stroke in Kansas, doctors there arranged for her to be transferred to a Boston hospital, via an Angel MedFlight Learjet. The woman and her father believed the cost of the medical flight would be covered by her private insurance. Then they got the bill.
Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Face Quandaries Over Questionable Billing Schemes
By khndianew
July 3, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Two Missouri hospitals handed over their operations to a private company that has vastly increased the money the hospitals bring in through their laboratories, even though the lab tests are not done on-site.
FDA Allows Food Makers To Fortify Corn Masa To Halt Birth Defects, But Few Do
By JoNel Aleccia
October 16, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The decision aimed at adding folic acid — a vitamin that can prevent devastating defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord — to flours, chips and tortillas hasn’t caught on with many makers of widely used corn products.
Dónde se pelearán las batallas sobre el aborto en 2019
By Julie Rovner
January 9, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Ambos lados del debate creen que pueden avanzar. Pero la mayoría demócrata en la Cámara de Representantes puede cambiar las reglas de juego.
Trump Administration Sinks Teeth Into Paring Down Drug Prices, On 5 Key Points
By Sarah Jane Tribble
August 10, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Instead of waiting for congressional action, federal regulators are looking at a series of actions to spur competition and drive down the cost of medicines.
In Health Insurance Wastelands, Rosier Options Crop Up For 2019
By Jordan Rau
November 23, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Premiums are lower as choices increase in many parts of the country. But the financial relief is not enough to erase the price hikes that have been imposed in recent years.
Look-Up: Compare Nursing Homes’ Track Records On Boomerang Hospitalizations
June 12, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Use this tool to see how skilled nursing homes in the U.S. performed on two metrics of quality.
KHN Investigation On Opioid Prescribers Pains Some Readers And Tweeters
July 18, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Breathing ‘A Chore’: California Wildfires Threaten The Health Of Young And Old
By Anna Gorman and Ana B. Ibarra
August 8, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The state battles at least 17 large blazes, with no clear end in sight. Climate change is among the factors that fuel the fires, scientists say.
VA Adding Opioid Antidote To Defibrillator Cabinets For Quicker Overdose Response
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
October 3, 2018
KFF Health News Original
A project that started in a Boston Veterans Affairs facility will soon go nationwide. It puts naloxone, also known as Narcan, into emergency supplies cabinets throughout the VA system.
Trump Administration Loosens Restrictions On Short-Term Health Plans
By Julie Appleby
August 1, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The administration says these plans, which can now last as long as 12 months and be renewed for two years, will give consumers another less-pricey insurance option. Critics say the new rule is yet another swipe at the Affordable Care Act.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Much Ado About Drug Prices
May 17, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call discuss President Donald Trump’s proposals to control prescription drug prices and the efforts to sell the plan to lawmakers and the public. Also, Rovner interviews emeritus law professor Timothy Jost about the state of the Affordable Care Act.
Centene, WellCare Turn To Insurance Regulators For Approval Following Shareholders’ Overwhelming Support Of $17B Merger
June 25, 2019
Morning Briefing
Centene and WellCare said more than 99% of their shareholders supported the merger that would cover nearly 22 million people. They are now working to obtain approvals from insurance regulators in 26 states. Other industry news is on: PatientsLikeMe, uBiome Inc., and Highmark Health.
Chronically Ill, Traumatically Billed: The $123,000 Medicine For MS
By Jay Hancock
November 28, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Shereese Hickson’s doctor wanted her to try the infusion drug Ocrevus for her multiple sclerosis. Even though Hickson is trained as a medical billing coder, she was shocked to see two doses of the drug priced at $123,019, with her share set at $3,620.
No Gaps In Understanding: Here’s Your Primer On Medigap Coverage
By Judith Graham
July 26, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Seniors often don’t realize that private insurers are required to offer Medigap policies, or supplemental insurance, only when people first sign up for Medicare.
Immigrants’ Health Premiums Far Exceed What Plans Pay For Their Care
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
October 1, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Immigrants accounted for nearly 13 percent of premiums paid to private plans but only about 9 percent of insurers’ expenditures, according to a new study in Health Affairs. The cost of care for the group of native-born customers, however, exceeded their premiums.
California’s ACA Rates To Rise 8.7% Next Year
By Chad Terhune and Pauline Bartolone
July 19, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The average increase in California is smaller than the double-digit hikes expected around the nation, due largely to a healthier mix of enrollees and more competition in its marketplace. Still, health insurance prices keep growing faster than wages and general inflation.