New Law Challenges ‘Evils’ Of Pharma Profits, California Governor Claims
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure, which takes effect next year and will require drug companies to publicly justify big price increases.
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Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure, which takes effect next year and will require drug companies to publicly justify big price increases.
Complaints are rising against for-profit insurance companies that manage Medicaid for about 600,000 Iowans. The privatization of Medicaid is a national trend affecting more than half of the 74 million Americans who get their health care through the state-federal program.
"If it gets signed by this governor, it's going to send shock waves throughout the country,” one legislator says. Pharma has spent $16.8 million lobbying against this bill and other drug laws in California.
In the GOP's attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, California would lose a lot of federal funding. Texas would gain a lot in the short term, but experts worry Texas would not use the money well.
The Affordable Care Act gave some Americans the chance to strike out on their own in new business ventures because they didn't have to worry about keeping a job just for health insurance. But the repeal-and-replace efforts reignited this week create uncertainty about whether they can count on that insurance option in the future.
A Medicaid-funded effort in San Antonio seeks to test vulnerable populations for latent TB infections.
A person's ZIP code can be as important to her health as her genetic code. One large health system has begun to tackle the social challenges that influence a person's health by asking questions and giving extra help to people in need.
Some drug courts offer participants a full range of evidence-based treatment, including medication-assisted treatment. Others don't allow addiction medications at all. And some permit just one: Vivitrol.
In far northern Lassen and Modoc counties, residents say Obamacare premiums are unaffordable. But under the proposed Senate bill, insurance premiums would increase even more.
The $45 billion for opioid treatment in the Senate bill sounds like a lot of money, but an advocate estimates it would provide $1,000 to $2,000 per year for each person in Pennsylvania who might need treatment. Meanwhile, one year of methadone treatment for opioid addiction costs about $4,700 per year,
Some health plans are beginning to offer free maintenance care for people with chronic health problems, hoping that spending a little more early on will save a lot of money in the long run.
Peer support, well-known in addiction treatment, is gaining ground for people with serious mental illness. Texas and 35 other states are training and paying peer support specialists to help bridge a gap in mental health treatment.
Insurance executives in Montana are worried that GOP efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act could destabilize a market that is working well.
Dr. Jerome Adams is the health commissioner in Indiana, the home state of Vice President Mike Pence.
Treatment for opioid addiction can be expensive and difficult to coordinate. That might make some people tempted to think they can overcome the addiction on their own. This rarely works.
In a county where cows outnumber people and most voters supported Donald Trump, a coalition of health clinics is driven to defend the health law.
Current law requires all health insurance sold on the exchanges to cover 10 essential benefits — with no annual or lifetime limits to reimbursement. But the GOP plan might let states reinstate limits.
On NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, KHN's Elisabeth Rosenthal answers questions about the high cost of U.S. health care, while NPR's Gisele Grayson addresses how the Senate bill to replace the Affordable Care Act would change the system.
It's too early to know just how many veterans might lose coverage as a result of the Medicaid reductions wrapped into the Republicans' repeal effort. But many already feel boxed in.
Since 2010, at least 79 rural hospitals have closed across the country, and nearly 700 more are at risk of closing. The Republican repeal of the health law could hasten their demise.
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