Southern Bureau Archives - Page 30 of 61

The State of the Union Is … Busy

Episode 337

March 7, 2024

At last, Congress is getting half of its annual spending bills across the finish line, albeit five months after the start of the fiscal year. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden delivers his annual State of the Union address, an over-the-counter birth control pill is (finally) available, and controversy erupts over new public health guidelines for covid-19 isolation. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Neera Tanden, the White House domestic policy adviser, about Biden’s health agenda. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.

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Stephen Loyd, center, stands in a crowd holding a foam-board check for $500,000.00 for the Helios Alliance.

Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

Statistical Models vs. Front-Line Workers: Who Knows Best How to Spend Opioid Settlement Cash?

A mathematical model designed to direct spending of opioid settlement funds is at the center of a debate over whether to invest in technology to guide long-term decisions or focus on the immediate needs of people in addiction.

By Aneri Pattani

March 5, 2024

A photo of a woman seen from behind working in a medical setting on a laptop.

Whistleblower Accuses Aledade, Largest US Independent Primary Care Network, of Medicare Fraud

A recently unsealed lawsuit alleges Aledade Inc. developed billing software that boosted revenues by making patients appear sicker than they were.

By Fred Schulte

March 5, 2024

A stethoscope and voting pin rests on top of an American flag.

America Worries About Health Costs — And Voters Want to Hear From Biden and Republicans

The presidential election is likely to turn on the simple question of whether Americans want Donald Trump back in the White House. But health care tops the list of household financial worries for adults from both parties.

By Julie Appleby and Phil Galewitz

March 4, 2024

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Alabama’s IVF Ruling Still Making Waves

Episode 336

Feb. 29, 2024

Lawmakers in Congress and state legislatures are scrambling to react to the ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization are legally children. Abortion opponents are divided among themselves, with some supporting full “personhood” for fertilized eggs, while others support IVF as a moral way to have children. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Riley Griffin of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews University of Pittsburgh law professor Greer Donley, who explains how a 150-year-old anti-vice law that’s still on the books could be used to ban abortion nationwide. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.

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A photo of signage on a paneled building directing people to separate gendered bathrooms.

Bathroom Bills Are Back — Broader and Stricter — In Several States

State lawmakers are resurrecting and expanding efforts to prohibit transgender people from using public restrooms and other spaces that match their gender. Some have sought to ban trans people from “sex-designated spaces,” including domestic violence shelters and crisis centers, which experts say could violate anti-discrimination laws and jeopardize federal funding.

By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez

Feb. 29, 2024

Hacking at UnitedHealth Unit Cripples a Swath of the US Health System: What to Know

Change Healthcare, a firm recently bought by insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, reportedly suffered a cyberattack. The company processes 14 billion transactions annually, including payments and requests for insurance authorizations.

By Darius Tahir

Feb. 29, 2024

A photo of a sign that reads, "United States Environmental Protection Agency."

Toxic Gas That Sterilizes Medical Devices Prompts Safety Rule Update

The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening regulation of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas used to sterilize medical devices. The agency is trying to balance the interests of the health care industry supply chain with those of communities where the gas creates airborne health risks.

By Andy Miller and Sam Whitehead

Feb. 29, 2024

A diverse group of unrecognizable medical practitioners wearing scrubs listen to a lecture and take notes.

California Lawsuit Spotlights Broad Legal Attack on Anti-Bias Training in Health Care

State laws requiring doctor training on how bias affects treatment violate teachers’ right to free speech, opponents say.

By Ronnie Cohen

Feb. 28, 2024

A photo of a woman holding a picture of her mother indoors.

Bill of the Month

Without Medicare Part B’s Shield, Patient’s Family Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight

Sky-high bills from air-ambulance providers have sparked complaints and federal action in recent years. But a rural Tennessee resident fell through the cracks of billing protections — and a single helicopter ride could cost much of her estate's value.

By Tony Leys

Feb. 27, 2024

A photo of a woman with gloved hands pricking a man's finger to test for diseases.

Horse Sedative Use Among Humans Spreads in Deadly Mixture of ‘Tranq’ and Fentanyl

Illegal supplies of fentanyl are being cut with xylazine, a powerful horse tranquilizer. Overdoses involving this veterinary sedative are growing nationally and now Florida officials are tracking the deaths.

By Sam Ogozalek, Tampa Bay Times

Feb. 26, 2024

The Health 202

Opposition to Medicaid Expansion Thaws in an Unexpected Place: The Deep South

By Daniel Chang and Andy Miller

Feb. 23, 2024

Florida Defies CDC in Measles Outbreak, Telling Parents It’s Fine to Send Unvaccinated Kids to School

The state’s surgeon general grants parents permission to send unvaccinated children to school during a measles outbreak, risking their health and that of others.

By Amy Maxmen

Feb. 23, 2024

A photo of a woman using a laptop indoors.

Pregnancy Care Was Always Lacking in Jails. It Could Get Worse.

A lack of oversight and standards for pregnancy care in jails is becoming more problematic as the number of incarcerated women rises and abortion restrictions put medical care further out of reach.

By Renuka Rayasam

Feb. 23, 2024

A digital illustration shows a small, doll-like girl held in the palm of an ominous, dark, shadowy figure. The body of the shadowy figure holding her is on the left side of the image. Another shadowy figure is on the right, looming over the girl, who sits in the center. The girl, who is colored in bright shades of white, yellow, and pink, contrasts sharply with the figures who surround her. She is wearing a medical gown, has her right leg crossed over her left, and uses her arms to hug herself. The body language of the girl expresses that she has experienced a trauma.

Lawsuits Claim South Carolina Kids Underwent Unnecessary Genital Exams During Abuse Investigations

Lawsuits allege that several children under 18 in South Carolina have undergone examinations of their private parts during child abuse investigations — even when there were no allegations of sexual abuse. There’s a growing consensus in medicine that genital exams can be embarrassing, uncomfortable, and even traumatic.

By Lauren Sausser

Feb. 22, 2024

A photo of a black man's hand with an IV in the top of his hand.

Death and Redemption in an American Prison

More than a quarter century after an inmate helped start a hospice program in one of the nation’s most notorious prisons, he is trying to spread the idea.

By Markian Hawryluk

Feb. 21, 2024

Patrick Dunnagan stands outside his North Carolina home on a sunny day. He wears a plaid shirt and glasses.

Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion

While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder.

By Daniel Chang and Andy Miller

Feb. 16, 2024

A photo of a doctor standing indoors and looking at a binder.

Early Detection May Help Kentucky Tamp Down Its Lung Cancer Crisis

After a decade of work, a Kentucky program launched to diagnose lung cancer earlier is beginning to change the prognosis for residents by catching tumors when they’re more treatable.

By Charlotte Huff

Feb. 15, 2024

Deadly Denials

States Target Health Insurers’ ‘Prior Authorization’ Red Tape

Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they’ll pay for patients’ drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further.

By Bram Sable-Smith

Feb. 12, 2024

What the Health? From KFF Health News

To End School Shootings, Activists Consider a New Culprit: Parents

Episode 333

Feb. 8, 2024

For the first time, a jury has convicted a parent of a school shooter of charges related to the child’s crime, finding a mother in Michigan guilty of involuntary manslaughter and possibly opening a new legal avenue for gun control advocates. Meanwhile, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case challenging the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, a medical publisher has retracted some of the journal studies that lower-court judges relied on in their decisions. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.

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