Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Patients Overpay For Prescriptions 23% Of The Time, Analysis Shows
Researchers at the University of Southern California analyzed millions of prescriptions and concluded that close to a quarter paid copays that exceeded the cost of the drugs.
Oregon Medical Students Face Tough Test: Talking About Dying
Starting this spring, aspiring doctors at the Oregon Health & Science University must prove they can communicate about difficult subjects ranging from admitting medical mistakes to notifying families about a patient’s death.
No-Go For Idaho: Back To The Drawing Board On State-Based Health Plans
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services advised the state that its plan to offer state-based insurance plans falls short of the Obamacare rules and could result in penalties for insurers.
Rising Health Costs, Soaring Drug Prices, Confusing Bills! What’s A Consumer To Do?
KHN correspondent Shefali Luthra answered a wide variety of questions about health care in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” chat.
Cómo Medicaid se convirtió en un proveedor de fondos para las escuelas
El programa federal gerenciado por los estados para que las personas de bajos ingresos tengan atención de salud también apoya a estudiantes con necesidades especiales en todo el país.
How Medicaid Became A Go-To Funder For Schools
Begun as a health care safety net for children and low-income families, Medicaid increasingly underwrites a range of services in America’s public schools.
A Health Plan ‘Down Payment’ Is One Way States Try Retooling Individual Mandate
As states brace for insurance market instability, some — like Maryland — take aggressive action.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ HHS Leaders Take To The Stump
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and new podcast panelist Anna Edney of Bloomberg News discuss this week’s spate of speeches by the leaders of the Department of Health and Human Services. They also discuss the slow progress on health legislation on Capitol Hill intended to fund the government and stabilize the individual insurance market. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week.
When Wildfire Smoke Invades, Who Should Pay To Clean Indoor Air?
Public health agencies are set up to regulate easily controlled sources of air pollution. Wildfire smoke presents a different set of expensive challenges.
Health Care Revamped At L.A. County Jails
The effort, overseen by the county’s health services department, aims to improve care for a population with high rates of chronic disease, mental illness and drug addiction.
States Strive To Curb Costs For A Crucial — But Exorbitant — Hemophilia Treatment
Saving the lives of people with the bleeding disorder can require high doses of expensive blood-clotting factor. Taxpayers foot much of the bill as manufacturers profit enormously.
CMS Issues Split Decision On Arkansas Medicaid Waiver
A top Senate Democrat calls the move “a mockery of the HHS ethics process” after Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma did not recuse herself in the decision to approve the Medicaid work requirement in Arkansas — the third state to get such a waiver.
¿Necesitas un procedimiento médico? Elije el proveedor correcto y recibe dinero
Los planes de salud para empleados estatales fueron los pioneros en esta estrategia comercial: ofrecer incentivos en forma de efectivo o tarjetas de regalo, para que los consumidores los elijan para sus estudios médicos.
While Talk About Opioids Continues In D.C., Addiction Treatment Is In Peril In States
The Trump administration has talked about prioritizing the opioid crisis, but states have seen little in the way of new resources. And, in some states, getting into treatment is becoming even harder.
Need A Medical Procedure? Pick The Right Provider And Get Cash Back
Incentives to encourage health care consumers to shop around gain momentum as a means to rein in spending.
A medida que crecen los centros de cirugía, los pacientes están pagando con sus vidas
Hay más de 5,600 centros de cirugía en todo el país, en donde se realizan procedimientos quirúrgicos menores. Pero una investigación reveló que a veces ocurren complicaciones que hubieran sido prevenibles en un hospital.
As Surgery Centers Boom, Patients Are Paying With Their Lives
An investigation by Kaiser Health News and the USA TODAY Network discovers that more than 260 patients have died since 2013 after in-and-out procedures at surgery centers across the country. More than a dozen — some as young as 2 — have perished after routine operations, such as colonoscopies and tonsillectomies.
Buried In The Budget Bill Are Belated Gifts For Some Health Care Providers
How physical and occupational therapists triumphed in a two-decade-long quest to overturn limits on their compensation.
¡Cuidado! La multa por no tener seguro que impuso el Obamacare todavía está vigente
Si bien la administración Trump derogó la multa por no tener seguro de salud que impuso la Ley de Cuidado de Salud Asequible, esta norma entrará en vigencia en 2019.
Ding Dong! The Obamacare Tax Penalty Is(n’t) Dead
When President Donald Trump signed the nation’s new tax law, he also killed the Affordable Care Act’s tax penalty — but not until 2019. Despite widespread confusion, experts caution that consumers still need to pay the tax penalty if they were uninsured last year or will be this year.
