Latest KFF Health News Stories
Abortion Is Shaking Up Attorneys General Races and Exposing Limits to Their Powers
Abortion access is shaping races for legal office across the country, from local district attorneys to attorneys general. But it’s also highlighting the boundaries of their offices.
Readers and Tweeters Place Value on Community Services and Life-Sustaining Care
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Wrapping Up Summer’s Health News
President Joe Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act and Congress is gone until after Labor Day. But the administration and lawmakers left lots of health policy achievements behind, including new rules to facilitate the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids and a potential reorganization of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A Big Week for Biden
Congress is leaving for its annual summer break having accomplished far more than many expected, including, barring unforeseen snags, a bill to address the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries and extend the enhanced subsidies for insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the abortion issue continues to roil the nation as Indiana becomes the first state to ban the procedure in almost all cases since the Supreme Court overruled the constitutional right to abortion in June. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
No, the Senate-Passed Reconciliation Bill Won’t Strip $300 Billion From Medicare
Under the Medicare drug negotiations provisions in the reconciliation bill, the federal government would see its outlays reduced by about $300 billion. That reduction wouldn’t result from cuts in benefits. Instead, Medicare would be empowered to leverage its market power to pay lower prices for certain drugs.
In California, Abortion Could Become a Constitutional Right. So Could Birth Control.
Proposition 1, the constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion in California’s constitution, would also lock in a right that has gotten less attention: the right to “choose or refuse” contraception.
A GOP Talking Point Suggests Birth Control Is Not at Risk. Evidence Suggests Otherwise.
Republicans say Democrats are wrong to claim that birth control could be the Supreme Court’s next target. But Democrats have plenty of evidence that it might be.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kansas Makes a Statement
In the first official test vote since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, voters in Kansas’ primary said in no uncertain terms they want to keep a right to abortion in their state constitution. Meanwhile, the Senate is still working to reach a vote before summer recess on its health care-climate-tax measure, but progress is slow. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Bram Sable-Smith, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about a very expensive ambulance trip.
When Mental Illness Leads to Dropped Charges, Patients Often Go Without Stabilizing Care
When criminal suspects are deemed too mentally ill to go through the court process and their charges are dropped, they can be left without stabilizing treatment — and sometimes end up being charged with additional crimes.
Two-Thirds of Americans Disapprove of Ending ‘Roe,’ but It’s Not a Top Voting Issue
Despite concerns about making abortion legal in the states and strong interest in the issue, three-quarters of Americans say economic matters are top of mind as they consider voting in the fall, according to a new KFF poll.
Journalists Detail the Scope of the Abortion Ruling, Monkeypox, and Public Health Powers
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Manchin Makes a Deal
In a rare surprise for official Washington, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced a deal to expand the planned health bill in the Senate to include provisions raising taxes and addressing climate change. The measure would include a third year of expanded subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, but not health care coverage for people left out of Medicaid in states that failed to expand the program. Meanwhile, the ACA goes back to court, and the Biden administration restores anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people that were rolled back by the Trump administration. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Céline Gounder of KHN about the latest on the monkeypox outbreak.
Nursing Homes Are Suing the Friends and Family of Residents to Collect Debts
Debt lawsuits — long a byproduct of America’s medical debt crisis — can ensnare not only patients but also those who help sick and older people be admitted to nursing homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
Post-‘Roe,’ People Are Seeking Permanent Sterilizations, and Some Are Being Turned Away
Doctors in states where abortion is or could be banned say more patients are seeking permanent sterilization procedures, but some patients are reporting that providers are unwilling to operate on people of childbearing age.
Tres cosas sobre el debate del aborto que se entienden mal
Uno de los mitos: que la decisión de la Corte Suprema afecta solo a las mujeres que quieren realizarse el procedimiento, cuando en realidad afecta a toda la salud reproductiva.
Three Things About the Abortion Debate That Many People Get Wrong
The commonly repeated myths include arguments that only women who are pregnant are affected by the decision overturning Roe v. Wade, that Democratic lawmakers could have codified abortion protections before, and that Congress can easily get rid of federal laws restricting abortion.
FTC Official: Antitrust Push in Health Care Must Focus on a Merger’s ‘Human Impact’
Mark Seidman, an assistant director in the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, talks with KHN about efforts to police consolidation among hospitals and other health care providers.
Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health Powers
Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.
A Free-for-All From Readers and Tweeters, From Medical Debt to Homelessness
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Life After ‘Roe’ Is … Confusing
A rapidly changing landscape for abortion has left patients, providers, employers, and lawmakers alike wondering what is and is not legal and what to do next. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have resumed negotiations on legislation to lower drug prices and, potentially, continue expanded insurance subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
