Courts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks To Let Medicare Patients Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage

KFF Health News Original

Medicare beneficiaries under observation care in the hospital can face higher costs for treatment and are not covered for nursing home care when discharged. A federal trial in Hartford, Conn., will determine whether the government’s ban on appeals involving observation care coverage is fair.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Gun Violence And The Politics Of Public Health

KFF Health News Original

The recent tragic mass shootings have refocused efforts to treat gun violence as a public health issue rather than strictly a law enforcement problem. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus the health implications of the budget deal passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump, as well as reaction from Canada to a proposal to allow broader imports of its prescription drugs. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Deciphering The Democrats’ Health Debate

KFF Health News Original

Health care was a major topic at the Democratic presidential candidate debates in Detroit on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the focus on plan minutiae may have left viewers more confused than edified. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Caitlin Owens of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the points made by the candidates plus a series of Trump administration health initiatives on drug prices and hospital shopping.

Migrant Moms Await Due Dates And Court Dates

KFF Health News Original

A growing number of pregnant women are among the migrants seeking asylum in the United States. Many must wait in Mexico until their cases are heard, spending weeks or months in migrant shelters with limited access to health care.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Cue The Drug Price Debate

KFF Health News Original

Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee unveiled their long-awaited proposal to try to rein in prescription drug costs, even as bipartisan leaders of the other Senate committee that oversees health announced it would not bring its drug price bill to the Senate floor until fall. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus court actions on health issues.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Biden Doubles Down On Obamacare

KFF Health News Original

Presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled a health plan intended to provide a more moderate alternative to his competitors’ “Medicare for All” plans. It would build on the Affordable Care Act but would go much further. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus Planned Parenthood’s very bad week, the U.S. House vote to repeal the health law’s “Cadillac tax” on generous health plans, and the reduction in deaths from opioids.

Víctimas de violación reciben cuentas por examen forense, aunque una ley lo prohíbe

KFF Health News Original

Durante 25 años, el Acta de Violencia contra la Mujer ha requerido que el estado que quiera ser elegible para ciertos subsidios federales cubra el costo de exámenes médicos para víctimas de agresión sexual. 

Despite Federal Protections, Rape Victims Still Get Billed For Forensic Exams

KFF Health News Original

Under federal law, people who have been raped don’t have to pay for medical forensic exams, yet many get billed and have trouble getting the hospitals or collection agencies to stop dunning them for payment.

DOJ Lawyers Try New Tricks To Undo Obamacare. Will It Work?

KFF Health News Original

KHN consulted legal experts about some of the arguments advanced by Trump administration lawyers during the most recent round of oral arguments in the legal challenge brought by 18 “red” states to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Could The ACA Really Go Away?

KFF Health News Original

Is the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional? That was the question before a federal appeals court in New Orleans this week. Two of the three judges on the panel seemed inclined to agree with a lower court that the elimination of the tax penalty for failure to maintain coverage could mean the entire health law should fall. Also this week, President Donald Trump wants to improve care for people with kidney disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus courts blocking efforts to require drug prices in TV ads and to kick Planned Parenthood out of the federal family planning program. Plus, Rovner interviews University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley about the latest legal threat to the ACA.

Federal Appeals Court Takes Up Case That Could Upend U.S. Health System

KFF Health News Original

The Affordable Care Act is again being put to the test after a lower court judge ruled the massive health law unconstitutional. Could the case ricochet back to the Supreme Court in the throes of the 2020 presidential campaign season?

AMA Abortion Lawsuit Puts Doctors In The Thick Of Debate

KFF Health News Original

The doctors’ group, which had not been very vocal in recent years on the issue, is taking an assertive stance. The AMA said North Dakota’s laws interfere with doctor-patient relationships.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Dems Debate Health Care

KFF Health News Original

Democratic presidential candidates disagreed on how to fix health care in their first debate Wednesday, although they all called for boosting insurance coverage and lowering prices. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is keeping health care in the news, too, with a new plan to make medical prices more available to the public. Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus the latest in news about bipartisan progress on catch-all legislation to address “surprise” medical bills. Plus, Rovner interviews NPR’s Jon Hamilton about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.