Latest Morning Briefing Stories
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Looking Ahead to the Lame-Duck Session
Congress won’t be back in Washington until after Election Day, but lawmakers have left themselves a long list of items to finish up in November and December, including unfinished health care policies. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call; Jessie Hellmann, also of CQ Roll Call; and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Sam Whitehead, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a family who tried to use urgent care to save money, but ended up with a big emergency room bill anyway.
$80,000 and 5 ER Visits: An Ectopic Pregnancy Takes a Toll Despite NY’s Liberal Abortion Law
If an embryo has implanted in a fallopian tube, ending the pregnancy is imperative to protect the patient’s life. Women’s health advocates have raised concerns that the needed treatment may be hampered by restrictive abortion laws in some states. Yet women seeking treatment in states with more liberal abortion laws may still find the process expensive and harrowing.
Journalists Dig In on the Fiscal Health of the Nation and Hospital Closures in Rural Missouri
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.
Readers and Tweeters Take a Close Look at Eye Care and White Mulberry Leaf
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Centene Agrees to Pay Massachusetts $14 Million Over Medicaid Prescription Claims
Massachusetts is the latest state to settle with St. Louis-based Centene Corp. over allegations that it overcharged Medicaid prescription drug programs.
Opponents of California’s Abortion Rights Measure Mislead on Expense to Taxpayers
California Together, which opposes Proposition 1, warns that taxpayers will pay millions more if the abortion rights constitutional amendment passes because it would attract women from out of state. We take a closer look.
Texas, Battling Teen Pregnancy, Recasts Sex Education Standards
As Texas adjusts to a near-total abortion ban, Texas schools are redoubling efforts to end teen pregnancies by enacting new standards for sexual health education. Beyond focusing on abstinence, they are teaching middle schoolers about contraceptives and preventing sexually transmitted infections. But parents must opt in for their children to get the lessons.
Centene to Pay $166 Million to Texas in Medicaid Drug Pricing Settlement
Texas is at least the 12th state to settle with St. Louis-based Centene Corp. over allegations that it overcharged Medicaid prescription drug programs.
Médicos se apresuran a usar fallo de la Corte Suprema para liberarse de cargos por opioides
En una decisión de junio, el tribunal dijo que los fiscales no solo deben probar que una receta no estaba médicamente justificada sino también que el que la escribió sabía del riesgo de recetar opioides.
Doctors Rush to Use Supreme Court Ruling to Escape Opioid Charges
After a unanimous ruling from the high court, doctors who are accused of writing irresponsible prescriptions can go to trial with a new defense: It wasn’t on purpose.
New Abortion Laws Jeopardize Cancer Treatment for Pregnant Patients
As abortion restrictions take effect across the South in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, cancer doctors are trying to decipher the laws. They’re grappling with how to discuss options with pregnant patients, who may be forced to choose whether to proceed or forgo lifesaving cancer treatments that can prove toxic for the fetus.
Court Ruling May Spur Competitive Health Plans to Bring Back Copays for Preventive Services
The Affordable Care Act required that health insurers provide many medical screenings and prevention services at no out-of-pocket cost to health plan members. But insurers and employers may consider adding cost sharing for preventive services now that a federal court ruled the ACA’s mandate is unconstitutional.
Montana Health Department Seeks to Ax Board That Hears Public Assistance Appeals
Applicants for cash, food, and health care assistance would need to go to court to appeal rejections if the Montana legislature approves a proposal to eliminate the Board of Public Assistance.
Algunos estados permiten que se utilicen en estudios de investigación, a veces por parte de terceros a cambio de una cuota, o que se proporcionen al personal policial que investiga un delito.
Newborns Get Routine Heel Blood Tests, but Should States Keep Those Samples?
Shortly after birth, babies are pricked in the heel so their blood can be tested for life-threatening conditions. States generally save leftover blood from those samples, and parents and privacy experts are concerned that information could be used without consent years later.
Many Preventive Medical Services Cost Patients Nothing. Will a Texas Court Decision Change That?
A federal judge in Texas issued a decision this week that affects the Affordable Care Act. It says one way that preventive services are selected for no-cost coverage is unconstitutional.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Judge Takes Aim at the Affordable Care Act’s Preventive Care Benefits
A federal judge in Texas — the same one who tried to strike down the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional in 2018 — has ruled against some of the ACA’s preventive benefits, including the requirement that employers cover medication to prevent HIV. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tries to make abortions slightly more available to veterans and their dependents. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, 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 this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Lauren Sausser, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.
‘Science Friday’ and KHN: Examining Medicine’s Definition of Death Informs the Abortion Debate
Why is it so hard to agree when life begins? As state abortion laws define it, science, politics, and religion are clashing. KHN’s Sarah Varney shared her reporting with the “Science Friday” radio program.
When Does Life Begin? As State Laws Define It, Science, Politics, and Religion Clash
For decades, the U.S. medical establishment has adhered to a legally recognized standard for brain death, one embraced by most states. Why is a uniform clinical standard for the inception of human life proving so elusive?
Policies to Roll Back Abortion Rights Will Hit Incarcerated People Particularly Hard
People in jails and prisons are particularly vulnerable to the fallout from the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.
