Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Repeating History: California County Plugs Budget Gap With Opioid Settlement Cash
State attorneys general vowed that opioid settlement funds — unlike the tobacco settlement of the 1990s — would go toward tackling the underlying crisis. But in Mendocino County, officials have found a way to use some of its share to help fill a budget shortfall — a throwback to what agreement architects hoped to avoid.
Be Aware: Someone Could Steal Your Medical Records and Bill You for Their Care
Consumers should know that this type of fraud can happen, whether from a large-scale breach or theft of an individual’s data. The result could be thousands of dollars in medical bills.
Sen. Sanders Says Millions of People Can’t Find a Doctor. He’s Mostly Right.
The Vermont senator sees beefing up the primary care workforce as a critical step in expanding Americans’ access to health care.
His Anesthesia Provider Billed Medicare Late. He Got Sent to Collections for the $3,000 Tab.
Medicare was supposed to cover the entire cost of his procedure. But after the anesthesia provider failed to file its claims in a timely manner, it billed the patient instead.
Bankrupt California Hospital Receives Lifeline From Adventist, Report Says
The Fresno Bee reports that Madera Community Hospital has reached an agreement with Adventist Health to take over the bankrupt facility and avoid liquidation.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Another Try for Mental Health ‘Parity’
President Joe Biden is kicking off his reelection campaign in part by trying to finish a decades-long effort to establish parity in insurance benefits between mental and physical health. Meanwhile, House Republicans are working to add abortion and other contentious amendments to must-pass spending bills. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Céline Gounder about her podcast “Epidemic.” The new season focuses on the successful public health effort to eradicate smallpox.
Los líderes legislativos habían presionado a Newsom, también demócrata, para que canalizara los ingresos fiscales hacia la reducción de los costos de la atención sanitaria.
Home Sweet Parking Lot: Some Hospitals Welcome RV Living for Patients, Families, and Workers
Medical and RV industry professionals say hospitals that offer RV parking are easing access to health care for some patients who drive long distances for treatment, like many rural residents.
Covered California to Cut Patient Costs After Democratic Lawmakers Win Funding From Gov. Newsom
California’s health insurance exchange will reduce how much some patients pay for care next year, including hospital deductibles, appointment copays, and prescription drugs. Lawmakers pressed Gov. Gavin Newsom to make good on a four-year-old pledge to use proceeds from a tax penalty on uninsured people to help people pay for treatment.
A un año del lanzamiento de la línea 988, ¿Funciona? ¿Qué desafíos enfrenta?
Esta línea fue diseñada con la idea de que las personas que experimentan angustia emocional se sintieran más cómodas buscando ayuda capacitada sin tener que llamar al 911.
Pain Clinic Chain to Pay $11.4M to Settle Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Claims
The owner of one of California’s largest chains of pain management clinics has agreed to pay California, Oregon, and the federal government to settle Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud allegations.
A Year With 988: What Worked? What Challenges Lie Ahead?
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, a national hotline, reached its first-year milestone this month.
New Weight Loss Drugs Carry High Price Tags and Lots of Questions for Seniors
Although nearly 40% of Americans 60 and older are obese, Medicare doesn’t cover weight loss medications. Meanwhile, studies haven’t thoroughly examined new drugs’ impact on older adults.
Hospitals Ask Congress to Delay ACA Medicaid Funding Cuts — For the 14th Time
Congress has until October to avert cuts to a Medicaid program intended to support safety-net hospitals that, in practice, improves the bottom lines of other hospitals, too. Hospital leaders say now is not a good time for the cuts — which lawmakers have so far postponed 13 times.
Journalists Discuss Abortion Lawsuits and the Pros and Cons of Health Care Sharing Plans
KFF Health News 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.
Giant Health System Almost Saved a Community Hospital. Now, It Wants to ‘Extract Every Dollar.’
A bankruptcy judge will soon decide whether a Central Valley hospital needs to liquidate to repay its creditors. Its largest creditor, St. Agnes Medical Center, is the very entity that backed out of purchasing the Madera Community Hospital last December.
Un sistema de salud gigante casi salvó a un hospital de Madera. Ahora quiere “sacarle cada dólar”
Problemas como el de Madera son comunes en otros hospitales pequeños con situaciones financieras precarias en California, y en todo el país.
Medical Debt Is Making Americans Angry. Doctors and Hospitals Ignore This at Their Peril.
Doctors and hospitals hold an exalted position in American life, retaining public confidence even as other institutions such as government, law enforcement, and the media are losing people’s trust. But with health care debt out of hand, medical providers risk their good standing.
Industry Groups in California Vie for New Medicaid Money
State officials have promised to boost funding for California’s Medicaid program by $11.1 billion starting next year, with most of that money earmarked for higher payments to doctors, hospitals, and other providers. But the details have yet to be worked out, and powerful health industry groups are jockeying for position.
Congress Considers Easing Regulations on Air Transport of Donated Organs
A little-noticed provision of sweeping legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration would make it easier to fly human organs from donor to recipient.
