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Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Arkansas Led the Nation in Measuring Obesity in Kids. Did It Help?

KFF Health News Original

For more than 20 years, children in Arkansas have been measured in school as part of a statewide effort to reduce childhood obesity. But the letters have had no impact on weight loss — and obesity rates have risen. Still, the practice of sending letters has spread to other states.

After Uphill Battle, Company Is Poised for Takeover of Bankrupt California Hospital

KFF Health News Original

American Advanced Management, a steadily growing operator of small hospitals, is expected to get the green light from a bankruptcy court next week to take over the shuttered Madera Community Hospital. Some community groups worry about the company’s track record.

An Arm and a Leg: Attack of the Medicare Machines

Podcast

In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann tells a horror story. Instead of monsters and aliens, it’s about private health insurance companies and algorithms that call the shots on patient care.

City-Country Mortality Gap Widens Amid Persistent Holes in Rural Health Care Access

KFF Health News Original

People in their prime working years living in rural America are 43% more likely to die of natural causes, like diseases, than their urban counterparts, a disparity that grew rapidly in recent decades, according to a new federal report.

After Public Push, CMS Curbs Health Insurance Agents’ Access to Consumer SSNs

KFF Health News Original

Days after publication of a KFF Health News article about Obamacare enrollees being switched to different plans without their knowledge or consent, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services took steps to tighten insurance agents’ access to private consumer information on the federal marketplace.

Feds Join Ranks of Employers with Generous Fertility Benefits

KFF Health News Original

Starting this year, federal employees can choose plans that cover a broad menu of fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for in vitro fertilization procedures. At the same time, politics around IVF and reproductive health have become a central issue in the current election-year debate.

Medical Debt Affects Much of America, but Colorado Immigrants Are Hit Especially Hard

KFF Health News Original

Colorado is ahead of the curve on policies to prevent medical debt, but the gap between the debt load in places inhabited primarily by people of color versus non-Hispanic white residents is greater than the national average.

ACA Plans Are Being Switched Without Enrollees’ OK

KFF Health News Original

Insurance agents say it’s too easy to access consumer information on the Affordable Care Act federal marketplace. Policyholders can lose their doctors and access to prescriptions. Some end up owing back taxes.

For-Profit Companies Open Psychiatric Hospitals in Areas Clamoring for Care

KFF Health News Original

State institutions and community hospitals have closed inpatient mental health units, often citing staffing and financial challenges. Now, for-profit companies are opening psychiatric hospitals to fill the void.

A State-Sanctioned Hospital Monopoly Raises Concerns

KFF Health News Original

The Federal Trade Commission has long argued that competition makes the economy better. But some states have stopped the agency from blocking hospital mergers that create local or regional monopolies, and the results have been messy. Two dozen states have at some point passed controversial legislation waiving anti-monopoly laws, allowing rival hospitals to merge and replacing competition […]

Programas de inteligencia artificial diagnostican retinopatía diabética en minutos

KFF Health News Original

En medio de todo el revuelo en torno a la inteligencia artificial en la atención médica, la tecnología de exámenes de la vista está surgiendo como uno de los primeros casos de uso probados de diagnósticos basados en IA en un entorno clínico.

The Burden of Getting Medical Care Can Exhaust Older Patients

KFF Health News Original

It’s estimated that an older patient can spend three weeks of the year getting care — and that doesn’t count the time it takes to arrange appointments or deal with insurance companies.

As AI Eye Exams Prove Their Worth, Lessons for Future Tech Emerge

KFF Health News Original

With artificial intelligence in health care on the rise, eye screenings for diabetic retinopathy are emerging as one of the first proven use cases of AI-based diagnostics in a clinical setting.