Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Hill Hodgepodge: Pelosi Draws From Democrats, GOP And Trump For Drug Plan
The House speaker announced her plan for lowering drug prices, which includes negotiations between drugmakers and federal health officials.
Doctors And Nurses With Addictions Often Denied A Crucial Recovery Option
Programs for health care professionals addicted to opioids generally bar a proven recovery method: the use of drugs like buprenorphine and methadone to relieve cravings.
Longtime Crusader Against OxyContin Begins To See The Fruits Of Her Struggle
Barbara Van Rooyan lost her son to the drug 15 years ago and has fought ceaselessly since then to hold Purdue Pharma accountable for its role in the opioid crisis.
Air Ambulances Woo Rural Consumers With Memberships That May Leave Them Hanging
State regulators and even one medevac company have raised doubts about prepaid subscriptions and promised benefits offered by air ambulance companies.
UVA To Cut Back On Lawsuits Against Patients
But critics say the new policy still leaves some patients exposed to lawsuits and crippling bills.
UVA Suspends Medical Lawsuits In Wake Of KHN Investigation
KHN reported this week that the University of Virginia Health System has filed 36,000 lawsuits against patients the past six years.
Congress Rakes In Millions From Drugmakers
In the first six months of this year, pharmaceutical firms and their trade groups donated almost $4 million to the campaigns of a variety of senators and House members.
Investors’ Deep-Pocket Push To Defend Surprise Medical Bills
As lobbyists purporting to represent doctors and hospitals fight attempts to control surprise medical bills, it has become increasingly clear that the force behind the effort is not just medical professionals, but also investors from private equity firms.
Virginia Governor And UVA Vow To Revamp Practice Of Suing Patients As CEO Exits
A Kaiser Health News investigation, which first appeared in The Washington Post, showed that the University of Virginia Health System has sued patients 36,000 times for more than $106 million.
‘UVA Has Ruined Us’: Health System Sues Thousands Of Patients, Seizing Paychecks And Claiming Homes
Over six years, the state institution filed 36,000 lawsuits against patients seeking a total of more than $106 million in unpaid bills, a KHN analysis finds.
Hospital Giant Sutter Health Faces Legal Reckoning Over Medical Pricing
A long-awaited class-action lawsuit against Sutter is set to open this month in San Francisco Superior Court. The hospital giant stands accused of violating California’s antitrust laws by leveraging its market power to drive out competition and overcharge patients.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Groupons For Medical Treatment? Welcome To Today’s U.S. Health Care
Groupon and other deal sites are the latest marketing tactic in medicine, offering bargain prices but potentially unnecessary, duplicative services.
Listen: India Gives Opioid Makers A Huge And Growing New Market
KHN’s Sarah Varney discussed opioid painkillers in India with NPR’s Rachel Martin on “Morning Edition” Thursday.
Analysis: How Your Beloved Hospital Helps To Drive Up Health Care Costs
It’s easy to criticize pharmaceutical and insurance companies. But we spend much more on hospitals.
Americans More Likely Than Swedes To Fill Prescriptions For Opioids After Surgery
New research published in JAMA Network Open quantified for the first time international differences in doctors’ prescribing habits and patients’ use of these highly addictive painkillers.
California Tries Again To Make Medication Abortions Available At Its Colleges
A proposed state law would require on-campus health centers to provide students with the medicines that allow them to end an unwanted pregnancy. Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he would sign it.
Firing Doctor, Christian Hospital Sets Off National Challenge To Aid-In-Dying Laws
In Colorado case, the right to aid a cancer patient’s death runs up against faith-based hospital policies. As more states have passed laws, about 1 in 6 acute care beds nationally is in a hospital that is Catholic-owned or -affiliated.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Comparando las farmacias de tu vecindario con las de Alemania
No son como CVS, Rite Aid o Walgreens, las que tienes a la vuelta de la esquina. Die Apotheke, como se llama aquí a una farmacia, vende casi exclusivamente medicamentos.
