Latest Morning Briefing Stories
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: On Government Spending, Congress Decides Not to Decide
Congress has once again decided not to decide how to fund the federal government in time for the start of the fiscal year, racing toward a midnight Sept. 30 deadline to pass a stopgap bill that would keep the lights on for two more months. However, it does appear the FDA’s program that gets drugmakers to help fund some of the agency’s review staff will be renewed in time to stop pink slips from being sent. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews filmmaker Cynthia Lowen, whose new documentary, “Battleground,” explores how anti-abortion forces played the long game to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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.
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.
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.
California y Nueva York buscan frenar la venta de píldoras para adelgazar a menores
Si ambas medidas se convierten en ley, sus defensores esperan que den impulso a la restricción de la venta de píldoras dietéticas a niños y adolescentes en más estados.
California and New York Aim to Curb Diet Pill Sales to Minors
California and New York would be the first states to require anyone under 18 to obtain prescriptions to purchase over-the-counter weight loss products, which some research has linked to eating disorders.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: The New Cap on Medicare Drug Costs
In this episode, Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KHN, guides listeners through decades of dealings between Congress and Big Pharma.
Did the US Jump the Gun With the New Omicron-Targeted Vaccines?
With fears of a winter surge looming, government agencies have authorized and encouraged vaccination with a newly formulated booster. But the science to support that decision remains inconclusive.
Readers and Tweeters Place Value on Community Services and Life-Sustaining Care
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Big Pharma Went All In to Kill Drug Pricing Negotiations
For more than a century, the drug industry has issued dire warnings of plunging innovation whenever regulation reared its head. In general, the threat hasn’t materialized.
No, the Senate-Passed Reconciliation Bill Won’t Strip $300 Billion From Medicare
Under the Medicare drug negotiations provisions in the reconciliation bill, the federal government would see its outlays reduced by about $300 billion. That reduction wouldn’t result from cuts in benefits. Instead, Medicare would be empowered to leverage its market power to pay lower prices for certain drugs.
A GOP Talking Point Suggests Birth Control Is Not at Risk. Evidence Suggests Otherwise.
Republicans say Democrats are wrong to claim that birth control could be the Supreme Court’s next target. But Democrats have plenty of evidence that it might be.
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discusses the Senate Democrats’ plans to let Medicare negotiate some drug prices, cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and fund enhanced subsides for ACA marketplace health plans.
Lo que debes saber sobre Paxlovid para tratar covid, en especial, ¿debes tomarlo?
Desde que Paxlovid comenzó a estar disponible hace siete meses, ha eclipsado otras terapias disponibles para prevenir los síntomas graves de covid en pacientes de alto riesgo. Algunos médicos se apresuran a recetarlo, pero como ocurre con tanto sobre la pandemia de covid, hay controversia.
Everything You Need to Know About Paxlovid — Especially, Should You Take It?
Paxlovid has eclipsed other available therapies for preventing life-threatening covid symptoms in high-risk patients. But even as doctors praise its effectiveness, many say they have unanswered questions about prescribing the drug and want more and better data about it.
Listen: Can California Lower the Price of Insulin?
California Healthline senior correspondent Angela Hart describes California’s ambitious plan to manufacture generic insulin under the state’s new “CalRx” drug label.
Ad Targeting Manchin and AARP Mischaracterizes Medicare Drug-Price Negotiations
The advocacy group American Commitment said empowering Medicare to negotiate drug prices would raid it of billions of dollars. Drug pricing experts say that that’s not the case and that such policies would instead reduce costs for the Medicare program and seniors.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Drug Price Bill Is a Go in the Senate
Two things happened in Washington this week that were inevitable: President Joe Biden tested positive for covid-19, and the Senate agreed to move forward on a budget bill that includes only a sliver of what Biden hoped it would. Still, the bill to allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices, cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and extend temporary subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance premiums would represent a major step if Democrats can get it across the finish line. Meanwhile, abortion battles continue to escalate around the country, with Texas leading the way in restrictions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., the new president of the American Medical Association.
