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Latest Morning Briefing Stories

New California Law May Expand Use Of HIV Prevention Drugs, With Caveats

KFF Health News Original

Legislation that takes effect next July will let people buy the medications without a prescription for a limited period. Medical professionals say it’s a step in the right direction but will not significantly increase the use of the medicine without additional efforts.

White House Unveils Finalized Health Care Price Transparency Rule

KFF Health News Original

The final directive drew swift responses from the hospital and insurance industries. The Trump administration also released a proposed rule that would require health insurers to spell out for all services beforehand just how much patients may owe for their out-of-pocket costs.

KHN’s ‘What The Health’: Spending Bill Slowdown

KFF Health News Original

It’s November, do you know where your HHS spending bill is? Still stuck in Congress. Meanwhile, lawmakers move ahead on restricting tobacco products for youth while the administration’s proposal is MIA. Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more health news from the week. Also, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann, host of the podcast “An Arm and a Leg.”

How Germany Averted An Opioid Crisis

KFF Health News Original

Doctors are less likely to prescribe opioids in Germany and quicker to notice if a patient is at risk of abuse. And, for those who do experience addiction, treatment is easier to come by.

Moved Overseas For School, Stayed For Insulin

KFF Health News Original

Katie West, an American health researcher who has lived in Germany the past three years, hasn’t mastered the language and misses her family. But not having to worry about the cost of her lifesaving medication makes it OK.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Democrats Do Drugs (Prices)

KFF Health News Original

House Democrats start legislative work on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s prescription drug pricing bill; health is again a featured player in the Democratic presidential candidate debate; and courts around the country hold up President Donald Trump’s health agenda. This week, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.

Think ‘Medicare For All’ Is The Only Democratic Health Plan? Think Again

KFF Health News Original

The Democratic presidential candidates have hit hard on health care, but generally the debates have centered on what kind of system candidates propose. The candidates’ ideas on many other issues, such as mental health and gun safety, have attracted much less attention.

California’s New Transparency Law Reveals Steep Rise In Wholesale Drug Prices

KFF Health News Original

Pharmaceutical companies raised the wholesale cost of their drugs by a median of nearly 26% from 2017 to early 2019, according to California’s first-ever report stemming from a new drug price transparency law. Prices for generic drugs rose nearly 38% during that time.