Latest KFF Health News Stories
Estados desafían a Biden a que baje precios de medicamentos permitiendo importaciones desde Canadá
En Estados Unidos se pagan unos de los precios más altos del mundo por los productos farmacéuticos de marca. Los medicamentos son generalmente menos caros en el vecino Canadá, donde el gobierno controla los precios.
States Challenge Biden to Lower Drug Prices by Allowing Imports From Canada
Colorado has joined Florida, New Hampshire, and New Mexico in seeking federal permission to import prescription drugs from Canada. President Joe Biden endorsed the approach in his 2020 campaign but has yet to approve any state plan.
What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt
Coal mining ended in Germany’s Saarland a decade ago, but the transition away from coal has been smoother than in West Virginia, which has more medical debt than any state in America.
Are You an Optimist? Could You Learn to Be? Your Health May Depend on It.
Multiple studies show a strong association between higher levels of optimism and healthy aging. We ask some dedicated optimists what might explain the connection.
How Medicare Advantage Plans Dodged Auditors and Overcharged Taxpayers by Millions
Facing rare scrutiny from federal auditors, some Medicare Advantage health plans failed to produce any records to justify their payments, government records show. The audits revealed millions of dollars in overcharges to Medicare over three years.
In Rural America, Deadly Costs of Opioids Outweigh the Dollars Tagged to Address Them
Some people say it’s reasonable for densely populated areas to receive more settlement funds, since they serve more of those affected. But others worry this overlooks rural communities disproportionately harmed by opioid addiction.
KHN Investigation: The System Feds Rely On to Stop Repeat Health Fraud Is Broken
A months-long KHN examination of the system meant to bar fraudsters from Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health programs found gaping holes and expansive gray areas through which banned individuals slip to repeatedly bilk taxpayer-funded programs.
Journalists Explain Medicaid Work Requirements and Hospital Price Transparency
KHN 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.
Hospital Financial Decisions Play a Role in the Critical Shortage of Pediatric Beds for RSV Patients
Yes, the U.S. is experiencing an unusual spate of childhood RSV infections. But the critical shortage of hospital beds to treat ailing children stems from structural problems in pediatric care that have been brewing for years.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Congress Races the Clock
Sen. Raphael Warnock’s re-election in Georgia will give Democrats a clear-cut Senate majority for the first time in nearly a decade. Meanwhile, the current Congress has only days left to tackle major unfinished business on the health agenda, including fending off scheduled pay cuts for doctors and other health providers in the Medicare program. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
More States to Consider Extending Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Beyond Two Months
Fifteen states haven’t moved to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms beyond the minimum of 60 days after birth. But at least four of those holdout states — Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, and Mississippi — are expected to consider proposals to extend coverage in their upcoming legislative sessions.
Watch: Big Medicaid Changes in California Leave Millions of Patients Behind
KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discusses how California’s big Medicaid experiment to bring social services to the sickest and costliest patients doesn’t help most patients.
Paxlovid Has Been Free So Far. Next Year, Sticker Shock Awaits.
The government soon will stop paying for the covid drug that has proved to be the most effective at keeping patients alive and out of the hospital.
Colorado Option’s Big Test: Open Enrollment
Critics were ready to bury the state’s new health insurance plans, based on a public option, when 2023 rate hikes were announced, but officials are confident people will be drawn to the plans’ benefits.
Florida Leaders Misrepresented Research Before Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
The Florida policy backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis relies on one key statistic that many experts question.
Much of the CDC Is Working Remotely. That Could Make Changing the Agency Difficult.
Like many U.S. workplaces, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went remote during the pandemic. Most of the agency’s staff members haven’t returned to the office full time, raising concerns about the CDC’s ability to reform itself after recent stumbles.
Journalists Discuss Medicaid Rules, Opioid Settlement Funds, and the Public Health Workforce
KHN 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.
The Disability Tax: Medical Bills Remain Inaccessible for Many Blind Americans
Health insurers and health care systems across the country are violating disability rights laws by sending medical bills that blind and visually impaired people cannot read, a KHN investigation has found. By hindering the ability of blind Americans to know what they owe, some bills get sent to debt collections.
The Business of Clinical Trials Is Booming. Private Equity Has Taken Notice.
Private equity-backed Headlands Research heralded its covid-19 vaccine trials as a chance to boost participation among diverse populations, then it shuttered multiple sites that conducted them.
Watch: The Politics of Health Care in California
KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discussed the most pressing health care issues in California with the nonpartisan group Democracy Winters in mid-November, touching on a variety of issues, from the state’s effort to transform its Medicaid program to its plan to produce generic insulin.
