Latest KFF Health News Stories
California Hospitals See Massive Surge In Homeless Patients
Homeless patients accounted for about 100,000 visits to California hospitals in 2017, marking a 28% increase from just two years earlier. Health officials attribute the surge to the overall rise in California’s homeless numbers and the large proportion of people living on the streets with mental illness.
CMS Ignores Federal Judge Ruling To Approve Medicaid Work Rules in Utah
Work helps make people healthier, CMS chief Seema Verma said in approving Utah’s waiver request to tie government health benefits to employment or volunteer work. But Judge James Boasberg has said that isn’t the goal of Medicaid.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health Care’s Back (In Court)
It’s been a wild week for health policy, mostly because of developments surrounding two different legal cases. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to sort it out with a discussion of a setback for Medicaid work requirements and the Trump administration’s decision to back a lawsuit claiming the entire Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. Also, Rovner interviews filmmaker Mike Eisenberg about his movie “To Err Is Human: A Patient Safety Documentary.”
Nation’s First HIV-To-HIV Kidney Transplant With Living Donor Succeeds
The organ transplant from a living donor opens up the universe of available organs.
Health Officials’ Plug For Next FDA Chief: Go Big On E-Cig Regulation
With Scott Gottlieb making his exit from the Food and Drug Administration’s top spot, city and country health officials call for backup in the fight to curb teen use of e-cigarettes.
More Older Adults With Joint Replacements Recover At Home, Not Rehab
Research shows that going home after elective hip and knee replacements is a safe alternative for many patients.
Federal Judge Again Blocks Medicaid Work Requirements
The decision applies only to Kentucky and Arkansas, and many experts expect the administration and other conservative states to continue to move forward on rules that would limit coverage for people who don’t work.
FDA Chief Calls For Release Of All Data Tracking Problems With Medical Devices
In the wake of a KHN investigation, Scott Gottlieb says releasing the records is in the public interest.
Device-Safety Experts To FDA: Make Data Public
For almost two decades, device makers have sent reports of incidents to databases hidden from public view.
Trump Administration And Democrats Return Health Law To Political Center Stage
The Justice Department asks a federal appeals court to strike down the Affordable Care Act, then, hours later, House Democrats unveil proposals to bolster the law.
New Rules Will Ease Patients’ Access To Electronic Medical Records, Senate Panel Says
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), head of the influential HELP committee, wants to make it easier to share and store detailed medical histories.
She Was Dancing On The Roof And Talking Gibberish. A Special Kind Of ER Helped Her.
With mental health beds in short supply, emergency rooms increasingly have become the care of first and last resort for people in the grips of a psychiatric episode. Now, hospitals around the country are opening emergency units that calmly cater to patients with mental health needs.
Must-Reads Of The Week (Some Flying Below The Radar)
Executive editor Damon Darlin takes a spin as host of “The Friday Breeze,” whirling through a week of health care news so you don’t have to.
Aspiring Doctors Seek Advanced Training In Addiction Medicine
Once a tiny specialty that drew mostly psychiatrists, addiction medicine is expanding its accredited training to include primary care residents and “social justice warriors” who see it as a calling.
FDA Chief Calls For Stricter Scrutiny Of Electronic Health Records
In an interview, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb reacts to a KHN/Fortune investigation of the drawbacks and risks of electronic health records.
Does It Make Sense To Delay Children’s Vaccines?
The renewed squabble over vaccinations obscures a large group of parents who aren’t anti-vaxxers but spread out their children’s vaccines at a more gradual pace than doctors recommend. Pediatricians warn that could leave small children vulnerable to disease.
Did Your Doctor ‘Ghost’ You? An Employment Contract May Be To Blame
How “noncompete” clauses in contracts between doctors and hospitals or clinics prevent patients from seeing their longtime doctors.
Five Things To Know About The Electronic Health Records Mess
The U.S. government claimed that ditching paper medical charts for electronic records would make health care better, safer and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the digital revolution has gone awry.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ The Karma Of Cutting Medicare
Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Ollstein of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the suggested cuts to health programs in President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, the latest on lawsuits challenging work requirements for Medicaid enrollees and the FDA’s crackdown on e-cigarettes. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week.
Broker Websites Expand Health Plan Shopping Options While Glossing Over Details
These direct-enrollment broker websites are “under-policed” and can steer consumers toward plans that may not be the best option for them, a new report concludes.
