Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Immigrant Families Placed In Detention Centers Face Health Care Challenges

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration plans to detain immigrant families indefinitely in facilities run by the Department of Homeland Security, an agency with little experience in handling their complex needs.

Trump’s Next High Court Pick Likely To Target Abortion. Is That What The Public Wants?

KFF Health News Original

Findings from a new poll build on other recent surveys to suggest that Americans might not want the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, but opinions vary when examined by party affiliation.

Top Policy Expert’s Ties To Giant Drugmaker Often Go Unstated

KFF Health News Original

Dr. Mark McClellan joined Johnson & Johnson’s board of directors after leaving the FDA, but the connection often isn’t mentioned in research papers or public events.

Father’s And Son’s Injuries Lead To The Mother Of All Therapy Bills

KFF Health News Original

A father and son suffered serious hand injuries nine days apart. They both needed surgery and lots of follow-up occupational therapy to rehab their hands. But insurance paid for just a fraction of those OT bills, and the family owed more than $8,500.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Podcast Turns 1. Justice Kennedy Retires. Now What?

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times discuss the possible impact of the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy on health issues. Also, in honor of our first anniversary, the panelists offer up their thoughts on the biggest health policy stories of the past year.

Geriatric Assessments Could Fine-Tune Cancer Care For Older Adults

KFF Health News Original

The American Society of Clinical Oncology issued a new guideline that recommends adults 65 and older receive a geriatric assessment when considering or undergoing chemotherapy.

ACA Protections For Sick Patients Still Popular Despite GOP’s Efforts To End Them

KFF Health News Original

Despite a decision by the Trump administration to ask a court to nullify the portion of the health law guaranteeing coverage to the sick, the Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds most people want insurers to be required to offer coverage and not charge more.

Gawande’s Goal Is Providing The ‘Right’ Health Care In New Venture By 3 Firms

KFF Health News Original

The surgeon and writer has been named to head a project by Amazon, Bershire-Hathway and JP Morgan to reduce health costs. He said he wants to help doctors “do the right thing” in delivering care.

Fearing Deportation, Immigrant Parents Are Opting Out Of Health Benefits For Kids

KFF Health News Original

Advocates in Texas say immigrant families, nervous about a higher degree of scrutiny in applications for health and food benefits, are choosing to drop out of Medicaid and SNAP for citizen children.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Live From Aspen!

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times report from the Spotlight Health portion of the annual Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado. They’re joined by Democratic Govs. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Steve Bullock of Montana.

Doling Out Pain Pills Post-Surgery: An Ingrown Toenail Not The Same As A Bypass

KFF Health News Original

As the opioid epidemic rages, a Johns Hopkins surgeon and researcher is leading an effort to curb overprescribing by offering procedure-specific guidelines to ensure that post-surgical patients leave the hospital with enough, but not too much, pain medication.