- KFF Health News Original Stories 4
- FAQ: Medicare Lays Out Plans For Changing Doctors’ Pay
- HHS Acts To Help More Ex-Inmates Get Medicaid
- Even As Birth Rates Fall, Teens Say They Are Getting Less Sex Education
- Pregnant Women In Houston And Their Doctors Weigh Risks Of Zika
- Political Cartoon: 'Keeping Track'
- Administration News 2
- Administration Expands Medicaid To Cover Former Prisoners In Halfway Houses
- Teen Birth Rates Plunge Dramatically, But 'Profound' Racial Disparities Remain, CDC Finds
- Capitol Watch 1
- Sweeping VA Reform Bill Would Strengthen Whistleblower Protection, Solidify Accountability Measures
- Public Health 2
- Severity Of Damage From Zika Far Worse Than Seen With Textbook Microcephaly Cases
- Cancer Nonprofit Helps Younger Patients Find Their Community
- State Watch 2
- BP Oil Spill Settlement Will Be Used To Fund Medicaid Under Alabama Plan
- State Highlights: Calif. Nurses' Union Reaches Tentative Deal With Stanford Hospitals; Tribe Sues Feds For Closing S.D. Reservation's Only E.R.
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
FAQ: Medicare Lays Out Plans For Changing Doctors’ Pay
The effort, which will replace a controversial reimbursement schedule that began in 1997, is designed to move away from paying for quantity of services and focus instead on quality. (Mary Agnes Carey, )
HHS Acts To Help More Ex-Inmates Get Medicaid
Obama administration broadens eligibility for those in halfway houses, but advocates for former prisoners say HHS and states must do far more. (Jay Hancock, )
Even As Birth Rates Fall, Teens Say They Are Getting Less Sex Education
A report by the Guttmacher Institute finds that the proportion of teenagers who are getting instructions in birth control methods is declining. (Michelle Andrews, )
Pregnant Women In Houston And Their Doctors Weigh Risks Of Zika
The U.S. Gulf Coast has the right weather conditions and mosquitoes for the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects. But the level of risk is unknown in this country so doctors are advising caution to their patients who are pregnant or trying to have a baby. (Carrie Feibel, Houston Public Media, )
Political Cartoon: 'Keeping Track'
KFF Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Political Cartoon: 'Keeping Track'" by Brian, Greg and Mort Walker.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
EXIT FROM JAIL SHOULDN’T BE EXIT FROM HEALTH CARE
Getting out of jail
Just first step for ex-inmates
To get Medicaid.
- Anonymous
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus and cartoons are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Summaries Of The News:
Administration Expands Medicaid To Cover Former Prisoners In Halfway Houses
People who are still incarcerated are not eligible for the program, but there had been questions previously about their eligibility once they moved to a halfway house. The administration also wants correction departments to begin signing up prisoners before they are released to help ease the transition.
USA Today:
Feds Expand Medicaid Coverage To Most Of Those In Halfway Houses
Most inmates in halfway houses after release from prison will be eligible for Medicaid benefits under a new federal policy announced Thursday. The change, part of a larger push by the Obama administration to help former inmates or reduce sentences, means nearly 100,000 people in halfway houses in states where they would be eligible for Medicaid should soon have access to health care, mental health and substance abuse treatment. (O'Donnell, 4/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Obama Administration Takes Steps To Help Former Prisoners Get Medicaid
Community activists have long seen the law’s expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor, as an opportunity to secure health care for people leaving prison, where they do receive treatment. It could also prevent them from sharp relapses that could result in costly emergency room admissions. Ex-inmates often have particular needs for HIV, mental health and substance abuse treatment, activists and federal officials agree. But there have been practical obstacles involved in signing people up before they are released, and questions over their eligibility if they are living in halfway houses or on parole. Incarcerated people aren't allowed to be in Medicaid, and states are responsible for their health care instead through the prison health system. (Radnofsky, 4/28)
Kaiser Health News:
HHS Acts To Help More Ex-Inmates Get Medicaid
Administration officials moved Thursday to improve low Medicaid enrollment for emerging prisoners, urging states to start signups before release and expanding eligibility to thousands of former inmates in halfway houses near the end of their sentences. Health coverage for ex-inmates “is critical to our goal of reducing recidivism and promoting the public health,” said Richard Frank, assistant secretary for planning for the Department of Health and Human Services. (Hancock, 4/29)
Teen Birth Rates Plunge Dramatically, But 'Profound' Racial Disparities Remain, CDC Finds
Hispanic birth rates dropped 51 percent, while those for black teens are down 44 percent, but the white teen birth rate is only half as high.
NPR:
Teen Birth Rates Plummet For Hispanic And Black Girls
The nation's falling teen birth rate saw an even bigger drop over the past decade, with dramatic declines among Hispanic and black teens. Birth rates are down a whopping 51 percent among Hispanics age 15 to 19 since 2006, and down 44 percent among black teens, according to a survey of census data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teen pregnancy rates among whites also fell by a third. (Ludden, 4/28)
The Associated Press:
CDC: Teen Birth Rates Plunge, But Racial Disparities Persist
Birth rates are falling dramatically for black and Hispanic teenagers, but they continue to be much higher than the birth rate for white teens. The Hispanic teen birth rate fell by half over about eight years, and the black teen birth rate dropped nearly that much. But even with those declines, the white teen birth rate is still only half as high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. "Despite this historic progress, profound disparities remain," said Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. (4/28)
The Washington Post:
Teen Birthrate Hits All-Time Low, Led By 50 Percent Decline Among Hispanics And Blacks
Theories on the reasons for the dramatic shift include everything from new approaches to sex education to the widespread availability of broadband Internet. But most experts agree on the two major causes. The first is the most important and may be obvious: Today's teens enjoy better access to contraception and more convenient contraception than their predecessors, and more of them are taking advantage of innovations like long-acting injectable and implantable methods that can last years over a daily birth control pill. But the second cause is something that goes against the conventional wisdom. It's that teens -- despite their portrayal in popular TV and movies as uninhibited and acting only on hormones -- are having less sex. (Cha, 4/28)
The Baltimore Sun:
CDC: Pregnancies Among Black, Hispanic Teens Drop Nationally
“The United States has made remarkable progress in reducing both teen pregnancy and racial and ethnic differences, but the reality is, too many American teens are still having babies,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director, in a statement. “By better understanding the many factors that contribute to teen pregnancy we can better design, implement, evaluate, and improve prevention interventions and further reduce disparities.” The CDC also reported that research shows the cost to U.S. taxpayers from teen pregnancy and childbirth is estimated at $9 billion a year. To reduce the rates, public health officials have been concentrating on community-level programs. That includes reproductive health services such as contraception. (Cohn, 4/28)
Meanwhile, the rate of teens being taught sex education is also falling —
Kaiser Health News:
Even As Birth Rates Fall, Teens Say They Are Getting Less Sex Education
Teenage girls are catching up to teenage boys in one way that does no one any good: lack of sex education, according to a recent report. The proportion of teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 who were taught about birth control methods declined from 70 to 60 percent over two time periods, from 2006-2010 and 2011-2013, the analysis of federal data found. Meanwhile, the percentage of teenage boys in the same age group who were taught about birth control also declined, from 61 to 55 percent. (Andrews, 4/29)
Sweeping VA Reform Bill Would Strengthen Whistleblower Protection, Solidify Accountability Measures
The legislation would also expedite the removal of Department of Veterans Affairs employees found guilty of misconduct, give the VA secretary additional hiring-and-firing authority and reduce benefits for senior executives who have committed certain crimes. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the bill to increase access to overdose antidote naloxone is moving through the House and Florida's delegation is pushing Gov. Rick Scott to explain revised HIV numbers.
The Connecticut Mirror:
Blumenthal Leads Bipartisan Senate Effort To Reform VA
With continuing scandals at the nation’s veterans’ hospitals, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and a Republican colleague introduced a sweeping new bill Thursday aimed at protecting whistleblowers and speeding the firing of bad actors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “Almost every morning on the news we see a new story of our failure to our veterans,” said Sen. John Isakson, R-Ga., who co-sponsored the bill with Blumenthal. (Radelat, 4/28)
The Chicago Tribune:
Lali's Law: Opioid-Antidote Bill Advances To U.S. House Floor
A national law named after a Buffalo Grove resident that would help increase access to the life-saving heroin antidote naloxone is moving to the U.S. House floor for a vote after it passed out of committee in Washington this week. (Abderholden, 4/28)
The Miami Herald:
U.S. Reps Pressing Scott On Sudden Drop In New HIV Cases In State
Eleven members of Florida’s Congressional Delegation are pressing Gov. Rick Scott to explain how the state changed its count of new HIV cases amid a controversy over the numbers. The congressmen, a mix of Democrats and Republicans representing districts from North Florida to the Keys, sent Scott a letter Thursday demanding to know why the state health department revised the number of new infections reported in 2014 from 6,147 to 4,613. (McGrory, 4/29)
Meanwhile, an aid package for Flint, Michigan, could get a full Senate vote in May, and historian David Rosner speaks about the lead epidemic in America —
The Associated Press:
Senate Committee OKs Millions To Aid Flint In Water Crisis
A Senate committee on Thursday approved a $220 million aid package for Flint, Michigan, as the city struggles to deal with a water crisis and public health emergency from lead-contaminated pipes. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee backed the bipartisan deal as part of a broader, $4.8 billion bill that authorizes water-related projects across the country for flood control, harbor deepening and other steps. The bill was approved, 19-1, and could come up for a Senate vote in May. (4/28)
PBS:
Poisoning America
Public health historian David Rosner speaks on the origins of the lead epidemic in Flint and beyond. "Well the prescription is simply that we’ve had an ongoing disease, we’ve had a crisis going back into the early part of the 20th century. We’ve had children being poisoned literally, since 1917, 1914 when we discovered the first cases of children being poisoned by lead. And it’s been an unfolding tragedy of the first order for public health and for children around the country," [Rosner says]. (4/18)
Colorado Voters Will Consider Ballot Measure To Set Up Public Health Care For All
The ballot issue in November asks voters if they want to establish a taxpayer-financed public health system that guarantees coverage for everyone at an estimated cost of $38 billion a year. Also in health law news are reports on a new poll, insurers' efforts on the online marketplaces and possible premium increases next year.
The New York Times:
Colorado Weighs Replacing Obama’s Health Policy With Universal Coverage
For years, voters in this swing state have rejected tax increases and efforts to expand government. But now they are flirting with a radical transformation: whether to abandon President Obama’s health care policy and instead create a new, taxpayer-financed public health system that guarantees coverage for everyone. The estimated $38-billion-a-year proposal, which will go before Colorado voters in November, will test whether people have an appetite for a new system that goes further than the Affordable Care Act. That question is also in play in the Democratic presidential primaries. (Healy, 4/28)
The Fiscal Times:
Obamacare Disapproval Is On The Upswing Again
Obamacare came close to reaching a milestone mark of sorts last July: Public approval of the health care reform law as measured by the Pew Research Center nearly matched public disapproval. Since then, though, approval of the law has taken another tumble while disapproval has surged. (Dent, 4/28)
CBS News:
Which Insurer Will Be Next To Abandon Obamacare?
When UnitedHealth (UNH), the nation's largest health insurer, announced earlier this month that it would exit the Affordable Care Act exchange business in all but three states, the obvious question was, who's next? ... For now, at least, the UnitedHealth announcement has not set off a succession of me-too moves. (Konrad, 4/28)
Marketplace:
Health Insurance Spikes In 2017 May Mean More Competition
In the small universe that is health insurance, 2017 may turn out to be pretty nice for the men and women who predict how much insurers have to pay out in claims. ... [John Bertko, chief actuary for Covered California] says after three years actuaries finally have the information to more accurately forecast what they need to make a profit. Better data is just one signal that premiums on the Obamacare exchanges will likely go up more than this year. More sick people than expected and exploding drug prices are two other important signs. (Gorenstein, 4/28)
Reuters:
Aetna Adds More Individual Obamacare Customers Than Projected
Aetna Inc. said more customers opted for its Obamacare plans in the first quarter than it had expected, but added that the program needed to be more flexible to become sustainable. (Penumudi, 4/28)
The Associated Press:
Aetna Tops Street 1Q Forecasts, Hikes 2016 Forecast
Aetna's first-quarter earnings slid nearly 7 percent as enrollment dipped, but the nation's third-largest health insurer topped Wall Street expectations and hiked its 2016 profit forecast. The Hartford, Connecticut, company also said Thursday that it remains on track to close its roughly $35 billion acquisition of Medicare Advantage coverage provider Humana Inc. in the second half of the year. Aetna booked $65.4 million in pretax costs in the first quarter from that pending acquisition and other deals. (Murphy, 4/28)
Ransomware Attacks: Why Hospitals? Why Now?
The digital era has swept in a new "crime of the century," and hospitals are in the crosshairs.
RealClearPolitics:
Ransomware: A New Crime For A New Century
The kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the payment of ransom, and the child’s subsequent murder so gripped the nation in 1932 that the episode was labeled the “crime of the century.” We’re well into a new century now, and criminals are once again demanding ransom from their victims. This time, though, it’s our computers, not our children that are being targeted. (Eisenhower, 4/29)
Severity Of Damage From Zika Far Worse Than Seen With Textbook Microcephaly Cases
Experts have begun calling the constellation of maladies linked to the virus Congenital Zika Syndrome, because they go far beyond what happens with babies who just have microcephaly. In other virus news, the first test for Zika has won approval from the FDA, pregnant women brace for the summer mosquito season and a Hillary Clinton adviser travels to Puerto Rico to learn how it's dealing with the outbreak.
The Wall Street Journal:
Brain Damage In Zika Babies Is Far Worse Than Doctors Expected
The scale and severity of prenatal damage by the Zika virus are far worse than past birth defects associated with microcephaly, a condition characterized by a small head and brain abnormalities. Scans, imaging and autopsies show that Zika eats away at the fetal brain. It shrinks or destroys lobes that control thought, vision and other basic functions. It prevents parts of the brain not yet formed from developing. “These aren’t just microcephaly, like a slightly small head. The brain structure is very abnormal,” said Jeanne Sheffield, director of maternal-fetal medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who has been counseling pregnant women about microcephaly for two decades. (Magalhaes and McKay, 4/28)
NBC News:
First Commercial Zika Virus Test Gets FDA Approval
The first commercial U.S. test to diagnose Zika virus won emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration Thursday. It's a rare piece of good news as states and the federal government struggle to get out ahead of the Zika virus epidemic as it makes its way north to the U.S. (Fox, 4/28)
Kaiser Health News:
Pregnant Women In Houston And Their Doctors Weigh Risks Of Zika
As summer approaches, anxiety about Zika is growing in states like Florida and Texas. The virus hasn't spread to mosquitoes along the Gulf Coast, and it may not, but experts are preparing nonetheless. And because Zika can cause birth defects in newborns, many women — and their doctors — are nervous. In the waiting room at Houston IVF, patients are handed a map of Zika-affected countries and asked to fill out a questionnaire. "The first thing I'm discussing now is Zika," said Dr. Jamie Nodler. (Feibel, 4/28)
NBC News:
Clinton Adviser Amanda Rentería Looks At Zika Prevention In Puerto Rico
The Zika virus has hit Puerto Rico as the U.S. commonwealth reels from an economic crisis that has led to thousands of layoffs at its hospitals. The virus' impact and how the federal government should respond has been an issue in the 2016 Democratic primary and one that the next president — Democrat or Republican — could very well have to tackle. (Gamboa, 4/28)
Cancer Nonprofit Helps Younger Patients Find Their Community
Matthew Zachary noticed a gaping hole in the support and attention for cancer patients between the ages of 15 and 39, and he decided to do something about. And so, Stupid Cancer was born.
The Washington Post:
Stupid Cancer: The Nonprofit For Young Patients That Mixes Advocacy With Edge
Matthew Zachary has always been something of an angry rebel, naturally predisposed “to hate authority,” he says. In nursery school, he was expelled for biting the teacher and the principal because he didn’t like the sleeping mats. So when he got brain cancer as a college senior in 1995, he found plenty of things to get mad about. ... But what really infuriated him, and ultimately sent him in a new direction, was the federal report on adolescents and young adults with cancer that he read several years after doctors excised a golf-ball-size tumor from inside his head. The report’s key finding: Compared with other age groups, the 15-to-39 set was neglected and had gone decades with little to no improvement in survival rates. (McGinley, 4/28)
BP Oil Spill Settlement Will Be Used To Fund Medicaid Under Alabama Plan
The Alabama House approved a proposal for allocating the $1 billion that BP will pay the state, including $70 million for the state’s Medicaid program -- which says it needs an additional $85 million to survive next year.
AL.com:
Alabama House Passes Plan For $1 Billion BP Settlement
The Alabama House of Representatives passed a plan tonight that would use a $1 billion oil spill settlement from BP to pay off debt and cover most of Medicaid's funding request for next year. ... It remains to be seen how it will do in the Senate, which passed a much different plan three weeks ago. The Senate could take up the issue next week, during the final two days of the legislative session. (Cason, 4/28)
Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser:
House Approves BP Settlement That Could Help Medicaid
The Alabama House of Representatives Thursday evening approved a split of BP payments between the state and coastal counties while freeing up extra money for Medicaid. The legislation would securitize the payments due to the state, roughly $1 billion over several years, in a single $639 million payment. The money is part of the oil company's settlement with Gulf Coast states over the 2010 Gulf oil spill and the damages it caused along the coast. ... The moves could free up $70 million for the state’s Medicaid program, which says it needs an extra $85 million over its current 2017 budget to survive. (Lyman, 4/28)
News outlets report on health issues in California, South Dakota, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio and Washington.
The San Jose Mercury News:
Nurses, Stanford Hospitals, Reach Tentative Deal
The union that represents thousands of nurses from Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford said Thursday it has reached a tentative three-year agreement on benefits and wages that will make its members the highest paid nurses in the Bay Area. (Seipel, 4/28)
The Associated Press:
South Dakota Tribe Sues Feds Over ER Closure
A Native American tribe in South Dakota sued the federal government Thursday over the nearly five-month closure of the only emergency room on its reservation. The federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe asks that federal officials be forced to re-open the emergency room at the hospital administered by the Indian Health Service. The agency shuttered the ER in early December, two weeks after federal inspectors uncovered serious failures that they said put patients' lives at risk. (4/28)
The Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Selected For White House Health Care Job Program
The White House has chosen Sacramento and six other cities as pilot sites for its new Health Career Pathways program, a federal initiative that aims to increase the number of Americans working in sustainable, well-paying health care jobs. (Caiola, 4/27)
ProPublica:
For Nebraska’s Poor, Get Sick And Get Sued
Two years ago, the president of Credit Management Services, a collection agency in Grand Island, Nebraska, presented a struggling local family with the keys to a used 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis. To commemorate the donation, the company held a ceremony that concluded outside its offices, where the couple and their two young girls could try out their new car. (Kiel, 4/29)
North Carolina Health News:
More N.C. Hospitals Achieve Improved Safety Rating Scores
The good news is that half of North Carolina’s hospitals are making the grade when it comes to patient safety. The bad news is that half are not. Those are the findings of the most recent hospital safety scores produced by the Leapfrog Group, an organization founded by employers and health care purchasers that has been pushing hospitals to become safer for 15 years. (Hoban, 4/28)
The Associated Press:
New Jersey Doctor Facing Fraud Charges Loses His License
A New Jersey doctor accused of giving unnecessary steroid injections and creating fake patient records has been stripped of his license. (4/28)
The Associated Press:
Advocates Fear Chaos After Rauner Home Health Care Ruling
Gaileen Roberts' daughter Jody has cerebral palsy, is quadriplegic and developmentally delayed. But she can live at home because her mother earns a taxpayer-subsidized $13 an hour as her caregiver. (O'Connor, 4/28)
KQED:
Sutter Plans Closure Of Berkeley’s Alta Bates Hospital, ER
After years of speculation in Berkeley, the future closure of Alta Bates Hospital appears to be certain. Sutter Health, owner of Alta Bates, said it will close the inpatient hospital and its emergency department sometime in advance of 2030, when state seismic standards kick in. Those standards require that all inpatient hospitals are built both to withstand a major quake and to remain fully operational after the event. (Aliferis, 4/28)
The Columbus Dispatch:
Too Many Doctors Prescribe Acid-Blockers To Babies, Study Says
Nobody likes to see an unhappy baby, especially one that’s irritable, crying and spitting up milk. But should a doctor try to treat that unhappiness with medication? But should a doctor try to treat that unhappiness with medication? (Kurtzman, 4/28)
The Tri-City Herald:
11 Nuke Facility Workers Checked For Chemical Vapor Exposure
Work to empty a Hanford tank with an interior leak has been stopped after several workers reported suspicious odors that may have been from chemical vapors on Thursday. (Cary, 4/29)
Research Roundup: New Medicare Doc Pay; Workplace Violence; Insurers' Losses
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Health Affairs:
Medicare's New Physician Payment System
MACRA creates a payment system for physicians that will accelerate Medicare's transition from fee-for-service to payment based on performance metrics, patient experience, and patient outcomes. But three years of complex MACRA rulemaking lie ahead amid a still-entrenched fee-for-service system, continued political rancor over the ACA, and a change in administrations and a new Congress. The trajectory of health care spending over the next few years could also affect the urgency and design components of MACRA implementation. The hundreds of comments on CMS's request for information signal many areas of tension but also areas of agreement. The major question is whether MACRA will succeed at improving quality, reducing unnecessary care, and lowering cost growth where past efforts have lagged or failed outright. (Findlay, 4/21)
The New England Journal of Medicine:
Workplace Violence Against Health Care Workers In The United States
This review focuses on our current knowledge about workplace violence in various health care settings, including the prevalence across professions, potential risk factors, and the use of metal detectors in preventing violence. It also highlights the difficulty researchers have encountered in developing experimental models and the need for further evidence-based research. Health care workplace violence is an underreported, ubiquitous, and persistent problem that has been tolerated and largely ignored. According to the Joint Commission, a major accrediting body for health care organizations, institutions that were once considered to be safe havens are now confronting “steadily increasing rates of crime, including violent crimes such as assault, rape, and homicide." (Phillips, 4/28)
George Mason University Mercatus Center/Heritage Foundation:
The Affordable Care Act In 2014: Significant Insurer Losses Despite Substantial Subsidies
This study presents an overview of insurers’ performance selling [Qualified Health Plans] in the individual market and discusses how insurer performance varied across carriers and states. In sum, it finds that insurers incurred sizeable losses on a per-enrollee basis—despite much higher government support through the law’s reinsurance program than they expected when they set premiums. It also finds that insurers would have needed to increase premiums by at least 26 percent, on average, to have avoided losses in 2014 without the reinsurance program. (Blase, Badger and Haislmaier, 4/22)
The Kaiser Family Foundation:
Is ACA Coverage Affordable For Low-Income People? Perspectives From Individuals In Six Cities
Focus groups with low-income individuals who have Medicaid or Marketplace coverage in California, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, and Virginia reveal that many are struggling financially—they have difficulty paying their bills each month and many are burdened by debt (including medical debt). Their new coverage did not change these underlying financial struggles. However, gaining coverage enabled many to access care they needed to treat ongoing conditions giving them peace of mind. Participants with Medicaid were generally able to access care with few out-of-pocket costs. (Tolbert, Rudowitz and Majerol, 4/21)
Urban Institute/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:
Health Care Access And Affordability Among Low- And Moderate-Income Insured And Uninsured Adults Under The Affordable Care Act
This brief shows that low- and moderate-income adults with Marketplace coverage seem to be doing as well as might be expected. They fared as well as those with [employer-sponsored insurance] ESI, Medicaid, or non-Marketplace nongroup coverage on having a usual source of care and having had a routine checkup, and they did considerably better than the uninsured on those measures. Their ability to get a timely doctor’s appointment and find a doctor as a new patient over the past 12 months was comparable to those with ESI and non-Marketplace nongroup coverage. ... [Marketplace enrollees] do however report more unmet need because of affordability for medical tests, treatments, or follow-up care than those groups. (Holahan, Karpman and Zuckerman, 4/21)
Annals of Internal Medicine:
Climate Change And Health: A Position Paper Of The American College Of Physicians
Potential effects of climate change on human health include higher rates of respiratory and heat-related illness, increased prevalence of vector-borne and waterborne diseases, food and water insecurity, and malnutrition. Persons who are elderly, sick, or poor are especially vulnerable to these potential consequences. ... In this position paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that physicians and the broader health care community throughout the world engage in environmentally sustainable practices that reduce carbon emissions; support efforts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change; and educate the public, their colleagues, their community, and lawmakers about the health risks posed by climate change. (Crowley, 4/19)
Here is a selection of news coverage of other recent research:
Sierra Sun Times:
UCLA Study Finds Majority Of California Veterans Who Need Mental Health Care Receive Inadequate Or No Treatment
Seventy-six percent of California veterans in need of mental health care from 2011 to 2013 either didn’t receive treatment or received inadequate care, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. But the share of veterans who needed mental health care was no greater than that of the general population, despite common perceptions that veterans are more likely than others to need care. (Lai, 4/27)
Medscape:
Uneven Use Of Antibiotic Prophylaxis In Pediatric Surgery
Rates of antibiotic prophylaxis in pediatric surgery vary greatly among children's hospitals and by procedure, according to a retrospective cohort study published online April 18 in JAMA Pediatrics. From 1% to 4% of children undergoing surgical procedures in the United States each year develop a surgical site infection (SSI). Whereas appropriate use of antibiotic prophylaxis reduces the incidence of SSI, inappropriate administration can result in Clostridium difficile infection at the patient level, antibiotic resistance, adverse drug events, and increased healthcare costs at the population level. (Lewis, 4/18)
The New York Times:
E-Cigarette Use By U.S. Teenagers Rose Last Year, Report Says
E-cigarette use continued to rise among young teenagers and preteens in the United States last year, according to new federal data, but cigarette smoking overall did not increase, suggesting that, at least so far, fears that the devices would hook a new generation on traditional cigarettes have not come to pass. (Tavernise, 4/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Why Having A Food Allergy Costs More For The Poorest Kids
A new study published this week in Pediatrics found that food-allergic children from households that earn less than $50,000 a year incur 2.5 times the cost of emergency room visits and hospital stays compared with their peers from families that are in a higher-income bracket. (Netburn, 4/27)
Reuters:
Chronic Conditions Tied To Low Wellbeing In Childhood Cancer Survivors
Chronic conditions appear to be causing a poorer quality of life for childhood cancer survivors, according to a new study. Young adults who survived cancer as children had health and wellbeing comparable to that of people nearly two decades older than them, researchers found. (Seaman, 4/25)
Reuters:
Return Visits To The ER More Likely For Patients With Limited English
Patients in the emergency room who don't speak English well are slightly more likely to return within days, suggesting their care the first time was not as good as it could have been, researchers say. (Doyle, 4/28)
Reuters:
Studies Document Risks Of Assault For Healthcare Workers
Looking to avoid a profession where the risk of assault is high? You might want to stay away from police work, the military and . . . healthcare. A new report that reviews research on assaults against doctors, nurses and other medical personnel concludes that healthcare workers often experience physical and verbal attacks, and, all too often, little is done to address it. (Emery, 4/28)
Viewpoints: Paul Ryan And High Risk Pools; Why Is Congress Delaying Zika Funding?
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Los Angeles Times:
Paul Ryan's Idea To Cover Preexisting Conditions Via High-Risk Pools Is A Scam. Here's Why.
In yet another attempt to show that Republicans can be just as serious about healthcare reforms as Democrats, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) called Wednesday for eliminating the Affordable Care Act's guarantee of insurance for people with preexisting medical conditions. Ryan didn't advocate cutting off these people entirely, but instead moving them into state high-risk pools that would subsidize their coverage. Taking them out of the general insurance population would "dramatically lower the price for everybody else" -- presumably everyone who was healthy. Speaking to students at Georgetown University, Ryan implied that this would be no big deal, because "less than 10% of people under 65 are what we call people with preexisting conditions, who are really kind of uninsurable." (Michael Hiltzik, 4/28)
Modern Healthcare:
Are Paul Ryan's High-Risk Pools A Better Way To Insure Sick People?
One of the Affordable Care Act's most consistently popular features, even among Republicans, is its ban on health insurers denying coverage or charging grossly higher premiums to people with pre-existing health conditions. But House Majority Leader Paul Ryan said Wednesday he wants to eliminate that ban and replace it with an alternative way of covering sicker people – high-risk pools. One problem is that similar pools had a long and rocky history in many states before Obamacare's guaranteed coverage took effect, and they would cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year. (Harris Meyer, 4/28)
Bloomberg:
Congress Has No Good Reason To Delay Zika Funding
More than two months after the White House asked Congress for more than $1.8 billion to fight the Zika virus, Congress has yet to provide it. President Barack Obama, Republicans claim, has failed to explain in sufficient detail how his administration would spend the money. (4/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Mental Dystrophy At The FDA
For anyone wondering why Americans disgusted with government would take a flyer on Donald Trump, consider Monday at the Food and Drug Administration: A panel of experts recommended denying young boys with a lethal form of muscular dystrophy access to an experimental drug with four years of promising clinical results. (4/28)
The Daily Beast:
Ronald Reagan’s Daughter To Will Ferrell: Don’t Mock My Dad’s Alzheimers
Alzheimer’s doesn’t care if you are President of the United States or a dockworker. It steals what is most precious to a human being—memories, connections, the familiar landmarks of a lifetime that we all come to rely on to hold our place secure in this world and keep us linked to those we have come to know and love. (Patti Davis, 4/28)
The Boston Globe:
A Necessary Prescription For MassHealth
Before considering MassHealth by the numbers, it might be wise to take a deep breath. The state Medicaid program provides health insurance coverage for 1.8 million low-income and disabled Massachusetts residents, at a cost of $14.7 billion in this fiscal year alone. That’s about 40 percent of the entire state budget. MassHealth spending is projected to rise by another $300 million in the next fiscal year, and keep going up, draining money from other crucial programs and projects. (4/29)
The Boston Globe:
A Dorchester Dream Dimmed By Union Demands
Joel Abrams, the longtime head of the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center near Savin Hill, thought he had struck gold when his agency received a $7 million federal grant for an expansion he had dreamed of for years. The money would allow the center to expand both its medical examination area and office space, and create an urgent care center. In addition it could replace its cramped pharmacy and laboratory with significant upgrades. The 23,000-square-foot addition needed a few city approvals, including a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeal. But given its strong community support, he assumed getting those would be routine. (Adrian Walkers, 4/28)
Miami Herald:
Autism An ‘Opportunity’ To Soar For Palmetto High Teen
When I first talked publicly about being on the autism spectrum, I was 13 and a freshman at Miami Palmetto Senior High. At the time, having autism felt like a concrete block inside my head, which made it hard to flow through life like other kids. Success always seemed fleeting — or just out of reach. So I decided to write a story about my experiences for my honors English class. I remember standing up at my desk to read it, facing my teacher and roughly 30 of my peers. I was both anxious and excited; anxious because I could be rejected and excited about the possibilities. (Connor Cunningham, 4/28)
The Louisville Courier-Journal:
PAs Key To Better Healthcare Here
The commonwealth of Kentucky is famous for many great things: fried chicken, a major horse race and baseball equipment, to name a few. Unfortunately for the citizens of the Bluegrass State, it is also the only state that does not allow physician assistants to prescribe controlled substances. (Edward Timmons, 4/28)
The Columbus Dispatch:
More Strategies Needed On Obesity
The many campaigns that have been waged over the past decade to get American children to avoid unhealthy foods have not been fruitless. The national childhood obesity rate has stopped rising. Yet neither is it falling. What kids need is not just a better diet, but also a better media diet. (4/29)