- Health Law 2
- 'Cadillac Tax' On Generous Health Plans Expected To Hit A Quarter Of Employers, Report Finds
- Calif., Ga. Insurance Exchanges Marked By Narrow Networks
- Capitol Watch 1
- CBO Reports Smaller Deficits That Stretch Time Before Default But Warns Lawmakers Not To Delay Budget
- State Watch 4
- Planned Parenthood Seeks Injunction To Block La. From Cutting Off Medicaid Funding To The Organization
- Calif. Lawmakers Reject Proposed Audit Of Planned Parenthood
- New York, Texas Take Steps To Tackle Synthetic Marijuana
- State Highlights: S.C. Public Employees Won't Pay More For Health Care Next Year; Fla. Adds 1,000 New Nursing Home Beds
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Political Cartoon: 'Call Off The Dogs'
KFF Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Political Cartoon: 'Call Off The Dogs'" by Hilary Price.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
SOMETHING YOUR EMPLOYER MIGHT NOT AFFORD…
Got a Cadillac?
If it’s a health plan, it comes
loaded with taxes.
- 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:
'Cadillac Tax' On Generous Health Plans Expected To Hit A Quarter Of Employers, Report Finds
The tax, set up under the health law, takes effect in 2018, and employers will have to pay 40 percent of the cost of the plan that exceeds government thresholds.
The Wall Street Journal:
More Than A Quarter Of Employers Expected To Face ‘Cadillac Tax’
One in four companies are likely to be impacted by the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health plans when it begins in 2018–and that could almost double in ten years, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Under the Affordable Care Act, companies are subject to an excise tax on high-cost health plans, starting in 2018, also known as the “Cadillac tax.” Employers will have to pay a levy of 40% a year on the amount by which the cost of employee plans exceed government thresholds, which are $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families in the first year. (Chasen, 8/25)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog:
26% Of Employers Could Face The ‘Cadillac Tax’ On Health Insurance
"The 'Cadillac tax' will have a very powerful effect on health care costs, and that certainly a good thing. But the way the tax helps to keep health costs down is primarily by shifting it to workers," said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation who did the analysis. "While it certainly sounds good to control heath care costs, the way it is likely to happen won’t feel very good to consumers." The opposition to the tax comes from a motley collection of unlikely allies, beyond the usual cast of anti-tax Republicans. (Johnson, 8/25)
NBC News:
Obamacare 'Cadillac Tax' Will Lead Employers To Cut FSAs: Analysis
If you like your flexible spending account ... you might not be able to keep your flexible spending account. Obamacare's looming "Cadillac tax" on high-cost health plans threatens to hit one in four U.S. employers when it takes effect in 2018 — and will impact 42 percent of all employers by a decade later, according to a new analysis. And many of those employers will be subject to the heavy Obamacare tax because they offer popular health-care flexible spending accounts to workers, which, ironically, are designed to reduce the income tax burden to those employees. (Mangan, 8/25)
CQ Healthbeat:
Health Law Tax Could Hit One In Four Employers In 2018, Study Shows
One in four employers offering health benefits could be subject to the 2010 health care law's tax on high-cost plans, with the share of those potentially affected growing to 42 percent by 2028, unless the companies revise their benefits, according to new projections from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The so-called Cadillac Tax is set to take effect in 2018 and funds coverage expansions under the law. It taxes plans at 40 percent of each worker's health benefits exceeding certain coverage thresholds -- $10,200 for self-only coverage and $27,500 for family coverage in the first year. (8/25)
Calif., Ga. Insurance Exchanges Marked By Narrow Networks
According to a report by University of Pennsylvania researchers, Florida and Oklahoma also topped the list of states that had a high percentage of small Obamacare provider networks.
Los Angeles Times:
75% Of Obamacare Plans In California Use Narrow Networks, Study Shows
A new study finds that 75% of California's Obamacare health plans have narrow physician networks -- more limited choices than all but three other states. The latest report examines health plans sold to consumers last year under the Affordable Care Act and shows wide variation in the prevalence of narrow networks across the country. Only Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma had a higher percentage of small provider networks than California did in the insurance company directories analyzed by University of Pennsylvania researchers. (Terhune, 8/25)
Georgia Health News:
'Narrow' Networks Are The Exchange Norm Here
Georgia had the highest percentage of “narrow’’ insurance networks in the 2014 health exchanges, a new report says. Five of six Georgia “Silver” exchange plans last year had medical provider networks with a limited choice of doctors, the report said. (Miller, 8/25)
And in Connecticut, efforts to help people understand how to use their new coverage -
The Connecticut Mirror:
Insurer Coaches The Newly Covered Through The Health System
Surveys of people who gained insurance under the federal health law indicate that close to 90 percent want more information on how to use their coverage, said Sophie Stern, deputy director of the Best Practices Institute at Enroll America, a group focused on ensuring that people get and stay covered. ... The insurers selling plans through Connecticut’s exchange, Access Health CT, are using a variety of techniques to help customers new to insurance and to encourage new members to see a primary care provider. A survey of exchange customers earlier this year indicated that 28 percent did not have a primary care doctor, and 36 percent hadn’t yet used their coverage. (Levin Becker, 8/26)
The new projections may give congressional leaders more runway to work out a spending deal before the government hits the borrowing limit, now estimated to be in mid-November.
The Washington Post:
Congress May Have Until December To Deal With Debt Ceiling
Congressional leaders may have more time to work out a deal this fall to increase the federal borrowing limit, after new projections from Congress’ scorekeeper showed tax revenues have been greater than expected this year. ... Republican leaders in both the House and the Senate are vowing to avoid a government shutdown or debt default in the coming months, but conservatives in both chambers have threatened to use the upcoming fiscal fights to advance unrelated political issues such as defunding Planned Parenthood. The later debt limit deadline may give leaders more time to try to bring conservatives on board, but aides from both parties said that formal discussions have not begun. ... The budget office on Tuesday also sounded its usual alarm that the government’s long-term budget path remains unsustainable due to the growing cost of entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Social Security. (Snell, 8/25)
The Associated Press:
Budget Report Shows Shrinking Deficits But Warns Lawmakers To Act
An unforeseen flood of revenue is shrinking federal deficits to the lowest level of President Barack Obama's tenure, Congress' nonpartisan budget adviser said Tuesday. But in a report that will fuel both parties in their autumn clash over spending, the analysts also warned that perilously high shortfalls will roar back unless lawmakers act. ... Republicans said the report underscored the need to curb spending. Congress has already approved a blueprint claiming a balanced budget in a decade by squeezing savings from Medicare and Medicaid, and they want to retain caps on agency spending enacted in a 2011 budget deal. ... One major complication is conservatives' demands to halt federal spending on Planned Parenthood, whose officials were secretly captured in videos describing how they provide medical researchers with fetal tissue. Blocking that money would lead to likely clashes with Democrats and Obama. (8/25)
Vets' Mental Health Needs Still Not Met Due To Staffing Set Up, Study Says
Despite a recent hiring push, the Department of Veterans Affairs doesn't have enough full-time psychiatrists, and staff resources aren’t being used efficiently, an Inspector General report finds. In Alaska, frustrated veterans testified before state lawmakers, saying that recent VA reforms have not improved care in the state.
The Wall Street Journal:
Report: VA Falls Short On Mental-Health Care Despite Hiring Push
The Department of Veterans Affairs lacks enough full-time psychiatrists to meet demand for services and those on staff aren’t being used efficiently, despite a multiyear, multibillion-dollar effort, says a report from the department’s internal watchdog. The VA hasn’t been “fully effective” in hiring psychiatrists or in using those it has, the VA’s Office of Inspector General reported Tuesday, adding that the department has focused on meeting overall hiring goals rather than on hiring personnel to fill gaps at specific facilities. (Kesling, 8/25)
The Associated Press:
Vets In Alaska: Reformed VA Hurting, Not Helping
A 2014 law to reform the Veterans Affairs health care system has only made things worse in Alaska, according to veterans testifying Monday at a congressional listening session in Fairbanks. A group of about two dozen veterans at the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly chambers told Dr. David Shulkin, the third-in-command at the VA, that the Veterans Choice Act hasn't delivered the improved care that it promised. (8/25)
Injured Patients And Families Push For Cameras In Operating Rooms
When something goes wrong during a surgery, families often can't find out what happened because of a lack of documentation. Some now say the procedures should be recorded so that actions can be reviewed. Also, a look at the promises and pitfalls of precision medicine.
The Washington Post:
Could Cameras In Operating Rooms Reduce Preventable Medical Deaths?
Chris Nowakoski’s wife died in Wisconsin during what should have been a routine procedure on her pacemaker. Danny Long’s wife in North Carolina suffered catastrophic neurological injury during a surgery to relieve numbness in her extremities. A doctor perforated the colon and esophagus of Deirdre Gilbert’s daughter in Texas, then operated on her after she was dead. In each case, the families still don’t know the full story of what happened to their loved ones because of a lack of documentation and an inability to pursue a costly lawsuit. They are relatives of an estimated 400,000 a year people who die in the United States of preventable medical errors, the third-leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. But the families say they could have known much more if cameras had been installed in the operating rooms, recording the actions and movements of the doctors and staffers involved. (Jackman, 8/25)
St. Louis Public Radio:
The Possibility - And Pitfalls - Of Precision Medicine
Precision medicine, sometimes called personalized medicine, is a model of health care in which care, treatment, and medicines are customized to the individual—tailored, extraordinarily, to a person’s genetic code. Precision medicine is lauded by some medical professionals and hopeful patients for its potential to elevate individual health, but some critics ask if precision medicine is being cast, to the cost and detriment of some groups, as a miracle cure. (O'Conner, 8/25)
Jeb Bush: Planned Parenthood 'Not Actually Doing Women’s Health Issues'
News organizations fact-check the Republican's comments at a town hall meeting -- and find fault. In the meantime, the battle over Planned Parenthood deepens as Ted Cruz draws a line in the sand over funding for the group. Also, Politico profiles the man behind the covert videos that began the latest fight, even as the group releases an eighth video.
CNN:
Jeb Bush: Planned Parenthood 'Not Actually Doing Women's Health Issues'
Jeb Bush on Tuesday called for expanded health care for female veterans, but took fire from Hillary Clinton for going after Planned Parenthood when he said the organization is "not actually doing women's health issues." (Killough, 8/25)
The Washington Post's Fact Checker:
Jeb Bush’s False Claim That Planned Parenthood Is ‘Not Actually Doing Women’s Health Issues’
Jeb Bush, who cut off state funding for Planned Parenthood as Florida governor, is a part of a chorus of Republicans calling for the federal government to pull funding for the group. He doubled down on his attack of Planned Parenthood during a recent town hall event, and his comments went viral on social media almost immediately. How accurate is his description of “women’s health issues” offered by Planned Parenthood and supported through federal funds? (Lee, 8/26)
The Washington Post:
Ted Cruz: If The Government Shuts Down Over My Planned Parenthood Funding Fight, It’s Not My Fault
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), told pastors Tuesday that he would do his best to make sure the government could not be funded if that funding included any taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood -- but that any attempt to blame him for a government shutdown that could result would be "nonsense." (Zezima, 8/25)
In other campaign news, Wis. Gov. Scott Walker's twist on Medicaid expansion is examined --
National Journal:
Walker’s Medicaid Plan Puts A New Twist On Republican Reform
The Wisconsin governor last week outlined his plan for health care reform. It was no surprise that he endorsed the concept of a Medicaid block grant, which would give states a capped amount of money and more flexibility in how they spend it. But his proposal was one of the most detailed to be released by a candidate for office, and it added a twist: He would actually turn Medicaid into three different funding streams for three different populations. One would be a block grant for states to cover children, their parents, and other adults—the part of Medicaid that looks the most like regular health insurance. Another would be a separate block grant to cover long-term care for poor seniors and disabled people. The third stream would be open-ended grants to cover acute-care events for the disabled and elderly. (Scott, 8/26)
Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue research continue to draw national attention and headlines -
ProPublica/The Washington Post:
Abortion Foes Find New Ways To Get Details About Patients, Doctors
The legal skirmish, and others like it nationwide, reveal a quiet evolution in the nation’s abortion battle. Increasingly, abortion opponents are pursuing personal and medical information on women undergoing abortions and the doctors who perform them. They often file complaints with authorities based on what they learn. Abortion opponents insist their tactics are generally not aimed at identifying women who have abortions, but are meant to uncover incidents involving patients who may have been harmed by poor care or underage girls who may have been sexually abused. (Ornstein, 8/25)
Politico:
The Man Behind The Planned Parenthood Sting Videos
David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, wanted to ensure the sting videos accusing the women’s health organization of illegally profiting from the sale of fetal tissue had staying power beyond the “contemporary 24-hour news cycle.” The eight tapes already made public have galvanized the anti-abortion movement and put federal and state funding for Planned Parenthood on the chopping block. Probes of the group are underway in Congress and several states. And conservatives on the Hill are threatening to shut down the federal government if their demand for cuts are ignored. (Pradhan, 8/26)
Politico Pro:
Abortion Opponents Post Eighth Sting Video
The latest video from the Center for Medical Progress’s undercover operation features the CEO of a company that used to work with Planned Parenthood clinics as she discusses the procurement of fetal liver tissue. The video, released Tuesday morning, is likely to factor into Republican efforts to end Planned Parenthood’s funding and investigate the women’s health organization, StemExpress and other companies. It shows StemExpress CEO Cate Dyer saying that fetal liver tissue is “such an area of demand for us” and referring to “intact cases,” a term CMP argues refers to an aborted fetus. (Pradhan, 8/25)
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, also a GOP presidential hopeful, announced plans earlier this month to cut off Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood's clinics in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
The Associated Press:
Planned Parenthood Sues Louisiana Over Cut To Medicaid Funds
Planned Parenthood asked a federal judge Tuesday to stop Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration from ending Medicaid payments to the organization's Louisiana clinics. Jindal, a Republican presidential candidate, announced plans earlier this month to cut off the Medicaid funding to the Baton Rouge and New Orleans health centers, citing hidden-camera videos that accuse the national organization of profiting from fetal tissue sales after abortions. Planned Parenthood denies the allegations, saying the videos are heavily edited and misleading. (8/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
Planned Parenthood Unit Sues Louisiana Over Medicaid Funding
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Inc. Tuesday asked a federal court to block Louisiana from cutting off Medicaid funding to the organization following the release of videos on fetal tissue research. The organization and three patient co-plaintiffs filed for an injunction to stop enforcement of an order by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal that would bar Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood facilities in the state beginning Sept. 2. (Armour, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
Planned Parenthood Sues Over Louisiana Funding Cut
Officials with the group, along with three patients who are co-plaintiffs in the case, allege that Jindal’s order is illegal and will cut off a vital service used by 5,200 Louisianans. But Jindal administration officials stood firm, saying the lawsuit is without merit. “Planned Parenthood is flailing,” Mike Reed, a spokesman for Jindal, who is running for president, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. (Somashekhar, 8/26)
Bloomberg:
Louisiana Sued Over Cuts To Planned Parenthood Funding
Planned Parenthood facilities in Louisiana, which don’t provide abortions, said the threatened loss of Medicaid funds might force it to close its facility in Baton Rouge, the state capital. The cuts are scheduled to take effect Sept. 2. (Calkins, 8/25)
CBS News:
Planned Parenthood Sues Over Bobby Jindal's Medicaid Move
"We're in court today to protect over 5,200 people's access to cancer screenings, well-woman exams, and basic health care in Louisiana," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "Many of these folks would have nowhere else to turn for health care." Richards slammed Jindal for attempting to cut Planned Parenthood funding "to score political points," charging that the governor's moves are putting women's health at risk. (Condon, 8/25)
The Chicago Sun Times:
Planned Parenthood Files Lawsuit Against Bobby Jindal
The move comes the same day as the release of an eighth undercover video from anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress. Planned Parenthood has yet to comment on the latest video. (Sutton, 8/25)
Calif. Lawmakers Reject Proposed Audit Of Planned Parenthood
Also, in Missouri, a GOP-led committee questions legality of the University of Missouri Health Care granting privileges to a local Planned Parenthood doctor. News outlets in Florida and Wisconsin report on related news.
The Sacramento Bee:
California Panel Rejects Planned Parenthood Audit
California legislators on Tuesday rejected a proposed audit of Planned Parenthood in the wake of a videos spotlighting the organization’s role in providing fetal tissue for medical research. The proposed audit would have examined whether Planned Parenthood, which is reimbursed by California for serving hundreds of thousands of low-income patients on Medi-Cal, has illegally sold fetal tissue to testing and research organizations. Just two lawmakers on the 14-member Joint Legislative Audit Committee, both Republicans, voted for it. (White, 8/25)
St. Louis Public Radio:
GOP-Led Committee Questions Legality Of Granting Privileges Of Planned Parenthood Doctor
The last time the Senate Interim Committee on the Sanctity of Life met, members threatened to hold a Nixon administration official in contempt unless she produced documents identifying which hospital had a working relationship with Columbia's Planned Parenthood clinic. That became a moot point when Dept. of Health and Senior Services Dir. Gail Vasterling sent the committee a letter stating that Colleen McNicholas M.D. had received admitting privileges from University of Missouri Health Care. (Griffin, 8/25)
Health Service Of Florida:
Poll: About Half In FL Back Planned Parenthood Funding
With a wide disparity among men and women, 48 percent of Florida voters oppose cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, while 42 percent support such a move, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday. The poll, which comes amid a national controversy about Planned Parenthood, indicates that 53 percent of female voters in Florida oppose cutting off federal funding, while 36 percent support the idea. In sharp contrast, 49 percent of male voters support eliminating federal funding for the organization, while 41 percent are opposed. (8/25)
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Nearly 700 UW-Madison Faculty Sign Letter On Fetal Tissue Bill
Nearly 700 University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty members have signed a letter to the editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel arguing that a bill being considered by the Legislature to ban the use of fetal tissue and cells would not only close off avenues of hope for patients, it would send a message to biomedical scientists and the biotechnology industry "that Wisconsin is no place to do business." (Herzog, 8/25)
New York, Texas Take Steps To Tackle Synthetic Marijuana
Meanwhile, Maryland launches its efforts to counter the state's heroin epidemic.
The Wall Street Journal:
Bill Would Ban Synthetic Marijuana In New York City
New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Tuesday she planned to introduce legislation to ban the sale of synthetic marijuana, a drug that has prompted increasing alarm in law-enforcement and public-health circles. “This is a concern that’s growing. We’re trying to get a handle on it,” Ms. Mark-Viverito said a news conference near City Hall. (Gay, 8/25)
The Texas Tribune:
Texas To Crack Down On Synthetic Marijuana
Starting Sept. 1, a new law will ban 1,000 possible chemical compounds of synthetic marijuana and make it a lot harder for Texans to buy or sell the drug. (Mutnick and Wiseman, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
Maryland Launches Initial Plans To Fight Heroin Epidemic
Maryland will add treatment beds for heroin addicts on the Eastern Shore, boost law enforcement efforts to disrupt dealers and launch a public-awareness campaign about the dangers of addiction as part of an initial state response to a growing and deadly overdose epidemic, Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford said Tuesday. (Hicks, 8/25)
Health care stories are reported from South Carolina, Florida, California, Maryland, Oregon, Nevada, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas and Texas.
The Associated Press:
Public Workers Won't Pay More For Health Care In 2016
South Carolina's public employees will not pay more for health insurance next year, but their employers will. The State Fiscal Accountability Authority unanimously approved Tuesday the health care rates that legislators wrote into this year's budget. It called for no change to employees' monthly premiums or co-payments. (Adcox, 8/25)
Health News Florida:
State Adds Nearly 1,000 New Nursing Home Beds
A shortage of nursing home space across Florida will be helped by the addition of almost 1,000 more new beds. The state Agency for Health Care Administration on Monday approved requests for new beds across Florida.
Most of the approvals are in North Florida and Central Florida, where long waiting lists are common. (8/25)
News Service Of Florida:
Medical Malpractice Law Goes To Supreme Court
The Florida Supreme Court will consider whether to take up a dispute about the constitutionality of a 2013 medical-malpractice law that critics contend violates patient privacy rights. The 1st District Court of Appeal in July upheld the law, which is backed by groups such as physicians. But attorneys challenging the law in an Escambia County case filed a notice last week asking the Supreme Court to take up the dispute. The challenge focuses on part of the law that allows what are known legally as "ex parte communications." In ex parte communications, for example, defense attorneys representing a doctor accused of malpractice could get personal health information about the patient involved in the case. That information could come from other doctors who treated the patient, and disclosure could occur without the patient's attorney being present. (8/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Dispute Arises Over Use Of State Money For County Diversion Program
An internal tussle has developed that could complicate Los Angeles County’s ambitious plan to send more mentally ill criminal defendants into treatment programs rather than jail cells. County supervisors want to cover the cost with a blend of county and state money. But some officials are questioning whether supervisors can legally tap some of the accounts they have in mind. (Sewell, 8/25)
The Sun:
San Bernardino County Jail To Treat Mentally Ill Inmates Statewide
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $10.8 million contract with the state to expand a treatment program for mentally ill inmates at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga to include inmates from other counties across California. Under its contract with the Department of State Hospitals, West Valley’s Jail Based Competency Treatment Program, tailored to restore mental competency to inmates so they can stand trial for the crimes in which they are accused, would expand from 20 to 96 beds and allow mentally ill inmates from Los Angeles County and other California counties that do not offer such a program to receive treatment. (Nelson, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
How Companies Make Millions Off Lead-Poisoned, Poor Blacks
But to critics, Access Funding is part of an industry that profits off the poor and disabled. And Baltimore has become a prime target. It’s here that one teen — diagnosed with “mild mental retardation,” court records show — sold her payments through 2030 in four deals and is now homeless. It’s here that companies blanket certain neighborhoods in advertisements, searching for a potentially lucrative type of inhabitant, whose stories recall the legacy of Freddie Gray. (McCoy, 8/25)
The Associated Press:
Managers Slow To Fix Vulnerabilities In Databases Holding Oregonians' Information, Audit Says
An audit has concluded that Oregon technology managers never resolved known security vulnerabilities at a state data warehouse that stores a trove of sensitive information about Oregonians. The audit was released Tuesday by the Secretary of State's office. It says the state data center has only recently begun addressing concerns outlined in at least 11 security audits or letters since 2006, and most of the weaknesses remain unresolved. (8/25)
USA Today:
Vegas Health Clinic Gambles On A New Brand Of Primary Care
Walk into Turntable Health in downtown Las Vegas and you’d be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into a trendy technology start-up rather than a doctor’s office. Most of the patients are hip casino workers and techies in their 20s and 30s. While waiting to see the doctor, they spin records on the turntable, play video games on the Xbox or stretch out at the in-house yoga studio. (Farr, 8/25)
Tribune Wire Reports:
Illinois Man Denies Cancer Drug Smuggling Conspiracy Charge
Illinois man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to conspiring with an online Canadian pharmacy to smuggle mislabeled, unapproved and, in two cases, counterfeit prescription drugs into the U.S. to sell to doctors. Ram Kamath appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch for arraignment in Missoula. So far, he is the only one of the 14 individuals and companies named as defendants to appear in court to face criminal smuggling, conspiracy and money laundering charges. (8/25)
The North Field News:
UCare No Longer An Option For Rice County Managed Care Providers
Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, the 4,200 individuals in Rice County who chose UCare as their managed care provider through the county’s social services office will have one less option. Up until recently, the county had planned to continue its relationship with its three managed care providers: UCare, Medica and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. On Aug. 18, it was announced that UCare lost out in the statewide competitive bidding process to retain its contract with the department of human services. UCare has filed a lawsuit against the state, and a hearing is slated for Friday. (Krein, 8/25)
The Kansas Health Institute News Service:
State Officials: Combining Medicaid Waivers Not About Money
Cabinet officials say Kansas’ quest to combine Medicaid waivers for people with seven categories of disabilities is intended to provide better care and outcomes, not cost savings. But costs will go down if care improves as intended, they say. Officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services are beginning a statewide listening tour on the proposed changes after briefing a legislative committee on them Friday. (Marso, 8/25)
The Texas Tribune:
Study Finds Childhood Obesity Program Failed
A four-year, $37 million state program to improve physical education at high-poverty middle schools failed to reduce obesity rates, according to a study by the University of Texas at Austin. The program, Texas Fitness Now, primarily gave schools money to buy sports and gym equipment from 2007 to 2011. One-quarter of the money was originally meant for nutrition, but a much smaller ratio — about seven percent of the funds in 2009 and 2010 — went to healthy eating initiatives, the study’s lead author said. (Walters, 8/25)
The Texas Tribune:
Former Cancer Center Agency Official Found Not Guilty
A former high-ranking official with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas — accused of deceiving colleagues to secure an $11 million grant for a biotechnology firm — was found not guilty Tuesday by a 12-member jury in Austin. Jerry Cobbs, former chief commercialization officer of the state agency known as CPRIT — a voter-approved initiative to spend up to $3 billion on cancer-fighting projects over 10 years — was found not to have deliberately misled his colleagues to get the grant approved, as argued by the state's Public Integrity Unit, which investigates public corruption. (Walters, 8/25)
Health News Florida:
Healthcare Website For Transgender Community To Launch In Miami
A new website will make it easier for Miami's transgender community to access healthcare providers who are experienced in working with trans individuals. MyTransHealth is a website developed for transgender people by transgender people. The site will connect transgender people with qualified medical professionals and also allow users to rate and review them. (Green, 8/25)
Viewpoints: GOP Health Plans And Pre-Existing Conditions; The Cadillac Tax
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Bloomberg:
One Health Care Question Republicans Must Answer
After talking about it endlessly, Republican presidential candidates are finally starting to get specific about how they intend to replace the Affordable Care Act. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker released his plan last week. As the reaction to it shows, Republicans have to be ready with answers to a lot of hard questions. One of the most crucial: How would they protect people with pre-existing conditions? Left to their own devices, after all, insurers have an incentive to charge higher premiums to potential customers who already have chronic health conditions - - or not to offer them coverage at all. (Ramesh Ponnuru, 8/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Why Employers Are Really Cutting Healthcare (It's Not Obamacare's Cadillac Tax)
For employers, the big ogre still lurking in the mists of the Affordable Care Act is the so-called Cadillac health plan tax, a levy on employer-sponsored health insurance plans valued above a certain threshold. The tax starts in 2018, when the thresholds will be $10,200 for single coverage and $27,500 for family plans, adjusted thereafter for inflation. Any value over those thresholds will be taxed at 40%. For a single employee whose coverage comes to $12,000, for example, the employer would pay tax of $720. (Michael Hiltzik, 8/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
Closing The Planned Parenthood Loophole
Disturbing videos that show Planned Parenthood personnel casually discussing the sale of fetal organs from abortions have caused widespread outrage. As each new video is released, the calls for Congress to cut Planned Parenthood’s federal funding grow stronger. No matter where you stand in that debate, the videos provide unarguable proof that current laws governing the fetal-tissue trade don’t work. Congress must tighten them. (Scott Gottlieb, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
Republicans Should Stop Wasting Time Attacking Planned Parenthood
The videos seek to show that Planned Parenthood has violated federal law by selling fetal tissue to scientific researchers. It has long been legal for patients to donate culled fetal tissue for medical research and for abortion clinics to recoup the costs they incur to facilitate the donations. The videos are strategically edited and employ familiar antiabortion shock tactics, such as the use of gruesome images of fetal tissue and inflammatory language; they may show distressing insensitivity on the part of some Planned Parenthood staff but there is certainly nothing close to illegality. ... Absent from the videos, meanwhile, is information on why these tissue donations have been allowed to happen: to assist in life-improving and life-saving medical breakthroughs. (8/25)
The New York Times' Evaluations:
Pro-Choice Questions, Pro-Life Answers, Part II
This the second part of my extended response to Katha Pollitt’s questions for abortion opponents, inspired by the still-ongoing release of Planned Parenthood sting videos .... Your list of questions for pro-lifers, like your recent book, is premised on the idea that our side has won major victories over the past few decades, both by passing various sorts of restrictions and by driving the real case for abortion rights into a kind of cultural underground. Obviously I think you’ve somewhat overstated our success .... If America is more pro-life than it used to be (again, an arguable point but a plausible one), the era in which it’s become more pro-life seems to have been pretty good for female advancement overall. (Ross Douthat, 8/25)
The New York Times:
The Republican Conception Of Conception
The battle for the Republican presidential nomination has produced an unexpectedly intense burst of attacks on women’s reproductive rights, not only on the right to abortion, but also by implication on some of the most commonly used methods of contraception. The shift to an aggressively conservative posture stands in direct contrast to the party’s previous five presidential nominees, all of whom sought during their campaigns to play down social issues. (Thomas B. Edsall, 8/26)
The New York Times' Taking Note:
How Stressful Work Environments Hurt Workers’ Health
A lot of people would not work in a place where co-workers smoke. And most people will never be faced with that decision because smoking is typically banned in the workplace on the sensible ground that secondhand smoke is dangerous to everyone. Should long and unpredictable hours, excessive job demands, capricious management and other aspects of the modern workplace be banned on the same ground? (Teresa Tritch, 8/25)
The New York Times' Opinionator:
The I.C.U. Is Not A Pause Button
With my elderly stroke patient’s back arched and his head tilted back, too many angles of his skeleton were on display. A nose covered in thin gray skin sliced the air like a shark fin, and beneath it his mouth hung open. He didn’t look like he was resting. Another nurse walking by put it bluntly, as nurses tend to do. “Is he alive?” (Kristen McConnell, 8/26)