Meet The Health Officials Who Alerted The World To The Alarming Vaping Illness
By Lauren Weber
September 25, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Without the teamwork, communication and quick action of several veteran health officials in Wisconsin, the world might not know about the vaping illness the U.S. is battling today. This is their story.
Draft Proposal To Protect Patients From Surprise Medical Bills Eschews Arbitration Method Favored By Hospitals
May 15, 2019
Morning Briefing
The bipartisan measure instead sets up a process for determining how much the insurance company needs to pay the medical providers for the out-of-network care, basing the payments on the usual rates in that geographic area. “There is no question this proposal would transfer a bargaining power from providers to insurers — a fact that is sure to have provider groups up in arms,” Benedic Ippolito of the American Enterprise Institute tells Modern Healthcare. In other news from Capitol Hill: “Medicare for All,” detention centers, and a caucus for female veterans.
State Lawmakers Eye Federal Dollars To Boost Mental Health Counseling By Peers
By Rob Waters
July 1, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Medicaid pays for mentoring of mental health patients by “peer supporters,” but only if they are state-certified. California is one of two states with no certification program. Legislation pending in Sacramento would change that — if the governor backs it.
Website Errors Raise Calls For Medicare To Be Flexible With Seniors’ Enrollment
By Susan Jaffe
December 6, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Members of Congress and others complain Medicare’s revamped Plan Finder had problems. Federal officials say they can help consumers who got bad information change their plans next year. But details about how switching will work are yet to come.
Conceived Through ‘Fertility Fraud,’ She Now Needs Fertility Treatment
By Lauren Bavis, Side Effects Public Media and Jake Harper, Side Effects Public Media
January 28, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Years ago, doctors sometimes lied about whose sperm they used for artificial inseminations. Could it happen now? Some argue regulation is weak in the multibillion-dollar fertility treatment industry.
Meth Trip Or Mental Illness? Police Who Need To Know Often Can’t Tell
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
November 1, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The calming techniques that officers learn during training to intervene in a mental health crisis don’t seem to work as well when a suspect is high on meth. Meth calls can be much more dangerous, police say.
Taken For A Ride: After ATV Crash, Doctor Gets $56,603 Bill For Air Ambulance Trip
By Alison Kodjak, NPR News
September 26, 2018
KFF Health News Original
After an accident in an all-terrain vehicle crushed a doctor’s left arm, he was whisked by air ambulance to the closest trauma center for specialized care. Soon he was fighting over the $56,603 bill.
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Portion Of Obamacare
By Julie Rovner
December 18, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The court, based in New Orleans, agreed with a federal judge in Texas that the individual mandate section of the Affordable Care Act could not stand after Congress eliminated the tax penalty for not having coverage. But the case now heads back to the lower court to see how much of the law can remain.
Despite Failed Promises, Stem Cell Advocates Again Want Taxpayers To Pony Up Billions
By Ana B. Ibarra
August 16, 2019
KFF Health News Original
California’s stem cell agency, created by a $3 billion bond measure 15 years ago, is almost out of money. Its supporters plan to ask voters for even more funding next year, even though no agency-funded treatments have been approved for widespread use.
Why Is This Insurer Sending Massive Checks To Patients? Lawsuit Claims It’s To Put Pressure On Providers To Join Its Network
March 4, 2019
Morning Briefing
The lawsuit highlights part of an ongoing war between insurance companies and providers over payment and billing issues, one that puts the patient right in the middle of the fight by sending payments straight to patients after they seek out-of-network care. In other health industry news: small company’s stock surge surprises investors; Johnson & Johnson sets ambitious goals; a CEO’s compensation package is revealed; and more.
Medicare Advantage Membership Growth Slows Even As Insurers Jockey To Get A Piece Of Predictably Lucrative Field
January 17, 2019
Morning Briefing
Despite the slower pace, though, many Advantage insurers still experienced big enrollment increases as they picked up more market share. Other industry news looks at UnitedHealth’s court loss over withholding payments to out-of-network physicians and Dr. Atul Gawande’s decision to step out of a major health care conference.
Flavor Bans Multiply, But Menthol Continues to Divide
By Ana B. Ibarra
November 8, 2019
KFF Health News Original
As states and communities ban the sale of flavored tobacco products linked to vaping, anti-smoking activists are piggybacking on the momentum to target menthol cigarettes. But some African Americans say menthol cigarette bans will lead to discrimination.
Terminally Ill, He Wanted Aid-In-Dying. His Catholic Hospital Said No.
By JoNel Aleccia
Photos by Heidi de Marco
January 29, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Neil Mahoney had terminal cancer. He also had a legal right to aid-in-dying. But his faith-based hospital called it “morally unacceptable.” So he turned to a network of Colorado doctors to fulfill his last wish.
In The Battle Of The Fitness Trackers, The Most Steps Might Not Win
By Bruce Horovitz
July 30, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Fitness trackers took off about a decade ago, and it’s not unusual for devoted walkers to log several miles a day. But is such a feat necessary?
How To Get A Cheaper Prescription Before Leaving The Doctor’s Office
By Phil Galewitz
July 10, 2019
KFF Health News Original
A pricing tool embedded in their electronic health record and prescribing system lets doctors see how much patients will pay out-of-pocket based on their insurance and the pharmacy. But doctors have been slow to adopt the technology, which has limitations.
In Weary Post-Storm Puerto Rico, Medicaid Cutbacks Bode New Ills
By Sarah Varney and Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
August 6, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The island’s government must squeeze $840.2 million in annual savings from Medicaid by 2023, part of the U.S. territory’s agreement with the federal government as Puerto Rico claws its way back from fiscal oblivion. Experts warn such drastic cuts defy actuarial science.
Politicians Hop Aboard ‘Medicare-For-All’ Train, Destination Unknown
By Elisabeth Rosenthal and Shefali Luthra
October 22, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Candidates are charging toward midterm elections on a platform of single-payer and universal coverage rhetoric. Yet “Medicare-for-all” and single-payer mean different things to different people.
Surgeon General’s Marijuana Warning Omits Crucial Context
By Shefali Luthra
November 15, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Surgeon General Jerome Adams said the drug has a “unique impact” on the developing brain — technically true, but neglecting a vital comparison to other drugs, as well as shortcomings in the existing research.
Could A So-Called Baseball-Style Of Arbitration Work As A Solution To Settling Surprise Medical Bills?
February 8, 2019
Morning Briefing
One possible way to solve the debate over how to end surprise medical billing disputes is make it a loser pays system with a neutral arbitrator. Each side would submit a price, and the arbiter chooses one. Both sides are bound by the decision, while patients’ charges for out-of-network care are limited to what they would owe to in-network providers. By forcing an arbiter to pick an offer, rather than forging a compromise, both parties are, in theory, encouraged to moderate their bids.
When Credit Scores Become Casualties Of Health Care
By Shefali Luthra
May 9, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The complexity of health insurance coverage rules, along with market trends that leave consumers open to more out-of-pocket costs, lead to mounting medical debt for consumers.