A selection of opinions on health care from across the nation. The Wall Street Journal: Blame-Sharing On ObamaCareThe oracles at the Congressional Budget Office this week descended from Delphi to predict 20% premium increases if the Trump Administration ends illegal Obama Care subsidies for insurers, and Democrats are happy to agree. Yet a careful reading …
Longer Looks: Opioids, European Health Care And White Nationalism
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web. The New Yorker: Trump Misdiagnoses The Opioid CrisisDuring the 2016 Presidential campaign, when Donald Trump was asked about the opioid crisis he often mentioned that he first learned about the severity of the situation in New Hampshire, which he visited several times ahead …
State Highlights: ER Doctors Face Racism From Patients; More Cities Use Doulas To Combat Infant Mortality
Media outlets report on news from Oregon, Maryland, New York, Illinois, Arizona, California, Virginia, Alaska, Washington and Massachusetts. Sacramento Bee: Racism In ER: Patients Refuse Doctor’s Treatment Because Of Her RaceA doctor in Oregon has touched a nerve with a series of tweets revealing that some “white nationalists” have refused treatment from her because of …
Kansas’ Osawatomie State Hospital Passes Inspection
The psychiatric hospital lost its certification in 2015, which resulted in a loss of about $1 million a month in federal funding for the state, but it now appears to be back on track. Meanwhile, in Oregon, the Willamette Valley Behavioral Health plans to sue the state over the rejection of its plan to build …
Feds Want Texas To Pay $18.9M Back To Medicaid For Improper School Health Services Bills
Reimbursement requested by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission between 2010 and 2011 were not “reasonable, adequately supported, and otherwise allowable” for some school-based health services, according to an Inspector General’s report. Meanwhile, Kansas’ privatized Medicaid sytem ranks last in a customer satsifaction survey among the 36 states that offer managed care programs. Dallas …
Court Finds Ark. Can Keep Medicaid Funding From Planned Parenthood
The decision, reversing earlier lower court injunctions, was issued by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. NPR: Federal Appeals Court Says Arkansas Can Block Medicaid Payments To Planned ParenthoodA federal appeals court has sided with the state of Arkansas against Planned Parenthood, saying it can block Medicaid payments to the medical provider. It reversed earlier …
Nurses Need Better Education About Maternal Mortality To Help New Moms, Survey Finds
Postpartum nurses often fail to warn mothers about potentially life-threatening complications following childbirth due to their own lack of information. In other maternal health care news, hospitals and groups work to close the breast-feeding disparities among African-American and Hispanic women. And research finds that microbes may help reduce the risk of sepsis in newborns. NPR …
Some N.H. Communities To Follow Lead Of State A.G. And Take Legal Action Against Opioid Company
In related news, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager is taking the controversial step of limiting the number and strength of first-time prescriptions for opioids. And let’s not forget about drugged drivers’ risk of overdose and new statistics that indicate the nation is drinking more. New Hampshire Public Radio: Manchester Likely To File Its Own …
Hacks Targeting Health Care Data Spike 162% Over Last Year
Security experts account for the jump by saying that hacking has gotten easier and more organizations are now reporting incidents. Meanwhile, Bayada Home Health Care and St. Luke’s Health System also make industry news. Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Data Breaches Caused By Hacks Are On The Rise Data breaches caused by hacking, so-called IT incidents and unauthorized …
UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley Steps Down
The insurer’s current president David Wichmann will take over the position while Hemsley, who has been with the health plan since 1997, will move into a newly created role as executive chairman of the board of directors. The Wall Street Journal: UnitedHealth Names David Wichmann As New CEOUnitedHealth Group Inc. said David S. Wichmann, its …
First Edition: August 17, 2017
Aug 17 2017 Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations. Kaiser Health News: Often Missing In The Health Care Debate: Women’s VoicesKHN reporters Jenny Gold and Anna Gorman write: “Women are hardly speaking in unison when it comes to overhauling health care. “Women’s health” means very different things to different people, based on …
Working to Close the Breast-Feeding Gap
By SHANNON SHELTON MILLER August 17, 2017 When Dr. Chelsea McKinney became pregnant with her first child nine years ago, she and some of her friends, all African-American, felt that their families weren’t supporting their desire to nurse. Dr. McKinney, of NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill., said that despite decades of the “breast is best” message, African-American …
Often Missing In The Health Care Debate: Women’s Voices
Women, in particular, have a lot at stake in the fight over the future of health care. Not only do many depend on insurance coverage for maternity care and contraception, they are struck more often by such diseases as autoimmune conditions, osteoporosis, breast cancer and depression. They are more likely to be poor and depend …
Modern Love Podcast: Cynthia Nixon Reads ‘Dear Dad: We’ve Been Gay for a Really Long Time’
August 16, 2017 Modern Love By THE NEW YORK TIMES On this week’s podcast, the actress Cynthia Nixon reads “Dear Dad: We’ve Been Gay for a Really Long Time,” about siblings who come out to their conservative Mennonite father near the end of his life. The writer, Mary Alice Hostetter, lives in Charlottesville, Va. Stay …
Jillian Tamaki on ‘The Sky Is Falling’
Jillian Tamaki revisits “The Sky Is Falling,” the children’s classic about British children evacuated to Canada during World War II.
Scott Glenn, Wielding Knives on a Screen Near You
August 16, 2017 By KATHRYN SHATTUCK The blade was dull, but Scott Glenn’s reflexes were alarmingly sharp. “Neck — eyes — face — heart — liver,” he said, taking swipes at a nervous onlooker with a karambit, a Southeast Asian knife shaped like a claw. Anyone who has watched Mr. Glenn play Stick in the …
Viewpoints: Trump Driving Premium Increases; Opioid Treatment For Prisoners
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country. The New York Times: How Donald Trump Is Driving Up Health Insurance PremiumsHealth insurance premiums for 2018 are on the rise for many, and for that, most of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of President Trump. In recent days, a bevy of …
Perspectives: Drug Companies Getting Stingy With Subsidies; Supreme Court Deals Blow To Consumers
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues. Los Angeles Times: Drug Companies Are Growing Less Generous In Helping Patients Pay For MedsIndustry watchers say soaring drug prices have prompted many pharmaceutical companies to rethink long-standing programs to help subsidize purchases or even give meds away for free. “More and more people have become aware of these …
Drugmakers ‘Game The System And Game The Rules,’ FDA Head Gottlieb Says
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing. USA Today: FDA Chief Says Drug Makers Are Gaming The System To Slow Generic Competition; Vows ActionA day after President Trump lashed out at the black CEO of drug maker Merck on Twitter, his new Food and Drug Administration commissioner said brand name drug companies are “gaming …
State Highlights: Ohio Co-Op Accused Of Fraud; California Heads Toward Serious Doctor Shortage
Media outlets report on news from Ohio, California, Maryland, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. Columbus Dispatch: Did Healthcare Co-Op Rip Off Small Ohio Communities?A 4-year-old group of governments created to lower health-care costs for thousands of public employees has been ravaged by accusations of mismanagement and millions of dollars in deficits. The …
Contaminated And Unsafe Water Flows Through Communities Across Country
A new research center will study chemicals not yet regulated by the federal government but that have been linked to cancer and other diseases. And News21 releases its investigation that finds as many as 63 million Americans are exposed to unsafe drinking water. In related news, tainted water in a North Carolina river raises questions …
Hospital Roundup: Highest-Paid Nonprofit Hospital Exec In Mass. Made $4.3M; Rural Colo. Health Centers Get Grant
Hospitals in Massachusetts, Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Illinois make news today. Boston Globe: Partners CEO Tops Hospital Pay ListPartners HealthCare’s chief executive, Dr. David Torchiana, topped the list of executives at the state’s largest nonprofit hospitals who received sizable pay raises in 2015, according to their most recent public filings. Torchiana, who oversees the state’s …
Georgia Medicaid Director And Aide Leave; State Officials Offer No Explanations
Linda Wiant’s departure appeared to come suddenly and followed the exit of a deputy, Marcey Alter, earlier in the week. News outlets also report on the trial involving the Mississippi Medicaid director and developments in New Hampshire and Maine. Georgia Health News: State Medicaid Chief Departs With No Official ExplanationLinda Wiant’s departure as Medicaid chief …
Texas Governor Signs Law That Cuts Insurance Coverage Of Abortion
The measure, which passed the Legislature on a party-line vote, does not offer exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Meanwhile, in Oregon, the governor signs a bill expanding coverage for the procedure and other reproductive health services. Texas Tribune: Abbott Signs Bill Restricting Insurance Coverage Of AbortionGov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed a bill …
South Carolina Files Lawsuit Against Maker Of OxyContin Over Alleged Deceptive Marketing
The suit accuses Purdue Pharma of violating the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. With similar cases recently filed in Birmingham, Ala., and Cincinnati, the litigation is following in the court path used against Big Tobacco. In other news on the national crisis: teen overdose deaths rise; the lure of “body brokers”; when antidotes fail against …