Daily Edition for Friday, August 18, 2023
Blue Shield Says It Will Broaden Prescription Vendors, Rely Less On CVS: Oakland-based Blue Shield of California, one of the largest health insurance companies in the state, announced Thursday a plan to revamp the way it negotiates prescription drug prices that it says will lower costs for consumers. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle, The Sacramento Bee, and Stat.
A Peek at Big Pharma’s Playbook That Leaves Many Americans Unable to Afford Their Drugs
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
Brand-name drug prices in the U.S. — more than three times the price in other developed countries — are related neither to the amount of research and development required to bring them to market nor their therapeutic value, recent research shows. Have drugmakers overplayed their hand?
A New Medicare Proposal Would Cover Training for Family Caregivers
By Judith Graham
The federal government is proposing having Medicare pay professionals to train family caregivers how to perform tasks like bathing and dressing their loved ones, and properly use medical equipment.
Estrategias comerciales de las grandes farmacéuticas dejan a estadounidenses sin poder comprar sus medicamentos
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
Sin barreras, los precios de algunos medicamentos existentes se han disparado, incluso cuando han caído drásticamente en otros países. Los nuevos medicamentos tienen precios enormes, respaldados por el lobby y el marketing.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Pill’s Legal Limbo Continues
A federal appeals court issued a split decision on whether the abortion pill mifepristone should remain on the market — rejecting a lower court’s decision to effectively cancel the drug’s FDA approval in 2000, while ordering the rollback of more recent rules that made the drug easier to obtain. Nothing changes immediately, however, as the Supreme Court blocked the lower court’s ruling in the spring. It will be up to the high court to determine whether the pill remains available in the U.S. and under which conditions. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Daily Edition for Thursday, August 17, 2023
State Reconsidering Who Is Eligible For Medi-Cal: About 15.5 million Californians — including over 150,000 people across the Bay Area — will have their Medi-Cal eligibility reconsidered. As of June, 21% of Medi-Cal recipients in California — or approximately 225,000 people — have lost coverage as a result of the redetermination process, according to the California Department of Health Care Services. Read more from CBS/Bay City News Service.
Doctors Hesitate to Ask About Patients’ Immigration Status Despite New Florida Law
By Daniel Chang
Florida’s new immigration law requires hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status at admission and in emergency rooms, and report that information plus the cost of care for residents without legal status. Doctors and nurses who oppose the policy seem reluctant to criticize lawmakers for fear of political retribution.
Community With High Medical Debt Questions Its Hospitals’ Charity Spending
By Markian Hawryluk
Pueblo, Colorado, residents have higher-than-average medical debt, while the city’s two tax-exempt hospitals provide relatively low levels of charity care.
Journalists Talk Madera Hospital Bankruptcy Woes and Savings for Covered California Enrollees
By Bernard J. Wolfson and Melissa Montalvo, The Fresno Bee and Stephanie O'Neill Patison
California Healthline senior correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson and Fresno Bee reporter Melissa Montalvo discuss community efforts to save a bankrupt hospital from liquidation. California Healthline contributing radio correspondent Stephanie O’Neill Patison reports how lawmakers won additional Covered California subsidies.
Médicos son reacios a preguntar el estatus migratorio de pacientes, a pesar de nueva ley de Florida
By Daniel Chang
Médicos, enfermeras y expertos en política sanitaria afirman que la ley ataca a personas marginadas que ya tienen dificultades para navegar el sistema de salud y que les disuadirá aún más de buscar ayuda médica.
