Biden Team, UnitedHealth Struggle to Restore Paralyzed Billing Systems After Cyberattack
By Darius Tahir and Bernard J. Wolfson and Daniel Chang
The cyberattack on a unit of UnitedHealth Group’s Optum division is the worst on the health care industry in U.S. history, hospitals say. Providers struggling to get paid for care say the response by the insurer and the Biden administration has been inadequate.
VIP Health System for Top US Officials Risked Jeopardizing Care for Soldiers
By David Hilzenrath
The historically troubled White House Medical Unit is just one part of a government health system that gives VIP care to top officials, military officers, military retirees, and families. Pentagon investigators say some were prioritized over rank-and-file soldiers.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The State of the Union Is … Busy
At last, Congress is getting half of its annual spending bills across the finish line, albeit five months after the start of the fiscal year. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden delivers his annual State of the Union address, an over-the-counter birth control pill is (finally) available, and controversy erupts over new public health guidelines for covid-19 isolation. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Neera Tanden, the White House domestic policy adviser, about Biden’s health agenda. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Daily Edition for Thursday, March 7, 2024
The latest on Prop. 1, cyberattacks, hospital safety, long covid, drug costs, prison suicide prevention, ketamine, and more are in the news.
When It Comes to Ketamine, Meta’s Posting Policy Is No Party to Decipher
By Darius Tahir
Despite growing awareness that the party drug is dangerous, the social media company is open to promotion of the drug in treating mental health.
California May Face More Than $40M in Fines for Lapses in Prison Suicide Prevention
By Don Thompson
A court expert reported that California prisons continue to lag on 14 of 15 suicide prevention measures, and even regressed in some areas. The state could face more than $40 million in fines after a federal judge warned more than a year ago that she would impose penalties for each violation.
Operating in the Red: Half of Rural Hospitals Lose Money, as Many Cut Services
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
A recent report finds half of America’s rural hospitals are losing money, and many are struggling to stay open. Researchers and advocates worry the hospitals’ financial spiral will have immediate and long-term health effects on their communities.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Mental Health Funding Measure Leads In Early Returns: Proposition 1, the ballot measure to enact a key part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to get people off the streets and into treatment, is still too close to call. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. For live updates from the Los Angeles Times, click here.
Why Even Public Health Experts Have Limited Insight Into Stopping Gun Violence in America
By Christine Spolar
Illustration by Oona Zenda
After the 1996 Dickey Amendment halted federal spending on research into firearms risks, a small group of academics pressed on, with little money or political support, to document the nation’s growing gun violence problem and start to understand what can be done to curb the public health crisis.
Biden Is Right. The US Generally Pays Double That of Other Countries for Rx Drugs.
By Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact
Research has consistently found that, overall, U.S. prescription drug prices are significantly higher, sometimes two to four times as high, compared with prices in other high-income industrialized countries. However, some market factors can obscure actual prices, making comparisons harder.
