Daily Edition for Friday, February 16, 2024
Health industry consolidation, abortion pills, lead exposure, drug-resistant bacteria, overdose crisis, covid, and more are in the news.
Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion
By Daniel Chang and Andy Miller
While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder.
Patients See First Savings From Biden’s Drug Price Push, as Pharma Lines Up Its Lawyers
By Arthur Allen
A restructuring of the Medicare drug benefit has wiped out big drug bills for people who need expensive medicines. But the legal battle over drug negotiations means uncertainty over long-term savings.
Faceoff Between Anthem Blue Cross, UC Health Shows Hazards of Industry Consolidation
By Annie Sciacca
Even as the two health giants announced a contract agreement this month, analysts say patients are increasingly at risk of being affected by such disputes.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Biden Wins Early Court Test for Medicare Drug Negotiations
A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the Biden administration’s Medicare prescription-drug price negotiation program. But the suit turned on a technicality, and several more court challenges are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health policy pops up in Super Bowl ads, as Congress approaches yet another funding deadline. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KFF Health News’ 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, February 15, 2024
Medical waste, the drug epidemic, hospital watch, long covid, RSV, drug shortages, HIV, and more are in today’s news.
Watch: The Feds Reexamine Covid Protocols. Here’s Why You Should Care.
KFF Health News’ Céline Gounder explains the “five-day rule” on covid safety, how guidelines and testing have evolved, and how best to protect yourself and others.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Medi-Cal eligibility, troubled hospitals, measles, long covid, homelessness, EMTs, mental health, and more are in today’s news.
For the Love of Health Care and Health Policy
California Healthline shares the crème de la crème of reader-submitted health policy valentines. Two of our favorites melted our hearts and inspired original illustrations.
New Eligibility Rules Are a Financial Salve for Nearly 2 Million on Medi-Cal
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Nearly 2 million Medi-Cal enrollees, mainly people who are aged, disabled, or in long-term care, can now accumulate savings and property without limitations and still qualify for the state’s health insurance program for low-income residents. They join an additional roughly 12 million enrollees who already had no asset limits.
