Some Addiction Treatment Centers Turn Big Profits by Scaling Back Care
By Renuka Rayasam and Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
Private equity groups are cashing in on rising rates of alcohol and drug addiction in the U.S. But they aren’t necessarily investing in centers with the best treatment standards, and they often cut extra services.
It’s ‘Telehealth vs. No Care’: Doctors Say Congress Risks Leaving Patients Vulnerable
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Congress’ $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package included a two-year extension of pandemic-era funding that helped telehealth services grow nationwide. But that cash bridge, embraced by those delivering services to patients in rural areas, doesn’t provide much certainty for the future of remote medicine.
Government Lets Health Plans That Ripped Off Medicare Keep the Money
By Fred Schulte
In a surprise decision, U.S. officials yield to insurance industry demands — at least for now.
Daily Edition for Monday, January 30, 2023
At Least 3 Killed In Beverly Crest Shooting: At least three people were killed and four injured early Saturday in the second mass shooting to erupt in Los Angeles County in eight days — the sixth in California this month, according to police. The latest shooting occurred in the upscale Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, bordering Beverly Hills. Three victims were shot inside a car and another four while standing outside a home. The suspect or suspects remained at large Sunday evening. Read more from ABC News, AP, CNN, KTLA, and the Los Angeles Times.
A Baby Spent 36 Days in an In-Network NICU. Why Did the Hospital Next Door Send a Bill?
By Harris Meyer
A baby spent more than a month in a Chicago NICU. A big bill revealed she was treated by out-of-network doctors from the children’s hospital next door. Her parents were charged despite a state law protecting patients from such out-of-network billing — and sent to collections when they didn’t pay up.
When Gun Violence Ends Young Lives, These Men Prepare the Graves
By Cara Anthony
Just outside St. Louis, a cemetery for children sits on a hill. A wooden, weather-worn sign welcomes mourners to “Baby Land.” The gravediggers who made the special spot work quietly in the shadows.
California Author Uses Dark Humor — And a Bear — To Highlight Flawed Health System
By Rachel Scheier
A new graphic novel by Kathleen Founds follows an angst-ridden bear on his quest for mental health treatment. Founds drew on her own experience with bipolar disorder.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Part II: The State of the Abortion Debate 50 Years After ‘Roe’
In Part II of this special two-part episode, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Varney of KHN join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss how the abortion debate has evolved since the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion in 2022, and what might be the flashpoints for 2023. Also, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their most memorable reproductive health stories from the last year.
Daily Edition for Friday, January 27, 2023
Friday’s roundup covers Medicaid, prison health, CARE Court, covid vaccines and treatments, ransomware, CBD regulation, housing, and more.
FDA Experts Are Still Puzzled Over Who Should Get Which Covid Shots and When
By Arthur Allen
A single booster seems to prevent death and hospitalization in most people, but protection from the current vaccines wanes within months. FDA experts say they need to know more from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to decide the best long-term strategy.
