How a Medical Recoding May Limit Cancer Patients’ Options for Breast Reconstruction
By Rachana Pradhan and Anna Werner, CBS News and Leigh Ann Winick, CBS News
The federal government’s arcane process for medical coding is influencing which reconstructive surgery options are available, creating anxiety for breast cancer patients.
Health Care Coalition Jockeys Over Medi-Cal Spending, Eyes Ballot Initiative
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
California Healthline has learned that a coalition of doctors, hospitals, insurers, and community clinics want to lock in a tax on health insurance companies to draw in extra Medicaid funding. It also wants to make the tax permanent.
Mood-Altering Mushroom Sales Bloom Despite Safety Concerns
By Sam Ogozalek, Tampa Bay Times
The well-known “Amanita muscaria” mushroom is legal to possess and consume in 49 states. The market for gummies, powders, and capsules containing extracts of the fungus is raising eyebrows, though, amid concerns from the FDA and in the absence of human clinical trials.
Readers and Tweeters Weigh Marijuana’s Merits Against Those of Alcohol or Opioids
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, May 30, 2023
The debt deal, health care funding, hospital transfers, the drug epidemic, covid, mpox, AI, mental health, and more are in the news.
La enfermedad cardiovascular podría matar a más adultos mayores hispanos
By Judith Graham
El dramático envejecimiento de la población de Estados Unidos y el número creciente de personas con afecciones como hipertensión, diabetes y obesidad —que aumentan el riesgo cardíaco— se espera que contribuyan a este escenario alarmante.
Newsom and Democratic Lawmakers at Odds Over Billions in Health Care Funds
By Angela Hart
Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting pressure from his political allies to begin spending money on health care that the state raised by fining Californians who go without health insurance. But Newsom says the state can’t afford to.
Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt
By Robert Benincasa, NPR and Nick McMillan, NPR
The “Diabetes Belt,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprises 644 mostly Southern counties where diabetes rates are high. Of those counties, KFF Health News and NPR found, more than half also have high levels of medical debt.
Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics
By Judith Graham
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of older Americans, with Black and Hispanic people at higher risk. Despite medical advances, researchers say, disparities are expected to worsen in the coming decades.
