KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Dancing Under the Debt Ceiling
House Republicans passed their plan to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, along with major cuts to health (and other domestic) programs. Unlikely to become law, it calls for new work requirements for adults on Medicaid. Meanwhile, state efforts targeting trans people bear a striking resemblance to the fight against abortion rights. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Renuka Rayasam, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a specialist’s demand to be paid as much as $15,000 before treating a woman’s serious pregnancy complication.
Daily Edition for Thursday, April 27, 2023
Kaiser Permanente Acquiring Geisinger To Create New Not-For-Profit System: Kaiser Permanente has agreed to acquire Geisinger in a blockbuster deal that would create a new national not-for-profit system that encompasses health insurance, hospitals, and medical groups. Read more from Stat, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
Expectant Mom Needed $15,000 Overnight to Save Her Twins
By Renuka Rayasam
Doctors rushed a pregnant woman to a surgeon who charged thousands upfront just to see her. The case reveals a gap in medical billing protections for those with rare, specialized conditions.
How One Patient’s Textured Hair Nearly Kept Her From a Needed EEG
By Tarena Lofton
An EEG can help diagnose conditions like epilepsy, sleep disorders, and brain tumors. But a design flaw and outdated Eurocentric practices make the test less effective on thicker, denser, and curly hair types, potentially excluding or deterring some people from getting screened.
As US Life Expectancy Falls, Experts Cite the Health Impacts of Incarceration
By Fred Clasen-Kelly
In a nation with one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, imprisonment speeds the aging process, research shows. Some experts complain the federal government isn’t collecting or releasing data that could identify disease patterns and prevent deaths.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Physician-assisted death law, abortion access, Medi-Cal, nursing shortages, long covid, a fraud doctor, and more are in the news.
How a 2019 Florida Law Catalyzed a Hospital-Building Boom
By Phil Galewitz and Lauren Sausser and Daniel Chang
In Wesley Chapel, Fla., near Tampa, residents will soon have three general hospitals within a five-minute drive. The new construction is part of a hospital-building boom across Florida unleashed almost four years ago, when the state dropped a requirement that companies obtain government approval to open new hospitals.
As Federal Emergency Declaration Expires, the Picture of the Pandemic Grows Fuzzier
By Sam Whitehead
The pandemic gave federal officials expanded power to access crucial data about the spread of covid-19, but that authority will change when the public health emergency sunsets in May. That, along with the end of popular covid trackers, will make it harder for policymakers and the public to keep an eye on covid and other threats.
Disability Rights Groups Sue to Overturn California’s Physician-Assisted Death Law
By Don Thompson
Disability rights advocates and two individuals with disabilities sued Tuesday to overturn the state’s physician-assisted death law, arguing it is unconstitutional, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, and makes it too easy for people with terminal diseases whose deaths aren’t imminent to kill themselves with a doctor’s help.
Presentan demanda para revocar ley de muerte asistida en California
By Don Thompson
La ley original de California, que permite a los adultos con enfermedades terminales obtener recetas para medicamentos que pongan fin a su vida, se aprobó en 2016.
