California dice que ya no puede costear las pruebas de covid ni las vacunas para los migrantes
By Don Thompson
El estado mantiene tres centros de recursos sanitarios —dos en el condado de San Diego y uno en el condado de Imperial— que realizan pruebas y vacunaciones contra covid y otros exámenes de salud, y han atendido a más de 300,000 migrantes desde abril de 2021.
In Tennessee, a Medicaid Mix-Up Might Land You on a ‘Most Wanted’ List
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
Tennessee posts the names and photos of people arrested for alleged Medicaid fraud on a government website and social media. Some people even wind up on a “most wanted” list.
Proposed Medicare Advantage Changes Cannot Accurately Be Called ‘Cuts,’ Experts Say
By Madison Czopek, PolitiFact and Yacob Reyes, PolitiFact
CMS advanced two proposed changes that could affect Medicare Advantage plans. One would allow the government to recover past overpayments. As a result, it could reduce those insurers’ profits, leading them to increase enrollees’ out-of-pocket costs or reduce benefits. But it’s inaccurate to characterize the changes as “cuts.”
A Bitter Battle Over the ‘Orphan Drug’ Program Leaves Patients’ Pocketbooks at Risk
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Patients who depend upon special drugs to treat rare diseases are caught in the crossfire as drugmakers and the FDA battle over regulations that reward companies for developing treatments for relatively small pools of patients.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Covered California costs, new bills introduced, abortion access, the opioid crisis, homeless deaths, and more are in today’s news.
Cleanup Workers Got Sick After Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. They Want BP to Pay.
By Christopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times and Max Chesnes, Tampa Bay Times
After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2020, Rodney Boblitt’s job was to patrol a 14-mile stretch of coastline in the Florida Panhandle looking for signs of oil washing ashore. Today, the 54-year-old is among thousands of other cleanup workers who are experiencing health issues and suing BP. But proving their health conditions were caused by the oil has been challenging.
Why Do Politicians Weaponize Medicare? Because It Works
By Julie Rovner
Politicians are again pointing fingers over who wants to cut Medicare. As past Washington brawls show, the party accused of threatening popular entitlements tends to lose elections — although it’s the beneficiaries relying on lawmakers to fund it who stand to lose the most.
A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. Instead, Some Are Left to Die in Prison.
By Fred Clasen-Kelly
The First Step Act was supposed to help free terminally ill and aging federal inmates who pose little or no threat to public safety. But while petitions for compassionate release skyrocketed during the pandemic, judges denied most requests.
California Says It Can No Longer Afford Aid for Covid Testing, Vaccinations for Migrants
By Don Thompson
Gov. Gavin Newsom is winding down state assistance for health care services to migrants seeking asylum. He’s lobbying the Biden administration to increase aid along the state’s southern border.
Journalist Angela Hart Furnishes Framework on Homelessness in California
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
