Daily Edition for Friday, December 20, 2024
Bird flu outbreak, raw milk recall, mental health, shutdown countdown, vaccines, health cost transparency, and more.
Employers Press Congress for Health Price Transparency Before Trump’s Return
By Julie Appleby
Donald Trump’s first administration advanced rules forcing hospitals and insurers to reveal prices for medical services. Employers don’t want to risk backtracking during Trump’s second administration.
Readers Offer ‘Solo Agers’ Support and Reflect on Ancestors
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
‘Bill of the Month’: The Series That Dissects and Slashes Medical Bills
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
Since 2018, readers and listeners sent KFF Health News-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” thousands of questionable bills. Our crowdsourced investigation paved the way for landmark legislation and highlighted cost-saving strategies for all patients.
How America Lost Control of the Bird Flu, Setting the Stage for Another Pandemic
By Amy Maxmen
Exclusive reporting reveals how the United States lost track of a virus that could cause the next pandemic. Problems like the sluggish pace of federal action, deference to industry, and neglect for the safety of low-wage workers put the country at risk of another health emergency.
Cómo Estados Unidos perdió el control de la gripe aviar, abriendo las puertas a otra pandemia
By Amy Maxmen
Casi un año después del primer brote de gripe aviar en el ganado, el virus no muestra señales de detenerse. El gobierno estadounidense no consiguió eliminar el virus de los tambos cuando estaba confinado a un puñado de estados.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': End-of-Year Chaos on Capitol Hill
Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate successfully negotiated an enormous end-of-Congress health package, including bipartisan efforts to address prescription drug prices — only to see it blown up at the last minute after Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump applied pressure. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court accepted its first abortion-related case of the term, and the attorney general of Texas sued a doctor in New York for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas patient. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF President and CEO Drew Altman about what happened in health policy in 2024 and what to expect in 2025.
Daily Edition for Thursday, December 19, 2024
State Of Emergency Issued Over Bird Flu: Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday as the H5N1 bird flu virus moved from the Central Valley to Southern California dairy herds. The declaration will allow for a more streamlined approach among state and local agencies to tackle the virus. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, LAist, and The Orange County Register.
Obamacare Sign-Ups Lag After Trump Election, Legal Challenges
By Julie Appleby
The number of new and returning enrollees using healthcare.gov — the federal marketplace that serves 31 states — is well below last year’s as of early December. Also, a Biden administration push to give “Dreamers” access to Obamacare coverage and subsidies is facing court challenges.
He Went in for a Colonoscopy. The Hospital Charged $19,000 for Two.
By Harris Meyer
A man in Chicago with a troubling symptom underwent a common procedure. Then he wanted to know why the hospital charged nearly three times its own cost estimate.
