Latest California Healthline Stories
Summer Setbacks: The Long Road To Lower Drug Prices Hits Some Potholes
Efforts to control drug prices seemed on a glide path earlier this year after gaining traction at the White House and in Congress. But prospects today look less certain and highly controversial.
Federal Suit Alleges ‘Staggering’ Urine Drug Testing Fraud At Tennessee Pain Clinics
Tennessee company’s Medicare billings for urine tests were examined by Kaiser Health News in 2017.
Dream Of Retiring Abroad? The Reality: Medicare Doesn’t Travel Well
More than 400,000 U.S. workers have retired in foreign countries and their ranks are rising. But Medicare doesn’t cover most expenses overseas, so these expats will need to confront the cost of finding alternative insurance.
Missouri Firm With Silicon Valley Ties Faces Medicare Billing Scrutiny
Amid an overall crackdown on private insurers’ Medicare billing practices, a new government audit and a whistleblower suit allege St. Louis-based Essence Group Holdings Corp.’s Medicare Advantage plans overcharged taxpayers.
Insurers Running Medicare Advantage Plans Overbill Taxpayers By Billions As Feds Struggle To Stop It
An enhanced government effort to catch insurers that overcharge Medicare faces resistance from the insurance industry.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Could The ACA Really Go Away?
Is the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional? That was the question before a federal appeals court in New Orleans this week. Two of the three judges on the panel seemed inclined to agree with a lower court that the elimination of the tax penalty for failure to maintain coverage could mean the entire health law should fall. Also this week, President Donald Trump wants to improve care for people with kidney disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus courts blocking efforts to require drug prices in TV ads and to kick Planned Parenthood out of the federal family planning program. Plus, Rovner interviews University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley about the latest legal threat to the ACA.
Using Obamacare Authority, Trump Aims To Shift Dialysis Care To Patients’ Homes
Only about 12% of dialysis patients get their treatment at home and the initiative aims to dramatically increase that number and move patients out of costly dialysis centers. It would also add provisions to boost the annual number of kidneys available for transplants.
Medicare Going In ‘Right Direction’ On Opioid Epidemic
A new report by the inspector general for HHS shows prescriptions to treat opioid addiction are way up in recent years, while prescriptions for the painkillers have fallen.
How To Get A Cheaper Prescription Before Leaving The Doctor’s Office
A pricing tool embedded in their electronic health record and prescribing system lets doctors see how much patients will pay out-of-pocket based on their insurance and the pharmacy. But doctors have been slow to adopt the technology, which has limitations.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All About ‘Medicare for All’
Need to know more about “Medicare for All?” It’s a top issue in the Democratic presidential primary campaign. This holiday week, we are rerunning our explainer on the subject. But first, KHN’s “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner talks to KHN’s Shefali Luthra about how health played out in the first Democratic candidate debates last week.