Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ (Almost) Live from Austin!

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Alice Ollstein of Politico talk about how health issues will play in midterm elections, the Trump administration’s move that could penalize legal immigrants who use government aid programs, and other topics. Due to technical difficulties, the original discussion taped Sept. 27 at the 2018 Texas Tribune Festival could not be broadcast, so the panelists reconvened from Austin and Washington on Sept. 28.

New Medicare Advantage Tool To Lower Drug Prices Puts Crimp In Patients’ Choices

Federal officials are allowing the private insurance plans to use “step therapy” for drugs administered by doctors. In step therapy, patients must first use cheaper drugs to see if they work before receiving more expensive options.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Ask Us Anything!

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico answer listeners’ questions about health policy and politics.

HHS Watchdog To Probe Enforcement Of Nursing Home Staffing Standards

The study follows a Kaiser Health News and New York Times investigation that found nearly 1,400 nursing homes have reported fewer registered nurses on duty than Medicare requires or failed to provide reliable staffing information to the government.

The Man Who Sold America On Vitamin D — And Profited In The Process

The doctor most responsible for turning the sunshine supplement into a billion-dollar juggernaut has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the vitamin D industry, according to government records and interviews.