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Montana may join about a dozen other states in creating “safe havens” that keep health care professionals from facing scrutiny from licensure boards for seeking mental health or addiction treatment.
More than a quarter century after an inmate helped start a hospice program in one of the nation’s most notorious prisons, he is trying to spread the idea.
A report based on millions of urine drug tests found the United States is facing a rise in the use of multiple drugs at once, which not only is often more deadly but complicates treatment efforts.
Even as Anthem Blue Cross and University of California Health announced a contract agreement this month, analysts say patients are increasingly at risk of being affected by such disputes.
The expansion of Catholic hospitals nationwide leaves patients at the mercy of the church’s religious directives, which are often at odds with accepted medical standards.
A restructuring of the Medicare drug benefit has wiped out big drug bills for people who need expensive medicines. But the legal battle over drug negotiations means uncertainty over long-term savings.
While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder.
A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the Biden administration’s Medicare prescription-drug price negotiation program. But the suit turned on a technicality, and several more court challenges are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health policy pops up in Super Bowl ads, as Congress approaches yet another funding deadline. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
After a decade of work, a Kentucky program launched to diagnose lung cancer earlier is beginning to change the prognosis for residents by catching tumors when they’re more treatable.
Nearly 2 million Medi-Cal enrollees, mainly people who are aged, disabled, or in long-term care, can now accumulate savings and property without limitations and still qualify for the state’s health insurance program for low-income residents. They join an additional roughly 12 million enrollees who already had no asset limits.
ϳԹ News’ Céline Gounder explains the “five-day rule” on covid safety, how guidelines and testing have evolved, and how best to protect yourself and others.
Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year, a big setback for corrections officials who thought they were on the right track with medication-assisted treatment efforts. Prison officials and attorneys representing prisoners blame fentanyl.
ϳԹ News shares the crème de la crème of reader-submitted health policy valentines. Two of our favorites melted our hearts and inspired original illustrations.
Medicare pays hospitals about double what it pays other providers for the same services. The hospital lobby is fighting hard to make sure a switch to “site-neutral payments” doesn’t become law.
Lawmakers and regulators are trying to understand how AI is changing health care and how it should be regulated. The industry fears overreach.
Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they’ll pay for patients’ drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further.
Resorting to crowdfunding to pay medical bills has become so routine, in some cases health professionals recommend it.
