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Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, ER doctors say they â and their patients â are trapped between state anti-abortion laws and the federal law requiring that care be delivered in emergency situations. Womenâs lives hang in the balance.
In the first official test vote since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, voters in Kansasâ primary said in no uncertain terms they want to keep a right to abortion in their state constitution. Meanwhile, the Senate is still working to reach a vote before summer recess on its health care-climate-tax measure, but progress is slow. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHNâs Bram Sable-Smith, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ installment about a very expensive ambulance trip.
A rapidly changing landscape for abortion has left patients, providers, employers, and lawmakers alike wondering what is and is not legal and what to do next. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress have resumed negotiations on legislation to lower drug prices and, potentially, continue expanded insurance subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Public health officials say monkeypox is not as dangerous as covid and can be handled well with current treatments and if those at risk use caution. But the rollout of vaccines has been slow and led to angst among some at-risk people.
Noble Health swept into two small Missouri towns promising to save their hospitals. Instead, workers and vendors say it stopped paying bills and government inspectors found it put patients at risk. Within two years â after taking millions in federal covid relief and big administrative fees â it locked the doors.
Stemming gun violence is back on the legislative agenda following three mass shootings in less than a month, but itâs hard to predict success when so many previous efforts have failed. Meanwhile, lawmakers must soon decide if they will extend current premium subsidies for those buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Biden administration acts, belatedly, on Medicare premiums. Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHNâs Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ episode about a too-common problem: denial of no-cost preventive care for a colonoscopy under the Affordable Care Act.
Insurers say prior authorization requirements are intended to reduce wasteful and inappropriate health care spending. But they can baffle patients waiting for approval. And doctors say that insurers have yet to follow through on commitments to improve the process.
Many public health workers are unable to see how many doses of Pfizerâs antiviral treatment are shipped to their communities and cannot tell whether vulnerable residents are filling prescriptions as often as their wealthier neighbors.
Three years after a government site launched to connect Americans to treatment, finding addiction care is still a struggle.
Prosecutors say opioid-seeking patients drove hours to get their prescriptions filled in Celina, Tennessee, where pharmacies ignored signs of substance misuse and paid cash â or âmonkey bucksâ â to keep customers coming back.
At least 7 million immunocompromised people could benefit from the monoclonal antibody injections designed to prevent covid-19. The government says it has enough doses for a fraction of those in need â and it doesnât have the money to buy more.
What a difference a year makes. The speech was delivered to a largely unmasked crowd of lawmakers, justices, and Cabinet members in the House chamber.
State Medicaid agencies for months have been preparing for the end of a federal mandate that has prevented states from removing people from the safety-net program during the pandemic.
Congress is set to start its once-every-five-years review of the law that authorizes user fees to finance the hiring of personnel to speed the FDA review of drugs. The periodic renewals of âPDUFAâ also give lawmakers a chance to make other changes to the agency at the hub of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the FDA could also find itself at the center of the abortion debate and a controversial new medication to treat Alzheimerâs disease. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is drawing criticism for his hands-off handling of the covid crisis even though the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA report to him. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor looks to enforce mental health âparity lawsâ that have failed to achieve their goals. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHNâs Noam N. Levey, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ episode about a large emergency room bill for a small amount of medical care.
If federal officials accept a courtâs decision, some patients will get a chance to seek refunds for their nursing home and other expenses.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued preliminary rules regarding health insurance marketplaces that aim to deter fraudulent sign-ups for coverage. Experts say the agencyâs action indicates a problem exists.
Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimerâs drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
The American Medical Association and American Hospital Association are not arguing to halt the law that protects patients from unexpected bills from providers they didnât know were outside their insurance network. Instead, they want to change the rules for the mediators who will settle the dispute between insurers and providers.
The Health and Human Services secretary says the administration has heard complaints from doctors and hospitals about the rules it unveiled for implementing the law to end surprise medical bills. But he says providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost â or close.
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