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4 takeaways from Trump’s plan to rescind CHIP funding

President Donald Trump wants to employ a rarely used budget maneuver called "rescission" to eliminate $15 billion in federal spending, including $7 billion from the popular Children's Health Insurance Program.

9 May 2018

Medicare beneficiaries feel the pinch when they can’t use drug coupons

This week, I answered a grab bag of questions about drug copay coupons and primary care coverage on the health insurance marketplace.

8 May 2018

Federal officials say no-go to lifetime limits on Medicaid

The Trump administration's promise of unprecedented flexibility to states in running their Medicaid programs hit its limit Monday.

8 May 2018

Research shows prevalence, health-care utilization, and costs of alcohol-related cirrhosis

More than one-third of cirrhosis cases are related to alcohol, a seven-year national study of more than 100 million privately insured people has found.

4 May 2018

For shame: ‘Pharma bro’ Shkreli is in prison, but Daraprim’s price is still high

It was 2015 when Martin Shkreli, then CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and the notorious "pharma bro," jacked up the cost of the lifesaving drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent. Overnight, its price tag skyrocketed from $13.50 a pill to $750.

4 May 2018

Sprained your knee? The cost of a brace could sprain your wallet.

One July evening, Carol Harnett was in a crosswalk in downtown Portland, Ore., when a driver made an illegal turn and hit her. Transported by ambulance to a hospital, she was diagnosed with a severely sprained right ankle and left wrist, as well as a concussion.

3 May 2018

As proton centers struggle, a sign of a health care bubble?

The Maryland Proton Treatment Center chose "Survivor" as the theme for its grand opening in 2016, invoking the reality-TV show's tropical sets with its own Tiki torches, palm trees and thatched booths piled with pineapples and bananas.

2 May 2018

How a drug company under pressure for high prices ratchets up political activity

Business looked challenging for Novo Nordisk at the end of 2016. As pressure mounted over the pharma giant's soaring insulin prices, investors drove its stock down by a third on fears that policymakers would take action, limit prices and hurt profits.

30 Apr 2018

BIO issues statement regarding Opioid Addiction Action Plan Act

BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood issued the following statement regarding the Opioid Addiction Action Plan Act, introduced yesterday in the Senate by Senators Heller (R-NV), Isakson (R-GA), and Menendez (D-NJ).

28 Apr 2018

Best reads of the week from Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend.

28 Apr 2018

New results reinforce COPAXONE 40 mg/mL as safe and effective for RMS patients

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., today announced up to 7-year efficacy, safety and tolerability results from the Glatiramer Acetate Low-Frequency Administration (GALA) open-label extension study of COPAXONE (glatiramer acetate injection) 40 mg/mL administered subcutaneously three-times-a-week for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS).

28 Apr 2018

Dissecting the rhetoric vs. reality of Trump’s tough talk on drug prices

President Donald Trump has railed against the high price of prescription drugs and famously bemoaned how pharmaceutical companies are "getting away with murder." Yet, many Americans aren't seeing a change in what they pay out-of-pocket.

27 Apr 2018

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ What next for the VA?

The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of White House physician Ronny Jackson to head the Department of Veterans Affairs after allegations surfaced about inappropriate handling of prescription drugs, issues with alcohol and difficulties working with other White House medical unit staffers.

26 Apr 2018

Hearing aids may hold potential to cut older adults’ hospital or ER visits

Hearing aids cost thousands of dollars, and insurance almost never covers them. But they may hold the potential to cut older adults' visits to the hospital or emergency room, according to a new study.

26 Apr 2018

Study: VA hospitals provide better quality care than other health providers

The VA health care system performs similar to or better than non-VA systems on most measures of inpatient and outpatient care quality, although there is high variation in quality across individual VA facilities, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

26 Apr 2018

Surgeries performed by older surgeons have lower patient mortality rates, study reveals

Researchers from UCLA and several other institutions found surgeries performed by older surgeons - age 50 and up - have lower patient mortality rates than those performed by younger surgeons, and that patient mortality rates do not differ significantly based on whether the surgeon is male or female.

26 Apr 2018

Hospitals lure diabetes patients with self-care courses, but costs can weigh heavily

When a routine physical revealed mildly elevated blood-sugar levels, Michael Phillips was strongly encouraged to sign up for a diabetes self-management class.

26 Apr 2018

Five best practices to help reduce unplanned acute care for cancer patients

Unnecessary emergency department visits and hospitalizations are debilitating for patients with cancer and far too common - and costly - for the United States health care system.

24 Apr 2018

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Nothing in health care ever goes away

Congressional Republicans have struck a decidedly different tone when talking about the Affordable Care Act, and the Democrats have introduced a new Medicare expansion bill.

20 Apr 2018

Opioid pain medications may not be safe for hemodialysis patients

A new analysis indicates that opioid pain medications may not be as safe for hemodialysis patients as recommendations suggest, and therefore, their use should be limited when possible. The analysis appears in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

20 Apr 2018