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Bipartisan Senate budget deal boosts health programs

In a rare show of bipartisanship for the mostly polarized 115th Congress, Republican and Democratic Senate leaders announced a two-year budget deal that would increase federal spending for defense as well as key domestic priorities, including many health programs.

8 Feb 2018

Many epilepsy patients receive interacting drug combinations

In an Epilepsia analysis of 2008-2010 Medicare claims data, one in four older Americans with new-onset epilepsy and more than one-third with prevalent epilepsy received a combination of antiepileptic drugs and non-epilepsy drugs that could interact to alter the effectiveness of the non-epilepsy drugs.

7 Feb 2018

Community health centers caught in ‘Washington’s political dysfunction’

As lawmakers face another deadline this week for passing legislation to keep the federal government open, one of the outstanding issues is long-term funding for a key health care safety-net program.

5 Feb 2018

Indiana gets federal approval for Medicaid plan that could slice enrollment

Indiana on Friday became the second state to win federal approval to add a work requirement for adult Medicaid recipients who gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act, but a less debated "lockout" provision in its new plan could lead to tens of thousands of enrollees losing coverage.

2 Feb 2018

Stalled health programs await a green light on the hill

With the clock ticking on the current stop-gap bill that funds the federal government through Feb. 8, Congress is steeling itself to consider another must-pass budget bill. And, once again, health care could be caught in the crosshairs.

2 Feb 2018

Researchers evaluate need for biopsies during follow-up care for breast cancer patients

In an analysis of more than 120,000 women diagnosed with and treated for early-stage breast cancer, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center determined the rate of additional breast biopsies needed for these patients during their follow-up care.

31 Jan 2018

After polyps are detected, patients may no longer qualify for free colonoscopies

Insurance coverage of colonoscopies to screen for colorectal cancer is a frequent source of frustration for consumers, including a reader who asks about his situation.

30 Jan 2018

Death in the family: An uncle’s overdose spurs Medicaid official to change course

Andrey Ostrovsky's family did not discuss what killed his uncle. He was young, not quite two weeks past his 45th birthday, when he died, and he had lost touch with loved ones in his final months. Ostrovsky speculated he had committed suicide.

29 Jan 2018

New method may help improve patients' chances of receiving life-saving kidney transplants

A new method may be useful for assessing dialysis facilities' performance concerning referrals to transplant centers.

27 Jan 2018

A push to get older adults in better shape for surgery

Surgery can be hard on older adults, resulting in serious complications and death far more often than in younger patients. But many seniors aren't adequately prepared for the risks they might face.

25 Jan 2018

CHIP renewed for six years as Congress votes to reopen Federal government

A brief, partial shutdown of the federal government was resolved Monday, as the Senate and House approved legislation that would keep federal dollars flowing until Feb. 8, as well as fund the Children's Health Insurance Program for the next six years.

23 Jan 2018

$Study finds considerable variation in hip fracture rates across nursing homes$

Study finds considerable variation in hip fracture rates across nursing homes

In a nationally representative study, researchers found considerable variation in the rates of hip fractures across US nursing home facilities.

22 Jan 2018

Home care agencies often wrongly deny Medicare help to the chronically ill

Colin Campbell needs help dressing, bathing and moving between his bed and his wheelchair. He has a feeding tube because his partially paralyzed tongue makes swallowing "almost impossible," he said.

18 Jan 2018

When you need a breast screening, should you get a 3-D mammogram?

When I went to the imaging center for my regular mammogram last year, the woman behind the desk asked me if I'd like to get a "3-D" mammogram instead of the standard test I'd had in the past.

16 Jan 2018

Trump’s work-for-Medicaid rule puts work on states’ shoulders

The Trump administration's watershed decision Thursday to allow states to test a work requirement for adult Medicaid enrollees sparked widespread criticism from doctors, advocates for the poor, and minority and disability rights groups.

12 Jan 2018

Emergency department program reduces unnecessary admission of older patients by 33%

Roughly one third of all older patients age 65 and older visiting emergency departments nationwide are admitted to the hospital.

12 Jan 2018

Computer model based on AI improves analysis of kidney biopsies

The ability to quantify the extent of kidney damage and predict the life remaining in the kidney, using an image obtained at the time when a patient visits the hospital for a kidney biopsy, now is possible using a computer model based on artificial intelligence.

11 Jan 2018

Trump administration clears way to require work for some Medicaid enrollees

The Trump administration early Thursday initiated a pivotal change in the Medicaid program, announcing that for the first time the federal government will allow states to test work requirements as a condition for coverage.

11 Jan 2018

HHS nominee vows to tackle high drug costs, despite his ties to industry

Senate Democrats on Tuesday pressed President Donald Trump's nominee for the top health post to explain how he would fight skyrocketing drug prices — demanding to know why they should trust him to lower costs since he did not do so while running a major pharmaceutical company.

9 Jan 2018

Running on empty: CHIP funding could run out Jan. 19 for some states

Some states are facing a mid-January loss of funding for their Children's Health Insurance Program despite spending approved by Congress in late December that was expected to keep the program running for three months, federal health officials said Friday.

5 Jan 2018