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A tale of two states: California, Texas and the latest ACA repeal bid

The GOP’s latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act wobbled on Friday as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he could not support it. But the bill known as Graham-Cassidy isn’t dead yet.

22 Sep 2017

Podcast: ‘What the Health?’ Zombie repeal-and-replace bill rises again

Republican efforts to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act are back, in a big way. And the "What the Health" podcast is focused on Capitol Hill's debate on the bill by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.).

20 Sep 2017

Experts delineate many steps hospitals can take to mitigate ransomware attacks

Especially cruel hackers know that lives are on the line when they hold a hospital's computer systems hostage, as they did in the May 12 attack dubbed WannaCry, which locked down many overseas hospitals with the demand for a ransom.

19 Sep 2017

Last-ditch GOP effort to replace ACA: 5 things you need to know

Republican efforts in Congress to "repeal and replace" the federal Affordable Care Act are back from the dead. Again.

19 Sep 2017

Bemoaning budget cuts, navigators say feds don’t appreciate scope of the job

The Trump administration says many of the organizations that help people enroll in health plans on the federal insurance marketplaces don’t provide enough bang for the buck, sometimes costing thousands of dollars to sign up each customer.

19 Sep 2017

Clinicians could provide support to address unique social needs of immigrant children

The grade school student has been a patient for a while, but during a routine visit, 9-year-old Pedro finally confides that he has had headaches and difficulty concentrating in school for weeks now. Pedro tells you he worries that his older brother--among those granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals--and his parents, undocumented immigrants, "will disappear" while he attends class.

15 Sep 2017

Podcast: ‘What the Health?’ health plans busting out all over

In a busy health week for Congress, Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee agreed on a proposal to fund the Children's Health Insurance Program for five more years, while Republicans and Democrats at the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee continued to pursue a joint plan to stabilize the individual health insurance market.

13 Sep 2017

Uninsured rate falls to a record low of 8.8 percent

Three years after the Affordable Care Act's coverage expansion took effect, the number of Americans without health insurance fell to 28.1 million in 2016, down from 29 million in 2015, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

12 Sep 2017

If you’re blindsided by health plan changes, learn the root causes — and your rights

How much notice is required if benefits change? Do insurers have to give you a heads up if your plan doesn't meet the minimum coverage standard under the Affordable Care Act? Readers' questions this month are centered around insurance notification requirements.

12 Sep 2017

New study examines link between health insurance status and childhood cancer survival

A new study examines whether insurance status may affect survival in children diagnosed with cancer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest largely similar survival trends between privately insured children and those with Medicaid at diagnosis, with slight evidence for an increased risk of cancer death in children who were uninsured at diagnosis.

12 Sep 2017

Congress’ tight timetable complicates renewal of children’s health plan

A popular federal-state program that provides health coverage to millions of children in lower- and middle-class families is up for renewal Sept. 30.

8 Sep 2017

Insurance commissioners say help offered by Congress is not enough to save market

A key Senate committee Wednesday launched a set of hearings intended to lead to a short-term, bipartisan bill to shore up the troubled individual health insurance market, but a diverse group of state insurance commissioners united around some solutions that were not necessarily on the table.

8 Sep 2017

Comprehensive analysis reveals cumulative burden of chronic disease in childhood cancer survivors

The most complete assessment yet of chronic disease in adult survivors of childhood cancer found they have a nearly two-fold greater cumulative burden of chronic health problems than the general public.

8 Sep 2017

5 governors press Congress for fast bucks to secure Obamacare market in 2018

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) has a problem — and not much time to solve it. The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee wants to turn the page on the divisive health debate of this summer. He's been working with the panel's top Democrat, Patty Murray (D-Wash.), to craft a bipartisan bill aimed at shoring up the individual health insurance market.

7 Sep 2017

Lawmakers debate how much wiggle room to give states in health care

One of the few things that Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on is that states should have some flexibility to experiment with different ways to pay for and deliver health care.

7 Sep 2017

To insure more poor children, it helps if parents are on Medicaid

Efforts by Republican lawmakers to scale back Medicaid enrollment could undercut an aspect of the program that has widespread bipartisan appeal — covering more children, research published Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs suggests.

6 Sep 2017

California, other states to extend Obamacare sign-up beyond federal limit

California and several other states will exempt themselves this year from a new Trump administration rule that cuts in half the amount of time consumers have to buy individual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

5 Sep 2017

Why one California County went surgery shopping

Retiree Leslie Robinson-Stone and her husband enjoyed a weeklong, all-expenses-paid trip to a luxury resort — all thanks to the county she worked for.

1 Sep 2017

Pfizer receives FDA approval for new therapy to treat adults and children with AML

Pfizer Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved MYLOTARG (gemtuzumab ozogamicin) for adults with newly diagnosed CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and adults and children 2 years and older with relapsed or refractory CD33-positive AML.

1 Sep 2017

Trump administration whacks millions from budget used to push Obamacare

President Donald Trump has insisted for months that "Obamacare is already dead." His administration matched its harsh words with damaging action on Thursday — slashing millions of dollars from the government's budget to promote the health law's annual open enrollment season beginning in two months.

1 Sep 2017