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Under new cost-cutting Medicare rule, same surgery, same place, different bill

A cost-saving change in Medicare launched in the final days of the Trump administration will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures while potentially raising costs and confusion for patients.

23 Mar 2021

Democrats eye Medicare negotiations to lower drug prices

Democrats, newly in control of Congress and the White House, are united behind an idea that Republican lawmakers and major drugmakers fiercely oppose: empowering the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate the prices of brand-name drugs covered by Medicare.

23 Mar 2021

FDA warns two companies for illegal marketing of unapproved CBD products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warning letters to two companies for selling products labeled as containing cannabidiol (CBD) in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).

22 Mar 2021

Study: 94% of older adults prescribed fall-risk-increasing drugs

Nearly every older adult was prescribed a prescription drug that increased their risk of falling in 2017, according to new University at Buffalo research.

16 Mar 2021

Rising cost of antiparasitic drugs in U.S increases patient costs, may reduce quality of care

New study finds the skyrocketing cost of drugs in U.S. used to treat hookworm and other soil-transmitted parasites increases patient costs, suggests decreased quality of care.

10 Mar 2021

Three decades-old antibiotics could offer an alternative to opioid-based painkillers

Three decades-old antibiotics administered together can block a type of pain triggered by nerve damage in an animal model, UT Southwestern researchers report.

23 Feb 2021

New single-payer bill intensifies Newsom’s political peril

A group of Democratic state lawmakers introduced legislation Friday to create a single-payer health care system to cover all Californians, immediately defining the biggest health policy debate of the year and putting enormous political pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom.

19 Feb 2021

Opioid supply-controlling policies may have unintended consequences, finds study

In response to the increase in opioid overdose deaths in the United States, many states have implemented supply-controlling and harm-reduction policy measures aimed at reducing those deaths.

17 Feb 2021

Poor and terminally ill Mexicans have less chance to get opioids intended for palliative care

If you're poor and terminally ill in southern Mexico, there's far less chance you'll get the painkillers you need for palliative care than your cousins in more prosperous regions, particularly those pharmacy-rich areas along Mexico-U.S. border, say UCLA researchers and colleagues who studied opioid dispensing levels across the country.

13 Feb 2021

Survey: Americans remain largely skeptical that healthcare costs will fall as soon as Biden begins presidency

In his inaugural address, President Joe Biden vowed that "help is on the way" to a nation grappling with a pandemic that has already claimed over 420,000 lives and counting.

28 Jan 2021

Are public health ads worth the price? Not if they’re all about fear

The public service announcement showed a mother finding her teenage son lifeless, juxtaposed with the sound of a ukulele and a woman singing, "That's how, how you OD'd on heroin."

19 Jan 2021

Even with Senate control, Democrats will need buy-in from GOP on key health priorities

Democrats have argued for more generous pandemic relief, more pressure on drugmakers to lower prices and more attention to systemic racism in health care.

11 Jan 2021

Seniors face crushing drug costs as Congress stalls on capping Medicare out-of-pockets

Sharon Clark is able to get her life-sustaining cancer drug, Pomalyst — priced at more than $18,000 for a 28-day supply — only because of the generosity of patient assistance foundations.

4 Jan 2021

FDA issues warning letters to companies illegally selling unapproved CBD products

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued five warning letters to companies for selling products containing cannabidiol (CBD) in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).

22 Dec 2020

With Becerra as HHS pick, California plots more progressive health care agenda

President-elect Joe Biden didn't back "Medicare for All" during his campaign.

10 Dec 2020

Trump plan may set clock ticking on many health rules — setting off alarms

The Trump administration wants to require the Department of Health and Human Services to review most of its regulations by 2023 — and automatically void those not assessed in time.

10 Dec 2020

West Health Policy Center forms CIDSA to provide independent analysis of drug pricing policies

The West Health Policy Center, a nonprofit and nonpartisan policy research and education organization, announced today the formation of the Council for Informed Drug Spending Analysis, a group made up entirely of leading policy experts from the worlds of academia and healthcare.

7 Dec 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Transition troubles mount as COVID spreads

President-elect Joe Biden is still being blocked from launching his official transition while President Donald Trump contests the outcome of the election. That could be particularly dangerous for public health as COVID-19 spreads around the country at an alarming rate.

20 Nov 2020

Surprise federal drug rule directs insurers to reveal what they pay for prescription drugs

Health insurance companies will have to give their customers estimated out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and disclose to the public the negotiated prices they pay for drugs, under an unexpected new Trump administration rule.

19 Nov 2020

Biden wins, but his health agenda dims with GOP likely to hold Senate

Former Vice President Joe Biden secured the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House on Saturday, major news organizations projected, after election officials in a handful of swing states spent days in round-the-clock counting of millions of mail-in ballots and early votes.

8 Nov 2020