Big Pharma Went All In to Kill Drug Pricing Negotiations
For decades, the drug industry has yelled bloody murder each time Congress considered a regulatory measure that threatened its profits. But the hyperbole reached a […]
Health Care Reform
No, the Senate-Passed Reconciliation Bill Won’t Strip $300 Billion From Medicare
Senate Democrats’ reconciliation bill “will strip $300 billion from Medicare.” Ad from the American Prosperity Alliance, posted July 19 As Senate Democrats raced to pass […]
La crisis de deuda que los estadounidenses enfermos no pueden evitar
La promesa de campaña del presidente Joe Biden de cancelar la deuda estudiantil por los primeros $10,000 adeudados en préstamos universitarios federales ha generado un […]
A Free-for-All From Readers and Tweeters, From Medical Debt to Homelessness
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. It […]
‘American Diagnosis’: Indigenous Advocates Work for Better Reproductive Care
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. The transcript for this segment is being processed. We’re working to post it four to five […]
Readers and Tweeters Weigh In on America’s Medical Debt, Obesity Epidemic, and Opioid Battles
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. So, […]
Senate Deal Raises Hopes for a Reduction in Gun Suicides
A bipartisan U.S. Senate agreement negotiated after high-profile mass shootings in Texas, New York, and Oklahoma lacks gun access restrictions that advocates say are needed […]
A Proposal to Import Drugs from Other Countries Creates an Unusual Alliance in the Senate
Harmony is not often found between two of the most boisterous senators on Capitol Hill, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.). But it was […]
States Extend Medicaid for New Mothers — Even as They Reject Broader Expansion
Until last year, Georgia’s Medicaid coverage for new moms with low incomes lasted 60 days. That meant the Medicaid benefits of many women expired before […]
Trauma Surgeons Detail the Horror of Mass Shootings in the Wake of Uvalde and Call for Reforms
When Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde, Texas, testified before a U.S. House committee Wednesday about gun violence, he told lawmakers about the horror […]
California Wants to Slash Insulin Prices by Becoming a Drugmaker. Can it Succeed?
SACRAMENTO — California is diving into the prescription drug business, attempting to achieve what no other state has done: produce its own brand of generic […]
Immigration Bureaucracy Threatens 11-Year-Old’s Spot on Transplant Lists
Nicolas Espinosa’s hopes for his 11-year-old daughter, Julia, are basic and profound: He wants her to stay alive and perhaps be able to eat normally […]
Despite a First-Ever ‘Right-to-Repair’ Law, There’s No Easy Fix for Wheelchair Users
Robin Bolduc isn’t the type of person who takes “no” for an answer — particularly when it comes to fixing her husband’s wheelchair. Her husband, […]
Readers and Tweeters Go to the Mat on Abortion Rights and Perceived Wrongs
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Pulling […]
Abortion Opponents Take Political Risks by Dropping Exceptions for Rape, Incest, and the Mother’s Life
If it seems as though the anti-abortion movement has gotten more extreme in recent months, that’s because it has. But it’s not the first time […]
Taco Bowls and Chicken Curry: Medi-Cal Delivers Ready Meals in Grand Health Care Experiment
VICTORVILLE, Calif. — Every Friday, Frances De Los Santos waits for a shipment of healthy, prepared meals to land on her front porch at the […]
Senate GOP Puts Up Roadblocks to Bipartisan House Bill for Veterans’ Burn Pit Care
Thousands of military veterans who are sick after being exposed to toxic smoke and dust while on duty are facing a Senate roadblock to ambitious […]
As Overdoses Soar, More States Decriminalize Fentanyl Testing Strips
With time running out in the 2022 legislative session, Georgia lawmakers took up a bill to regulate raw milk. An amendment suddenly got tacked onto […]
Abortion Politics Lead to Power Struggles Over Family Planning Grants
BOZEMAN, Mont. — In a busy downtown coffee shop, a drawing of a ski lift with intrauterine devices for chairs draws the eyes of sleepy […]
US Rep. Gaetz’s Diagnosis of What’s Driving Insulin Costs Misses the Root Cause
“The price of insulin increases as waistlines increase.” Rep. Matt Gaetz on Twitter, March 31, 2022 At the end of March, after the House passed […]
To Families’ Dismay, Biden Nursing Home Reform Doesn’t View Them as Essential Caregivers
When the Biden administration announced a set of proposed nursing home reforms last month, consumer advocates were both pleased and puzzled. The reforms call for […]
Biden Pledges Better Nursing Home Care, but He Likely Won’t Fast-Track It
President Joe Biden’s top Medicare official suggested Wednesday that forthcoming rules to bolster nursing home staffing won’t be issued under a4 mechanism, known as interim […]
Biden’s Promise of Better Nursing Home Care Will Require Many More Workers
The Biden administration has identified core impediments to better nursing home care in its proposed overhaul of the industry, but turning aspirations into reality will […]
The Demise of Single-Payer in California Trips Up Efforts in Other States
SACRAMENTO — Single-payer health care didn’t stand a chance in California this year. Even in this deep-blue bastion, Democratic lawmakers shied away from legislation that […]
A Disabled Activist Speaks Out About Feeling ‘Disposable’
SAN FRANCISCO — In early January, one of the country’s top public health officials went on national television and delivered what she called “really encouraging […]
The Eisenhower Principle
By KIM BELLARD I’ve finally come to understand why the U.S. healthcare system continues to be such a mess, and I have President Dwight Eisenhower […]
The need for H.O.P.E: victims of human trafficking need better care from health professionals
BY SARAH BETH I remember the first time I told a doctor that I was being trafficked. That experience was also the last time I […]
Health Industry Wields Power in California’s High-Stakes Battle to Lower Health Care Costs
SACRAMENTO — Gavin Newsom put California’s health care industry on notice when he was a candidate for governor, vowing in 2018 to go after the […]
Major Insurers Running Billions of Dollars Behind on Payments to Hospitals and Doctors
Anthem Blue Cross, the country’s second-biggest health insurance company, is behind on billions of dollars in payments owed to hospitals and doctors because of onerous […]
You Want to 3D Print What
By KIM BELLARD You know we’re living in the 21st century when people are 3D printing chicken and cooking it with lasers. They had me […]
Health Care, Meet Gall’s Law
By KIM BELLARD I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without knowing about Gall’s Law (thanks to @niquola for tweeting it!). For those of you […]
After Pandemic Ravaged Nursing Homes, New State Laws Protect Residents
When the coronavirus hit Martha Leland’s Connecticut nursing home last year, she and dozens of other residents contracted the disease while the facility was on […]
Health Care Needs A Hero
By MIKE MAGEE Health care needs its heroes. I came to that conclusion this week through a roundabout route. First I read Maureen Dowd’s interview […]
Senate Democrats’ Plan Boosts Spending on Medicare, ACA Subsidies, Long-Term Care
The budget package Democrats are assembling in Congress would likely provide the biggest jolt to the American health care system since the passage of the […]
California Lawmakers Push Feds to Allow a Therapy That Pays Meth Users to Abstain
In his multiple attempts to overcome a methamphetamine addiction that ground through two decades of his life, Tyrone Clifford Jr. remembers well the closest he […]
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Un-Trumping the ACA
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you […]
Montana’s Health Policy MVP Takes Her Playbook on the Road
Use Our Content It can be republished for free. Marilyn Bartlett might be the closest thing health policy has to a folk hero. A certified […]
What to Know as ACA Heads to Supreme Court — Again
The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear oral arguments in a case that, for the third time in eight years, could result in the justices […]
Opposition to Obamacare Becomes Political Liability for GOP Incumbents
In the 2014 elections, Republicans rode a wave of anti-Affordable Care Act sentiment to pick up nine Senate seats, the largest gain for either party […]
Republican Convention, Day 1: A Campaign-Style Trump Speech and More
Before the prime-time GOP showcase began, President Donald Trump took to the podium Monday afternoon and delivered an approximately one-hour campaign-style speech to delegates after […]
