Years ago, doctors sometimes lied about whose sperm they used for artificial inseminations. Could it happen now? Some argue regulation is weak in the multibillion-dollar fertility treatment industry.
A high-profile commission created by Gov. Gavin Newsom will convene for the first time Monday to discuss how to get every Californian covered. But don’t expect the state to adopt a single-payer system anytime soon.
This one is a big stretch.
A study ordered by the Food and Drug Administration failed to prove that Makena, the only drug approved to prevent premature birth, is effective. While a panel of experts has recommended withdrawing the drug’s approval, many doctors are wary.
Budget cuts in 2009, sparked by the Great Recession, eliminated many needed health care services, like regular foot care for people with diabetes to minimize the risk of amputation. The restored benefits also include eyeglasses, speech therapy and hearing exams.
There is a virus that has already sickened at least 13 million Americans this winter, hospitalizing 120,000 and killing 6,600 people. You may even know of it.
A high-profile effort in Camden, New Jersey, to reduce health spending by identifying high-cost patients and giving them more coordinated and preventive medical care has been copied around the country. Many of those groups are pushing forward with the efforts, despite a recent critical study of the Camden initiative.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg uses health care as a key message in his Democratic presidential primary run.
The Supreme Court said it won’t hear an expedited case that threatens to overturn the Affordable Care Act. That means the future of the ACA will continue to be a top political issue through the November election. Meanwhile, a major doctors’ group endorses “Medicare for All.” Sort of. And both sides in the abortion debate mark the 47th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Caitlin Owens of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Fewer Americans are dying in a hospital, under the close supervision of doctors and nurses. That trend has been boosted by an expanded Medicare benefit that helps people live out their final days at home in hospice care. But as home hospice grows, so has the burden on families left to provide much of the care.