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Medicare has proposed limiting coverage of Aduhelm, the costly new drug to treat Alzheimerâs disease, and several prominent groups representing patients and their families are pressing the program to make it more widely available. But among individuals facing the disease, the outlook is more nuanced.
KHN Senior Correspondent Samantha Young joined California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly for an engaging conversation about how California moves forward in an environment in which covid persists, but at more manageable levels.
Spun off from the ailing but not-quite-dead Build Back Better legislation, a popular proposal to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 a month faces tough political realities that could kill it.
Kennedy Stonum, a 17-year-old high school junior, resisted getting vaccinated against covid-19, as did 20-year-old Tyler Gilreath, whose mother had nagged him for months to get the shots. Both died.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched several initiatives to cut rising drug prices, but the savings havenât been as monumental as he promised. And his plan to have California make its own generic drugs hasnât gotten off the ground.
President Joe Biden spent a large portion of his first State of the Union address talking about foreign affairs, but he also spent time on an array of health topics, including mental health, nursing home regulation, and toxic burn pits. Also this week, the administration unveiled a strategy to address the covid pandemic going forward. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Private and public employers are increasingly using the governmentâs Medicare Advantage program as an alternative to their existing retiree health plan and traditional Medicare coverage. As a result, the federal government is paying the âoverwhelming majorityâ of medical costs, according to an industry analyst.
The Department of Labor issued rules in July clarifying that health plans need to cover the costs of prescription drugs proven to prevent HIV infection, along with related lab tests and medical appointments, at no cost to patients. More than half a year later, the erroneous billing continues.
The pandemic has shown that loosening the strict regulations on distributing methadone helps people recovering from addiction stay in treatment. But clinics with a financial stake in keeping the status quo donât want to make permanent changes.
CMS chief Chiquita Brooks-LaSure says the agency reserves its power to quickly institute new regulations for âabsolute emergencies.â On staffing, nursing home residents might need to wait years to see any real change.
Stan Thomasâ wife, Monica Melkonian, was one of only nine people in the U.S. confirmed to have died from vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, a rare side effect associated with the Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine. For the first time, Thomas shares her story of how excited she was to get the shot, how she died, and why he remains firmly pro-vaccine.
What a difference a year makes. The speech was delivered to a largely unmasked crowd of lawmakers, justices, and Cabinet members in the House chamber.
Like others in academia or government whoâve served as public health advisers during the pandemic, Dr. Michael Mina traded his university role for a commercial venture. He recently took a top job at eMed, a startup that charges a premium price for monitoring at-home covid tests. Can experts do well by trying to do good?
Almost a year after the American Rescue Plan Act allocated what could amount to $25 billion to home and community-based services run by Medicaid, many states have yet to access much of the money due to delays and red tape.
Officials testing water found high lead levels in more than 100 of the stateâs nearly 600 school buildings. But as of mid-February, half the stateâs schools had yet to provide samples.
The president wants to set minimum staffing levels for the beleaguered nursing home industry. But, given a lack of transparency surrounding the industryâs finances, itâs a mystery how facilities will shoulder the added costs.
Snuggle-ready dogs comfort anxious patients at dental offices, but some patients worry about the risks, from slobber to nips. North Carolina is thought to be the first state with regulations to ensure the dogs are appropriately trained.
This episode is the second half of a two-part series about uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. A coalition of Indigenous leaders and non-Native locals are lobbying Congress and fielding research to force the cleanup of abandoned uranium mining sites and expand federal compensation for workers harmed by the uranium industry.
The president used broad language to say that Americans no longer needed to worry about surprise bills, but there are exceptions to the new law that could cost unsuspecting consumers.
Many of the nearly 17 million U.S. members of J&J Nation, myself included, are wondering whether to set aside the current official guidance and get a second booster. Some experts say: Chill out.
