Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ We Have Numbers!
From Kaiser Health News Network – Their latest podcast, What the Health, episode 20, We have numbers! Democrats won some unexpectedly large victories in last…
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Chasing Millions In Medicaid Dollars, Hospitals Buy Up Nursing Homes
By Phil Galewitz – Westminster Village North, a nursing home and retirement community in Indianapolis, recently added 25 beds and two kitchens to speed food delivery to residents. It also redesigned patient rooms to ease wheelchair use and added Wi-Fi and flat-screen televisions.
CBO: Killing Cost-Sharing Subsidies Would Hike Silver Plan Premiums And Deficit
By Phil Galewitz – If President Donald Trump were to follow through on his threats to cut federal cost-sharing subsidies, health insurance premiums for silver…
Doctors Warm To Single-Payer Health Care
By Rachel Bluth – Single-payer health care is still a controversial idea in the U.S., but a majority of physicians are moving to support it, a new survey finds. Fifty-six percent of doctors registered either strong support or were somewhat supportive of a single-payer health system.
Price Transparency In Medicine Faces Stiff Opposition — From Hospitals And Doctors
By Rachel Bluth – Two years after it passed unanimously in Ohio’s state Legislature, a law meant to inform patients what health care procedures will cost is in a state of suspended animation.
Medicare’s Financial Outlook Slightly Improved, Trustees Say
By Phil Galewitz – The Trump administration said recently that the financial outlook for Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund improved in the past year due to health costs rising more slowly than expected and predictions that enrollees will use hospital services less often.
CA Hits Nerve By Singling Out Cardiac Surgeons With Higher Patient Death Rates
By Anna Gorman – Michael Koumjian, a heart surgeon for nearly three decades, said he considered treating the sickest patients a badge of honor. He was frequently called upon to operate on those who had multiple illnesses or who’d undergone CPR,
CMS Gives States Until 2022 To Meet Medicaid Standards Of Care
By Phil Galewitz – The Trump administration has given states three extra years to carry out plans for helping elderly and disabled people receive Medicaid services without being forced to go into nursing homes.
A Squeaker In The House Becomes Headache For The Senate: 5 Things To Watch
By Julie Rovner – After weeks of will-they-or-won’t-they tensions, the House managed to pass its GOP replacement for the Affordable Care Act by a razor-thin margin. The vote was 217-213.