Hospitals and medical practices are battling outdated stereotypes and sometimes their own doctors to hire certified nurse midwives. Research shows that women cared for by certified nurse midwives have fewer cesarean sections, which can produce significant cost savings for hospitals.
Medical fundraisers account for 1 in 3 of the website’s campaigns and bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category. Americans’ confidence they can afford health care is slipping, some say.
Fundraising for medical expenses leads this crowdfunding website and, according to its chief executive, highlights a deep national need to address the high costs of health care.
Some doctors and clinics are proactively informing patients about a proposed policy that could jeopardize the legal status of immigrants who use public benefit programs such as Medicaid. Others argue that because this “public charge” proposal isn’t final — and may never be adopted — disseminating too much information could create unnecessary alarm and cause some patients to drop benefits.
While headlines continue to focus on the nation’s opioid crisis, a growing toll of overdoses and deaths related to methamphetamine use suggests this drug is making an under-the-radar comeback.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made health care a priority in his proposed state budget, asking lawmakers to authorize state-funded financial aid for health insurance, impose a penalty on uninsured Californians and expand Medicaid coverage to unauthorized immigrants.
The length of the shutdown will dictate how furloughed and unpaid workers will be affected.
In a recent study of patients treated by emergency medical responders in Oregon, black patients were 40 percent less likely to get pain medicine than their white peers. Why?
Democratic governors and mayors are unveiling new ideas to control costs and expand coverage. The federal government shutdown has spared most health agencies, but not all. And learn the latest on that lawsuit out of Texas, which is threatening the Affordable Care Act once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week. Rovner also interviews KHN’s Jordan Rau about the latest “Bill of the Month.”
Expect more aggressive regulatory action from the Trump administration while skirmishes continue in Congress and statehouses across the country. Many of these policies will ultimately be challenged in court.
