Category: Kaiser Health News

KHN’s ‘What The Health’: Spending Bill Slowdown

It’s November, do you know where your HHS spending bill is? Still stuck in Congress. Meanwhile, lawmakers move ahead on restricting tobacco products for youth while the administration’s proposal is MIA. Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more health news from the week. Also, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann, host of the podcast “An Arm and a Leg.”

Nursing Home Safety Violations Put Residents At Risk, Report Finds

A federal audit of 19 California nursing homes released today found hundreds of violations of safety and emergency standards, putting vulnerable nursing home residents at increased risk of injury or death during a wildfire or other disaster.

‘An Arm And A Leg’: Mom Vs. Texas In A Fight To Get Kids’ Hearing Aids Covered

Health insurance in Texas didn’t cover hearing aids for kids — which can cost $6,000 and need to be replaced about every three years. So Stephanie Wittels Wachs teamed up with other moms to lobby the Texas legislature for change, and they won.

A Regulatory Haze: Vape Marketers Are Online, Creating New Headaches For Feds

The subculture around vaping has been fueled by social media, and traditional regulations don’t easily address potential pitfalls.

Dialysis Patients Panic As Financial ‘Life Raft’ Becomes Unmoored

An organization that helps nearly 4,000 California dialysis patients pay for their insurance is threatening to cut off aid in January because of a new law that is expected to reduce dialysis industry profits. Patients fear they won’t be able to afford their life-saving treatment.

Verma Attacks Critics Of Medicaid Work Requirement, Pushes For Tighter Eligibility

The Trump administration’s top Medicaid official says the effort to thwart these work mandates “stifles innovation.”

Warren Says Out-Of-Pocket Health Spending Will Total $11 Trillion In The Next Decade. We Checked Her Math.

Big picture remains hazy, but these numbers add up.

Warren Says Out-Of-Pocket Health Spending Will Total $11 Trillion In The Next Decade. We Checked Her Math.

Big picture remains hazy, but these numbers add up.

More Adolescents Seek Medical Care For Mental Health Issues

Less than a decade ago, the emergency department at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego would see maybe one or two young psychiatric patients per day, said Dr. Benjamin Maxwell, the hospital’s interim director of child and adolescent psychiatry. Now, it’s not unusual for the emergency room to see 10 psychiatric patients in a day, […]

More Adolescents Seek Medical Care For Mental Health Issues

Less than a decade ago, the emergency department at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego would see maybe one or two young psychiatric patients per day, said Dr. Benjamin Maxwell, the hospital’s interim director of child and adolescent psychiatry. Now, it’s not unusual for the emergency room to see 10 psychiatric patients in a day, […]