WinnDems News

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. http://dlvr.it/TGKTXV

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the sprawling government agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act marketplace — celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz — recently held broad investments in health care, tech, and food companies that would pose significant conflicts of interest. Oz’s holdings, some shared with family, included a stake in UnitedHealth […] http://dlvr.it/TGK7P1

Not only has President-elect Donald Trump chosen prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump also has said he will nominate controversial TV host Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees coverage for nearly half of Americans. Meanwhile, the lame-duck Congress is back in Washington with just a few weeks to figure out how to wrap up work for the year. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Riley Ray Griffin of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Varney, who has been covering a trial in Idaho challenging the lack of medical exceptions in that state’s abortion ban. http://dlvr.it/TGK1wV

Florida sued the FDA over what it said was a “reckless delay” in approving its drug importation plan. Now, nearly a year after the FDA gave the state the green light, the program has yet to begin. http://dlvr.it/TGJmyG

With a new Trump administration poised to move into the White House and Republicans set to control both chambers of Congress, party leaders are making a to-do list for the Affordable Care Act. http://dlvr.it/TGJK3t

Corneas, the windshields of the eye, are the most transplanted part of the human body. But four former employees at Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank told of numerous retrieval problems, including damage to eyes and removal from the wrong body. http://dlvr.it/TGHGGn

Listen to KFF Health News' Jackie Fortiér recount how a backyard snakebite led to a harrowing hospitalization — and big bills — for a San Diego family. http://dlvr.it/TGHG85

Hundreds of people and the Federal Trade Commission weighed in on a proposed hospital merger in Terre Haute, Indiana, with most arguing that the creation of a monopoly would increase costs and worsen patient care. http://dlvr.it/TGGpSM

Many U.S. hospitals are conserving critical intravenous fluid supplies to cope with a shortage that may last months. Some hospital administrators say the shortage accelerated their plans to change IV fluid hydration protocols altogether. http://dlvr.it/TGGCL7