WinnDems News

The editorial team of “An Arm and a Leg” looks back on the reporting that hit close to home over the past year, including insulin pricing and prenatal testing. http://dlvr.it/Sg5JqZ

Two “nutrition ambassadors” from Oldways, an organization that makes tradition and pride centerpiece ingredients in food education, invite KHN into their kitchens for a peek at A Taste of African Heritage dishes to accompany holiday celebrations. http://dlvr.it/Sfqp3C

Doctors, consumer advocates, and some lawmakers are looking forward to a California lawsuit against private equity-backed Envision Healthcare. The case is part of a multistate effort to enforce rules banning corporate ownership of physician practices. http://dlvr.it/Sfmr39

An examination of billing policies and practices at more than 500 hospitals across the country shows widespread reliance on aggressive collection tactics. http://dlvr.it/Sfjsxm

Across the country, there are no consistent requirements for the officials who investigate suspicious and unexpected deaths. Some have no medical training, others are doctors trained in forensic pathology. Washington, California, Illinois, and Georgia are among the states that have recently attempted to make changes — with mixed success. http://dlvr.it/Sffq40

Research shows offering clean syringes to people who misuse IV drugs is effective in combating the spread of HIV. But an epidemiologist and advocates say state and local officials in West Virginia, home to one of the worst HIV outbreaks in recent years, have taken measures that render syringe exchange less accessible. http://dlvr.it/SfblFQ

Since 2017, Medicaid expansion has been adopted in seven states where a question was placed directly on the ballot. But campaign leaders say that strategy may not work in Florida and Wyoming, where Republican opposition remains strong. http://dlvr.it/SfScDL

Hospitals have depended on travel nurses to fill shifts, especially during covid surges. Now some larger systems, reeling from high contract labor costs, have created staffing units, aiming to lure nurses who want more work flexibility and better pay than staff RNs get. http://dlvr.it/SfPStN

Coal mining ended in Germany’s Saarland a decade ago, but the transition away from coal has been smoother than in West Virginia, which has more medical debt than any state in America. http://dlvr.it/SfLQPP

Facing rare scrutiny from federal auditors, some Medicare Advantage health plans failed to produce any records to justify their payments, government records show. The audits revealed millions of dollars in overcharges to Medicare over three years. http://dlvr.it/SfHFF5

A months-long KHN examination of the system meant to bar fraudsters from Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health programs found gaping holes and expansive gray areas through which banned individuals slip to repeatedly bilk taxpayer-funded programs. http://dlvr.it/SfDDSs

Turnover ails a program that allows low-income people who are older or disabled to age in place. To attract new workers and improve retention, the state is paying caregivers to develop new skills. http://dlvr.it/Sf5JMR

Sen. Raphael Warnock’s re-election in Georgia will give Democrats a clear-cut Senate majority for the first time in nearly a decade. Meanwhile, the current Congress has only days left to tackle major unfinished business on the health agenda, including fending off scheduled pay cuts for doctors and other health providers in the Medicare program. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too. http://dlvr.it/Sf3qLS

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) announced that she has nominated eight students from Northwest and Central Illinois for admission to United States Service Academies for the class entering in the fall of 2023. These are the final service academy nominations Bustos will make as a Member of Congress. Over the last decade, Congresswoman Bustos has had […] The post Bustos Announces Final Service Academy Nominations appeared first on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. http://dlvr.it/Sf3lcy

The death of a sharp but frail patriarch just days before Thanksgiving casts a shadow on a family’s holiday season. http://dlvr.it/Sf2MPv

Fifteen states haven’t moved to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms beyond the minimum of 60 days after birth. But at least four of those holdout states — Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, and Mississippi — are expected to consider proposals to extend coverage in their upcoming legislative sessions. http://dlvr.it/Sf2MF9

The disease, which predominantly affects Black patients, can damage the body in ways that can make having a child difficult. But patients don’t always have access to fertility care. http://dlvr.it/Sf2Gm2

Critics were ready to bury the state’s new health insurance plans, based on a public option, when 2023 rate hikes were announced, but officials are confident people will be drawn to the plans’ benefits. http://dlvr.it/SdzFY9

The Florida policy backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis relies on one key statistic that many experts question. http://dlvr.it/SdwCPw

Like many U.S. workplaces, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went remote during the pandemic. Most of the agency’s staff members haven’t returned to the office full time, raising concerns about the CDC’s ability to reform itself after recent stumbles. http://dlvr.it/SdsCHh

Private equity-backed Headlands Research heralded its covid-19 vaccine trials as a chance to boost participation among diverse populations, then it shuttered multiple sites that conducted them. http://dlvr.it/Sdk4zY

The number of U.S. health care providers certified to prescribe buprenorphine more than doubled in the past four years, and treatment advocates hope to see that trend continue. http://dlvr.it/Sdg29R