WinnDems News

For nearly 15 years, the feds have had oversight of Georgia’s treatment of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Observers say the state still jeopardizes some of its most marginalized residents by not meeting the terms of its settlement with the Justice Department. http://dlvr.it/TGKTfw

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

Women with serious pregnancy complications who were denied abortion care have turned to state courts after appeals to state lawmakers to clarify medical exceptions have largely failed. http://dlvr.it/TGFpPv

With his term soon to expire, Social Security chief Martin O’Malley’s efforts to address the agency’s overpayments to beneficiaries remain incomplete. http://dlvr.it/TGFBr3

KFF Health News senior correspondents Fred Clasen-Kelly and Renuka Rayasam discuss how government decisions undermine Black health. http://dlvr.it/TGBrjQ

Come January, Republicans will control the House of Representatives, Senate, and White House, regaining full power for the first time since 2018. That will give them significant clout to dramatically change health policy. But slim margins in Congress will leave little room for dissent. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed not to touch Medicare, though […] http://dlvr.it/TGBQZ4

As federal health scientists await an unprecedented takeover by medical skeptics in the second Trump administration, some are said to be preparing résumés or retirement papers. http://dlvr.it/TGBBZN

The child tax credit passed by Congress at the height of covid has expired, but states and localities are trying to fill the gap with their own programs and funding. In Michigan, Rx Kids already covers every family with a new baby in Flint. Now, other communities aim to follow. http://dlvr.it/TG9nQM

California health officials began providing protective clothing to farmworkers months before the state’s first bird flu transmission to humans was announced in October. It’s a reminder of the state’s struggle to remain prepared for health threats amid multibillion-dollar deficits. http://dlvr.it/TG9nF6

Meet the tech worker on a quest to use artificial intelligence to combat denials for coverage from patients’ health plans. http://dlvr.it/TG8hTl

After the fall of “Roe v. Wade,” thousands of out-of-state patients traveled to Maryland for abortion care. The state is trying to diversify who can offer that care. Providers in the first training class say their new skills are especially needed in rural areas. http://dlvr.it/TG8hKv

Freedom of Information Act case targets HHS inspector general’s reviews of billions of dollars in health plan overpayments. http://dlvr.it/TG8Bt2

With the arrival in California of dengue, a dangerous mosquito-borne disease present mainly in more tropical climates, public health authorities are deploying a range of strategies to beat back the Aedes mosquitoes that spread the virus. http://dlvr.it/TG7cFS

Diverse networks of friends, former co-workers, neighbors, and extended family are often essential sources of support for older adults living alone. Often it is the elderly caring for the elderly. http://dlvr.it/TG7c3n

Despite widespread support for protecting abortion rights, voters said the cost of gas, housing, food, and health care was more important to their choice for president. http://dlvr.it/TG4g0r

As Donald Trump readies for his return to the White House — with the backing of a GOP majority in the Senate and, possibly, the House — the entire health care industry is waiting to see what happens next. Clearly on the agenda: the future of abortion and reproductive rights, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and public health’s infrastructure. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Jackie Fortiér, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post “Bill of the Month” feature, about a 2-year-old who had a very expensive run-in with a rattlesnake. http://dlvr.it/TG4fwk

California this year completed its Medi-Cal expansion to include income-eligible residents regardless of their immigration status. This final installment of the “Faces of Medi-Cal” series profiles three of those newly eligible patients and how coverage has affected their health. http://dlvr.it/TG48D7

Medicare officials defend the use of home visits that often spot medical conditions that are never treated. http://dlvr.it/TG483h

The National Indian Health Board has urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to declare a public health emergency as an alarming syphilis outbreak, which disproportionately affects Native Americans, continues. This is the latest plea for more resources from tribal leaders after previous requests went unanswered. http://dlvr.it/TG3Dh7

Attorney General Rob Bonta, a longtime champion of reproductive rights, is ready to lead California in the fight to protect abortion under Trump’s second presidency. In a Q&A, he shares how his upbringing prepared him for the role. http://dlvr.it/TG3DZQ

Voters in 10 states weighed in on abortion rights this election. Despite the results supporting abortion rights in seven of those states, much of the abortion landscape on abortion won’t change much immediately, as medical providers navigate the legal hurdles that remain. http://dlvr.it/TG3DRj

Community health workers are increasingly common in rural areas, where they help patients overcome barriers to accessing care and staying healthy. http://dlvr.it/TG2F1Q

The nation’s Catholic health systems were largely founded and led by nuns with a mission to serve the sick regardless of their creed or financial means. Today, no nuns run any U.S. Catholic health system, while many of these hospitals pull in billions, according to their financial reports. http://dlvr.it/TG2DvF

With new research and updated guidelines in Colorado and 15 other states, physicians and educators are asking parents not to wait to return their concussed kids to school. http://dlvr.it/TG2DlW

Though the former president has repeatedly hyped the impact of his experimental drug program, there’s no basis for his claims in government data, and medical experts say he’s exaggerating. http://dlvr.it/TG2Db9

Democrats and conservatives are divided over whether the federal health program for people over 65 should be run almost entirely by the private sector. If Trump retakes the White House, the shift to Medicare Advantage may accelerate. http://dlvr.it/TG2DV3

In the final days of the campaign, stark disagreements between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump over the future of American health care are on display — in particular, in sober warnings about abortion access, the specter of future cuts to the Affordable Care Act, and bold pronouncements about empowering activists eager […] http://dlvr.it/TFyKd0

Several Democratic-led states have expanded public insurance programs to cover immigrants in the U.S. regardless of legal status. Donald Trump is trying to blame Kamala Harris for the policies. http://dlvr.it/TFxkyv