Latest 蘑菇影院 Health News Stories
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump Puts Obamacare Repeal Back on Agenda
Although Republicans have never united behind a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, 2024 GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said this week he wants to put the issue back on the national agenda. That delights Democrats, who have won at least two elections partly by defending the now-popular health law. Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court takes up a case brought by women who say their pregnancy complications further endangered their health due to the vagueness of Texas鈥 near-total ban on abortions. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Victoria Knight of Axios News join 蘑菇影院 Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Rachana Pradhan, who reported and wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature.
Anti-Abortion Groups Shrug Off Election Losses, Look to Courts, Statehouses for Path Forward
Anti-abortion groups have lost seven consecutive elections on state ballot measures about abortion. They say they鈥檙e unfazed and plan to keep focusing on lawmakers and courts to notch wins.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Congress Kicks the (Budget) Can Down the Road. Again.
Congress narrowly avoided a federal government shutdown for the second time in six weeks, as Democrats came to the rescue of divided House Republicans over annual spending bills that were supposed to be finished by Oct. 1. But the brinksmanship is likely to repeat itself early in 2024, when the next temporary spending patches expire. Meanwhile, a pair of investigations unveiled this week demonstrate how difficult it still is for seniors to get needed long-term and rehabilitation care. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
The Unusual Way a Catholic Health System Is Wielding an Abortion Protest Law
Dignity Health is suing several patients and their advocates for 鈥渃ommercial blockade鈥 for refusing discharge during the covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuits could set precedents for use of the California commercial blockade statute, conceived to constrain abortion protesters, and how hospitals handle discharges.
Gubernatorial Candidates Quarrel Over Glory for Winning Opioid Settlements
Some gubernatorial candidates are sparring over bragging rights for their state鈥檚 share of $50 billion in opioid settlement funds. Many of the candidates are attorneys general who pursued the lawsuits that produced the payouts.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': The Open Enrollment Mixing Bowl
Open enrollment for Medicare beneficiaries with private health plans began Oct. 15, to be followed Nov. 1 by open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans. The selection for both is large 鈥 often too large to be navigated easily alone. And people who choose incorrectly can end up with unaffordable medical bills. Meanwhile, those on both sides of the abortion issue are looking to Ohio鈥檚 November ballot measure on abortion to see whether anti-abortion forces can break their losing streak in statewide ballot questions since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Doctors Abandon a Diagnosis Used to Justify Police Custody Deaths. It Might Live On, Anyway.
The American College of Emergency Physicians agreed to withdraw its 2009 white paper on excited delirium, removing the only official medical pillar of support left for the theory that has played a key role in absolving police of culpability for in-custody deaths.
California proh铆be el controversial diagn贸stico de 鈥渄elirio excitado鈥
El gobernador dem贸crata Gavin Newsom firm贸 un proyecto de ley el 8 de octubre para prohibir que los forenses, doctores, y examinadores m茅dicos incluyeran el s铆ndrome de 鈥渄elirio excitado鈥 en certificados de defunci贸n o informes de autopsias.
California Bans Controversial 鈥楨xcited Delirium鈥 Diagnosis
California is the first state to ban the controversial diagnosis known as 鈥渆xcited delirium,鈥 which has been used increasingly to justify excessive force by law enforcement. A human rights advocate described the law, signed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom, as a 鈥渨atershed moment鈥 in criminal justice.
Thousands Got Exactech Knee or Hip Replacements. Then, Patients Say, the Parts Began to Fail.
In a torrent of lawsuits, patients accuse Florida device maker Exactech of hiding knee and hip implant defects for years. The company denies the allegations.
Police Blame Some Deaths on 鈥楨xcited Delirium.鈥 ER Docs Consider Pulling the Plug on the Term.
The American College of Emergency Physicians will vote in early October on whether to disavow its 2009 research paper on excited delirium, which has been cited as a cause of death and used as a legal defense by police officers in several high-profile cases.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': More Medicaid Messiness
At least 30 states are reinstating coverage for children wrongly removed from the rolls under Medicaid redetermination, the federal government reported. It鈥檚 just the latest hiccup in the massive effort to review the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries now that the program鈥檚 pandemic-era expansion has expired. And federal oversight of the so-called unwinding would be further complicated by an impending government shutdown. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join 蘑菇影院 Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest 蘑菇影院 Health News-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about a hospital bill that followed a deceased patient鈥檚 family for more than a year.
A Decades-Long Drop in Teen Births Is Slowing, and Advocates Worry a Reversal Is Coming
After three decades of declines in teen pregnancies, data shows the rates are starting to plateau. The reversal of “Roe v. Wade,” coupled with efforts to suspend sex education in schools and higher rates of youth mental health issues post-pandemic, could culminate in a perfect storm.
California Officials Seek 鈥楥ARE鈥 Without Coercion as New Mental Health Courts Launch This Fall
In Orange County, California, officials are threading a delicate needle. They want to persuade people with psychosis to accept treatment without coercion as the state鈥檚 new CARE Courts roll out in October.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': A Not-So-Health-y GOP Debate
The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 cycle took place without front-runner Donald Trump 鈥 and with hardly a mention of health issues save for abortion. Meanwhile, in Florida, patients dropped from the Medicaid program are suing the state for not giving them enough notice or a way to contest their being dropped from the program. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Victoria Knight of Axios join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Pill鈥檚 Legal Limbo Continues
A federal appeals court issued a split decision on whether the abortion pill mifepristone should remain on the market 鈥 rejecting a lower court鈥檚 decision to effectively cancel the drug鈥檚 FDA approval in 2000, while ordering the rollback of more recent rules that made the drug easier to obtain. Nothing changes immediately, however, as the Supreme Court blocked the lower court鈥檚 ruling in the spring. It will be up to the high court to determine whether the pill remains available in the U.S. and under which conditions. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
North Carolina Hospitals Have Sued Thousands of Their Patients, a New Report Finds
An analysis of court records by the state treasurer and Duke researchers finds Atrium Health, originally a public hospital system, accounted for almost a third of the legal actions against North Carolina patients over roughly five years.
Patients in California County May See Refunds, Debt Relief From Charity Care Settlement
As hospitals are criticized for skimping on financial assistance, Santa Clara County has agreed to notify 43,000 former patients of possible billing reductions as part of a settlement. Some patients had sued, alleging the county鈥檚 hospital system sent them to collections for bills they shouldn鈥檛 have received.
Watch: As Opioid Settlement Money Starts to Flow, States and Local Officials Debate How to Use It
PBS NewsHour featured 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Aneri Pattani as it reported on how this debate is playing out in North Carolina and Ohio.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': On Abortion Rights, Ohio Is the New Kansas
Nearly a year to the day after Kansas voters surprised the nation by defeating an anti-abortion ballot question, Ohio voters defeated a similar, if cagier, effort to limit access in that state. This week, they rejected an effort to raise the threshold for approval of future ballot measures from a simple majority, which would have made it harder to protect abortion access with yet another ballot question come November. Meanwhile, the number of Americans without health insurance has dropped to an all-time low, though few noticed. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Emmarie Huetteman of 蘑菇影院 Health News join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, about how the 鈥淢edicaid unwinding鈥 is going, as millions have their eligibility for coverage rechecked.
