The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A judge has initiated a federal court takeover of California’s troubled prison mental health system by naming the former head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to serve as receiver, giving her four months to craft a plan to provide adequate care for tens of thousands of prisoners with serious mental illness….
The routine is familiar for most people: When checking in for an appointment with a doctor or other health care provider, patients typically complete and sign a pile of paperwork, including a form that contains some version of the statement, “I agree to pay for all charges not covered by my insurance company.” Patients may…
The Trump administration’s crackdown on DEI programs could exacerbate an unexpectedly steep drop in diversity among medical school students, even in states like California, where public universities have been navigating bans on affirmative action for decades. Education and health experts warn that, ultimately, this could harm patient care. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has…
Aneesh Chopra (these days at Arcadia) and Matthew Holt got into a discussion of how Medicare Advantage is doing. Working with APG (America’s Physician Groups), his company Arcadia found that Medicare Advantage companies who paid capitation got better outcomes than those who were paying FFS for different patients to the SAME doctors. We got into…
Union Health is making a new bid to Indiana regulators to buy its rival hospital in Terre Haute as the door looks poised to close on such deals. The nonprofit health system is trying to leverage an existing state law to acquire Terre Haute Regional Hospital, the only other acute care hospital in Vigo County….
As Congress mulls potentially massive cuts to federal Medicaid funding, health centers that serve Native American communities, such as the Oneida Community Health Center near Green Bay, Wisconsin, are bracing for catastrophe. That’s because more than 40% of the about 15,000 patients the center serves are enrolled in Medicaid. Cuts to the program would be…
By GEORGE BEAUREGARD This piece is different from the typical “health-care industry” topics covered in this forum. My Sunday morning routine usually involves getting a cup of coffee and downloading the most recent editions of magazines on my iPad. The cover of the February 13 edition of Time magazine immediately caught my attention because the…
That is the title of a new USC white paper by Darren Filson, Karen Van Nuys, Darius Lakdawalla and Dana Goldman with the subtitle “How Much Does Revenue Drive New Drug Development?” What is the elasticity of innovation? It measures the percentage change in innovation—using the flow of new drugs approvals, or Phase 1, 2,…
In 2019, Cristina Iglesias filed a lawsuit that changed the course of treatment for herself and other transgender inmates in federal custody. Iglesias, a trans woman who had been incarcerated for more than 25 years, was transferred from a men’s prison to a women’s one in 2021. And in 2022, she reached a landmark settlement…