Journalists Distill $50B Rural Health Fund and Newsmaking Diagnoses

KFF Health News chief rural correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble discussed the $50 billion rural health fund authorized by the recent Republican megabill on Daily Yonder’s “The Yonder Report” on July 31. Click here to hear Tribble on “The Yonder Report.” Read Tribble’s “$50B Rural Health ‘Slush Fund’ Faces Questions, Skepticism.” Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’…

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Weekend Reading

Trump drug price ultimatum.Baumol cost disease: Child care vs. pet care & health care vs. veterinary care editions.Jennifer Doudna interview on CRISPR.AMA on PBMs.Life 30,000 feet underwater.

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Emily & Me–Money Remaking Medicine

The super connector and super intelligent Emily Peters, (who has quite her own patient adventure story–tl:dr GO GIVE BLOOD) and has written several books including Artists Remaking Medicine, is working on another one called Money Remaking Medicine. She invited me on a show called the Positive Deviants Detectives which is kind of a book club…

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This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

A long list of Lynda Hollander’s paternal relatives had heart disease, and several had undergone major surgeries. So when she hit her mid-50s and saw her cholesterol levels creeping up after menopause, she said, “I didn’t want to take a chance.” A cardiologist told Hollander that based on factors like age, sex, cholesterol, and blood…

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Deep Staff Cuts at a Little-Known Federal Agency Pose Trouble for Droves of Local Health Programs

A little-known federal agency that sends more than $12 billion annually to support community health centers, addiction treatment services, and workforce initiatives for America’s neediest people has been hobbled by the Trump administration’s staffing purges. The cuts are “just a little astonishing,” said Carole Johnson, who previously led the Health Resources and Services Administration. She…

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Would delinking PBM reimbursement from rebates save money?

According to a Health Affairs Scholar paper by Geoffrey Joyce out this month, the answer is ‘yes’. He writes: Most PBM contracts tie their compensation to a percentage of a drug’s list price, creating a financial incentive to favor high-cost, high-rebate drugs on plan formularies at the expense of lower-cost generics and biosimilars. Furthermore, the…

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KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Next on Kennedy’s List? Preventive Care and Vaccine Harm

The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @julierovner.bsky.social 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…

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Readers Weigh In on Making American Health Care Affordable Again

Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Sounding the Alarm for Ambulances Thank you for shedding much-needed light on the exorbitant costs and lack of reimbursement that have become a harsh reality for many ambulance services across Colorado…

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Chronically Ill? In Kennedy’s View, It Might Be Your Own Fault

On a recent weekday evening, Ashly Richards helped her 13-year-old son, Case, with homework. He did math problems and some reading, underscoring how much he’s accomplished at his school for children with autism. Richards has heard Trump administration officials suggest that food dyes and pediatric vaccines cause autism and ADHD. That stance, she said, unfairly…

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