Articles

Mothering Over Meds: Docs Say Common Treatment for Opioid-Exposed Babies Isn’t Necessary
On learning last year she was pregnant with her second child, Cailyn Morreale was overcome with fear and trepidation. “I was so scared,” said Morreale, a resident of the small western North Carolina town of Mars Hill. In that moment, her joy about being pregnant was eclipsed by fear she would have to stop taking…

“Accelerationalism”: Is Your Money on Altman or Musk?
By MIKE MAGEE Has America turned into an “Island of Musk?” He seems to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. As Trump’s new best friend, he’s opened up the gates of Twitter-hell, morphed into a steady stream of crypto-cash, and demonstrated his dance moves alongside Trump at featured venues. He’s also launched “a…
The Future of Medicare’s Coverage with Evidence Development Policy
That is the title of an interesting panel from USC Schaeffer Center on Coverage with Evidence Development (CED). It includes an interview with Tamara Syrek Jensen, Director, of the Coverage & Analysis Group within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. After the interview, there is a panel discussion with Darius Lakdawalla of USC, Peter…

Beneficiarios de Medicare gastarán menos en medicamentos en 2025
Cuando Pam McClure se enteró que el próximo año ahorraría casi $4,000 en sus medicamentos recetados dijo: “parece demasiado bueno para ser verdad”. Para finales de 2024, habrá gastado casi $6,000 en estos fármacos, incluido uno para controlar su diabetes. McClure, de 70 años, es una de las aproximadamente 3.2 millones de personas con un…

Medicare Drug Plans Are Getting Better Next Year. Some Will Also Cost More.
When Pam McClure learned she’d save nearly $4,000 on her prescription drugs next year, she said, “it sounded too good to be true.” She and her husband are both retired and live on a “very strict” budget in central North Dakota. By the end of this year, she will have spent almost $6,000 for her…

Watch: ‘Silence in Sikeston & The Effects of Racial Violence’
KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony appeared in a two-part special of Nine PBS’ “Listen, St. Louis with Carol Daniel” to discuss her reporting for the “Silence in Sikeston” project. The first conversation, which aired Oct. 9, explores the connections between a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police shooting in a rural Missouri community…

You’re Not Going to Automate MY Job
By KIM BELLARD Earlier this month U.S. dockworkers struck, for the first time in decades. Their union, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILW), was demanding a 77% pay increase, rejecting an offer of a 50% pay increase from the shipping companies. People worried about the impact on the economy, how it might impact the upcoming election,…
The big guys can’t do HLTH right
By MATTHEW HOLT This is the week where the digital health landscape debunks to the HLTH Conference in Vegas to meet, do deals, listen to superannuated rappers and generally have a great time. Speaking as the guy who ran the digital health conference before HLTH emerged, I remain extremely jealous of how Jonathan Weiner, Rich…

‘Employers Haven’t a Clue How Their Drug Benefits Are Managed’
That is the title of a KFF article published last week. The results are based on KFF’s 2024 Employer Health Benefits Survey. They write: For KFF’s survey of 2,142 randomly selected companies, officials from those with 500 or more employees were asked how much of the rebates negotiated by [pharmacy benefit managers] PBMs returned to…