The Senate remains to be working, properly into August – one thing it hasn’t finished in years — and it’s debating the funding invoice for the Department of Health and Human Services.
There is a back-to-school scarcity of EpiPens, wanted by individuals with extreme allergic reactions to deal with probably life-threatening reactions, and the Food and Drug Administration is weighing in. And “reinsurance” is again within the image. The Trump administration has granted permission for New Jersey and Maryland to create such applications aimed toward serving to convey down premiums within the particular person insurance coverage market by serving to pay for the most costly enrollees.
And in bizarre science: An asthmatic otter sends a sign concerning the critical public well being influence of this summer time’s wildfires within the western U.S.
This week’s panelists for KHN’s “What the Health?” are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times.
This is your final probability to ship questions for subsequent week’s “ask us anything” episode. You can e mail us at [email protected]”>[email protected]
Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:
• One provision of the HHS funding invoice that’s getting consideration is the hassle to require drugmakers so as to add their costs to any ads. President Donald Trump is pushing for this, and it may very well be widespread politically. But since customers pay completely different costs relying on quite a lot of elements, together with their insurance coverage and the supply of medication, it isn’t clear how impactful such a legislation can be.
• The announcement this week by federal authorities that an estimated 72,000 individuals had died of drug overdoses — 49,000 of them because of opioids — has spurred curiosity on Capitol Hill for laws to assist battle the opioid epidemic. Bills that had been anticipated to maneuver after the election might now see a sooner observe to voting.
• Consumers are reporting a scarcity in EpiPens, the prescription drug and self-injector that may stop loss of life from a deadly allergy. The FDA has agreed with the EpiPen maker to increase the expiration date to ease the scarcity. The FDA additionally authorised a generic model of the EpiPen, however that’s unlikely to decrease prices anytime quickly. Generics typically don’t have a lot influence on pricing till there are a number of generic choices obtainable.
• The announcement by New York University’s medical faculty that it’ll present free tuition to all college students despatched a shock wave by way of the educational group. Although it seems to be an incredible technique to draw college students, it’s unclear whether or not it’ll encourage extra new docs to decide on main care quite than higher-paying specialties. Doctors do come out of college with excessive debt ranges, however most research present that additionally they have excessive salaries and repay these money owed inside 10 years.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists advocate their favourite well being tales of the week they assume you must learn, too:
Julie Rovner: NPR’s “NYU’s Move To Make Medical School Free For All Gets Mixed Reviews,” by Julie Rovner
Joanne Kenen: Politico’s “Lax State Ethics Rules Leave Health Agencies Vulnerable to Conflicts,” by Brianna Ehley, Sarah Karlin-Smith, Rachana Pradhan and Jennifer Haberkorn
Alice Ollstein: The New York Times’ “Vitamin D, the Sunshine Supplement, Has Shadowy Money Behind It,” by Liz Szabo
Margot Sanger-Katz: The Wall Street Journal’s “What Does Knee Surgery Cost? Few Know, and That’s a Problem,” by Melanie Evans
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