What looks like a straightforward framework to protect California’s budget from escalating drug costs has policy experts perplexed, and potential allies on the sidelines.
Healthcare Systems & Policy
Despite recent cost-cutting measures, California’s spending on pharmaceuticals has gone up, and so has the number of pricey drugs it is covering. It’s not clear state agencies have the means to balance drug cost pressures with the best interests of patients, taxpayers and public health.
HIPAA was designed to protect what’s called “protected health information.” But a rising chorus say the law has been too widely applied and now poses serious barriers to health information for doctors, patients and journalists alike.
While nearly half of Florida's kids rely on Medicaid, the program has battled persistent problems that have often left children without proper care. Reporter Maggie Clark of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune shares five key lessons from her reporting deep-dive.
Headed to Cleveland this week for AHCJ's 2016 conference? Contributing editor William Heisel highlights some great panel discussions you won't want to miss.
Maggie Clark reported this story with the support of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism and the National Health Journalism Fellowship, programs of USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism....
Medicare recently announced it is likely to cover a diabetes prevention program that has been shown to be highly effective. Our Slow Medicine team explains why that’s exciting news for pre-diabetic patients.
Just before President Obama announced a new set of new initiatives to boost access to addiction treatment this week, a four-part series on NPR looked at the opioid epidemic's smallest victims, and what can be done to improve their care.
"It’s around 10 p.m. when I call a crisis worker for victims of domestic violence in remote Northern California," writes reporter Emily Cureton. "I’m panicking, 150 miles away in Oregon. I’m really afraid someone is going to get hurt tonight."
So-called "surprise bills" can leave unsuspecting patients on the hook for thousands of dollars. And market solutions haven't fixed the problem so far, writes UCLA health policy expert Gerald Kominski.