News
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House Bill Would Restrict Non-Compete Clauses in Health Care Employment Contracts
Opinion -A bipartisan bill would limit the use of non-compete clauses in employment contracts, including an area where they’ve been under particular scrutiny: health care. -
Obamacare Fails Patients with Pre-existing Conditions, Report Finds
Opinion -The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is leaving a number of people with pre-existing conditions by the wayside as insurers narrow their networks to the point of uselessness, a new report finds. -
Consumers Need More Short-Term Insurance Protection, Brief Argues
Opinion -Two think tanks filed an amicus brief to ask the D.C. Court of Appeals to uphold a U.S. District Court decision concerning the duration of short-term, limited-duration insurance plans (STLDI). -
Heartland Institute Forges Ahead with New Initiatives Promoting Climate Sanity
Opinion -Climate Change Weekly #353 -
Interview: Life Expectancy in the U.S. Improves but Says Little About Health Care System
Opinion -The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics released new figures on life expectancy and the leading causes of death. -
Schools Produce Record Number of Nurse Practitioners, with Mixed Reactions
Opinion -The number of nurse practitioners (NPs) in the United States has doubled in less than 7 years, a new study finds, which is raising questions among health care professionals about the implications. -
California Screens Children for “Toxic Stress”
Opinion -Beginning this year, California will pay doctors to screen low-income Medi-Cal patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), also known as “toxic stress.” -
Patients Encounter Loopholes with Colorado’s Insulin Cap
Opinion -Patients in Colorado are learning the state’s insulin price cap, which went into effect January, is not all it’s cracked up to be. -
Illinois Takes Steps to Control the Price of Insulin
Opinion -Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law that caps the out-of-pocket price of insulin at $100 for a 30-day supply. -
Appeals Court Upholds Rejection of Arkansas Medicaid Work Rule
Opinion -The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a March 2019 lower court decision that blocked Arkansas from implementing a work rule designed to help able-bodied Medicaid enrollees back into the workforce. -
Medicaid Transparency Rule is Raising Hackles of States, Providers
Opinion -Governors, health care providers, and several lawmakers want the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to retract a rule designed to increase transparency in Medicaid spending. -
Oklahoma Mulls Tax Credit to Attract Doctors to Rural Areas
Opinion -Oklahoma legislators are considering a bill that would allow physicians to claim a $25,000 tax credit if they practice in underserved, rural communities. -
Annual Individual Health Care Spending Reaches New High, Report Finds
Opinion -Average annual health care spending for people with employer-sponsored insurance rose to an all-time high in 2018, according to a recent report. -
Oklahoma Governor Embraces Medicaid Block Grant Proposal
Opinion -To underscore his commitment to Medicaid block grants, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt joined the Trump administration in Washington D.C for the “Healthy Adult Opportunity” announcement and said his state will be the first to sign up. -
CMS Unveils New Trump Administration Policy on Medicaid Block Grants
Opinion -The Trump administration is moving to give states unprecedented leeway by revamping key sections of Medicaid, the federal health care program for low-income and disabled people. -
National School Choice Week Celebrations and Survey Show Voters Support Education Options
Opinion -Support for school choice has increased significantly in the past two years. -
Shortage of Psych Beds Puts Spotlight on Michigan’s CON Law
Opinion -As Michigan continues to struggle with how to address its lack of available beds in its psychiatric hospital in Caro, Michigan, the legislature is proceeding with hearings on legislation to exempt, among other areas, psychiatric beds from CON approval. -
Second Street.org Spotlights Socialized Medicine from Canadian Viewpoint
Opinion -When senior citizen Jenny Mackenzie of Vancouver, Canada learned it would take two years to receive hip surgery, it was SecondStreet.org that brought her tale of woe to the public’s attention. -
A Consumer Wish List for Health Care
Opinion -See related article, April 2, 2020 -
Supreme Court to Decide Safety Requirements on Abortion
Opinion -In what promises to be a landmark ruling on a highly charged issue, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear a case, -
Twitter Hits No Substitute for Science in Understanding Climate
Opinion -Climate Change Weekly #352 -
Supreme Court Sidelines Review of ACA Constitutionality as Law Approaches Ten Years
Opinion -The U.S. Supreme Court said it will not fast-track a request by 19 states to take on a decision by a federal appeals court that ruled Obamacare’s individual mandate is unconstitutional -
Rural Hospital Consolidation May Undermine Care, Access, New Study Finds
Opinion -Hospital consolidation, often seen as a financial lifeline for rural hospitals and encouraged by the Affordable Care Act, may result in cutbacks in services and reduced patient access, a new study concludes. -
Drug Companies Stall on Generic Drug Releases
Opinion -The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved generic versions of pharmaceutical products at a record-setting pace since 2016, but few of the newly certified products are available to patients, according to an analysis by Iqvia.
