Articles filed under Health Care

A hospital said a woman's heart surgery went well. Then she bled to death into a garbage can, lawsuit claims.

Jul 22, 2019 8:22 AM - The family of Donnamay Brockbank has sued the hospital and the doctors overseeing the botched surgery on multiple claims of negligence.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Biden Doubles Down On Obamacare

The Associated Press

Jul 18, 2019 2:46 PM - [protected-iframe id="c5ee41bdef0db514ef56c8a7c8e9f6c9" /] Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. [khn_slabs slabs="821957"] [khn_slabs slabs="821954"] [khn_slabs slabs="856478"] [khn_slabs slabs="821984"] Former Vice President Joe Biden has said if he’s elected president he would build on the Affordable Care Act rather than move to a whole new health care system, such as the “Medicare for All” plan supported by some of his primary opponents for the Democratic nomination. But his campaign’s new health plan would include many things Congress tried and failed to pass as part of the health law, including a government-run “public option” plan that would be widely available.Meanwhile, the U.S. House voted to repeal one of the ACA’s key financing mechanisms, voting overwhelmingly to cancel the so-called “Cadillac tax,” which was set to take effect in 2022. It is a 40% excise tax on the most generous employer-provided health plans.And it was not a good week for Planned Parenthood. The women’s health provider parted ways with its president of less than a year, Leana Wen. And the Trump administration announced it would begin enforcement of new rules for the federal family planning program that Planned Parenthood said will force it to stop participating.This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner from Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Margo Sanger-Katz of The New York Times.Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast: Biden’s health proposal seeks to lower out-of-pocket costs for many people in several ways. For example, it would make federal premium help available to all who buy their own insurance, not just those with low and middle incomes. It would also change how federal premium subsidies are determined. It would base the assistance on the cost of a gold plan, rather than the current practice of using the second lowest priced silver plan. Since gold plans are more generous, using that standard could lower the amount of deductibles and copayments people getting subsidies have to pay. The ACA’s Cadillac tax has been strongly endorsed by health economists, who view it as a way to cut the amount of unnecessary care some people with generous plans seek. But many employers, consumers and labor unions don’t want to tinker with the current tax system of job-based insurance. The administration’s decision to go forward with its new rules for the Title X family planning program - while critics are challenging those regulations in the courts - will have a significant effect on Planned Parenthood’s finances. But the group gets even more government money through the Medicaid program. Despite two setbacks last week in the administration’s efforts to reduce drug prices, President Donald Trump is continuing to hint that he wants to go forward with a plan to tie some Medicare drug prices to what people in other countries pay for the medications. Federal officials have announced that opioid deaths have declined, but it is not clear that opioid overdoses or addiction has declined. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too:Julie Rovner: The New York Times’s “ Where Roe v Wade Matters Most,” by Quoctrung Bui, Claire Cain Miller and Margot Sanger-Katz.Joanne Kenen: Scientific American’s “ Why Doctors Are Drowning in Medical School Debt,” by Daniel Barron.Margot Sanger-Katz: Bloomberg News’ “ Deadly Disease Is Treatable, But Newborn Screening Patchwork Leaves Many Vulnerable,” by Michelle Cortez.Kimberly Leonard: The Washingtonian’s “ DC Types Have Been Flocking to Shrinks Ever Since Trump Won. And a Lot of the Therapists Are Miserable,” by Britt Peterson.To hear all our podcasts, click here.And subscribe to What the Health? on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or Pocket Casts.

Walgreens honored for training, job readiness programs

Jul 18, 2019 9:14 AM - For the trird consecutive year, Walgreens has been recognized with the top-score of 100 percent on the 2019 Disability Equality Index, a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices related to disability inclusion and workplace equality.

Construction Begins on New Cook County Health Center

Cook County Health

Jul 18, 2019 7:21 AM - On Tuesday, July 16, Cook County Health (CCH) broke ground on a new $12 million state-of-the-art health center in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood of Chicago.

Families describe challenges from rising cost of insulin

By Katlyn Smith

Jul 15, 2019 7:01 PM - U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood says rising insulin costs are putting diabetes patients in her district at risk. "The market's broken, and while we've taken steps in Congress this year to decrease prescription drug costs, we need to do so much more," she said Monday.

Silver Cross Charity Golf Classic raises over $195,000

Jul 15, 2019 1:43 PM - The Silver Cross Foundation recently raised $195,195 at its 28th Annual Charity Golf Classic at Crystal Tree Country Club in Orland Park, with 180 golfers coming out to support Silver Cross Hospital.

Elderday Center to re-open, with fresh leadership

By Susan Sarkauskas

Jul 16, 2019 5:59 AM - The Elderday Center in Batavia is going to reopen in August, under new leadership.

DOJ Lawyers Try New Tricks To Undo Obamacare. Will It Work?

Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News

Jul 12, 2019 7:00 AM - Once again, the fate of the Affordable Care Act is before the courts. The health law has traveled all the way to the Supreme Court (twice!) and is highly likely to make another visit. On that path, the law made a stop Tuesday before a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Both sides presented arguments, interrupted, at times, by sharp questions from two of the judges.

Constable: 'Ditch weed' still part of marijuana's new frontier in Illinois

Jul 11, 2019 5:33 AM - Remnants from a time when Illinois farmers grew hemp during World War II, "ditch weed" still grows wild. But only one person in the state is testing it to see how it stacks up against marijuana.

Toddler's parents battle for coverage of $2.1M gene therapy

Christopher Rowland

Jul 11, 2019 9:05 AM - "If a patient needs something, especially a baby, and her doctor prescribes it, and her parents agree that she needs it, you should be able to get it," said Lauren Sullivan, whose 21-month-old daughter, Daryn, has spinal muscular atrophy. "But I feel that it's wrong to just price a drug as high as you can, because you can. So I'm very conflicted."