Healthcare Reform and the ACA News

• How Can the US Improve Access to Eyeglasses? Expanding insurance coverage for eye services and standardizing pediatric vision screening requirements across the US are two steps that could help begin to solve the problem, researchers say.
  WebMD Health News, May 23, 2022
• US Calls for Taiwan's Inclusion at Upcoming WHO Assembly Taiwan should be allowed to attend a World Health Organization's annual assembly next week, the US State Department said on Tuesday, arguing the democratically governed island's exclusion at China's behest was unwarranted and a concern for global health.
  Reuters Health Information, May 17, 2022
• Improved Cancer Survival in States with ACA Medicaid Expansion An increase in cancer survival rates has been seen in states that implemented Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
  Medscape Medical News, May 18, 2022
• Growing Hospital Expenses: Rising Nurse Pay or Poor Planning? While hospitals are struggling to manage labor costs, payers and employers aren’t footing the bill. Meanwhile, nurses are leaving the profession after 2 years of battling a pandemic.
  Medscape Medical News, May 18, 2022
• US Elections May Thwart Democratic Effort to Cap Insulin Cost US lawmakers attempting to cut the cost of insulin for more than a million Americans to $35 per month are unlikely to succeed as November elections draw near and complicate bipartisan support, health policy, and political experts say.
  Reuters Health Information, May 06, 2022
• A Guide to Help You Keep Up With the Omicron Subvariants How different are the seemingly endless stream of emerging omicron subvariants from one another and how protected are we?
  Kaiser Health News, May 06, 2022
• WHO Members to Consider Shutting Europe Hub Office in Russia Over Ukraine: Document World Health Organization states will consider a resolution against Russia next week after its invasion of Ukraine, including the possible closure of a major regional office in Moscow, a document obtained by Reuters showed on Thursday.
  Reuters Health Information, May 05, 2022
• What's at Stake in the Mask Mandate Appeal? Dictionaries, public comments, and even an old court case that involved underwear pricing could play a role as the government appeals a ruling that sharply limits federal authority during pandemics.
  Kaiser Health News, May 06, 2022
• HBCU Medical Schools to Tackle Organ Transplant Disparities The collaboration follows a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report that found significant disparities in the nation's organ transplant system.
  Associated Press, May 05, 2022
• COVID Coverage for All Dries Up Even as Hospital Costs Rise But the virus is not contained. Safety-net hospitals and clinics are seeing sharply higher costs for basic operating expenses. They fear they won’t be prepared if there’s another surge and no backstop.
  Associated Press, May 05, 2022
• Post-Roe America: More Births While Maternal Mortality Rises The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among wealthy countries. And it may get worse as abortions become more difficult to obtain, say public health experts.
  ProPublica, May 04, 2022
• Massachusetts Takes Aim at Hospital Building Boom and Costs Other states are looking at whether Massachusetts' decade-old model of controlling health costs is worth emulating.
  Kaiser Health News, May 03, 2022
• Abortion Politics Lead to Power Struggles Over Grants Conservative-leaning states and nonprofit reproductive healthcare providers are competing over control of states' Title X funding for family planning programs.
  Kaiser Health News, May 03, 2022
• Sen. Rand Paul Wants to Investigate Origins of COVID-19 Sen. Rand Paul denounced what he sees as government overreach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Associated Press, May 02, 2022
• Researchers to Study COVID-19 Relapses After Paxlovid Use Researchers know little about the rebound cases so far, including how often they occur, whether the Omicron variant may play a role, or whether the drug is even related to the relapse in the first place.
  WebMD Health News, May 02, 2022
• Higher 'Chemical Restraint' Rates in Black Psych Patients in the ED Black patients presenting with psychiatric complaints to hospital emergency departments across the US are 63% more likely to receive chemical sedation than their White counterparts.
  Medscape Medical News, May 02, 2022
• ACP-IM 2022 How to Address Social Determinants of Health A panel of experts talked about policies to address social determinants of health at the 2022 annual meeting of the American College of Physicians.
  Medscape Medical News, April 29, 2022
• Judge's Ruling on CDC Mask Mandate Shows Limits of CDC's Power A recent court decision that overturns one of the CDC's few pandemic rules spotlights how little power remains in federal hands to enforce public health protections.
  Kaiser Health News, April 21, 2022
• WHO Funding Plan Watered Down After US Calls for Reform: Draft Document A planned funding overhaul aimed at strengthening the World Health Organization has been partly watered down, according to an internal document, after pressure from the United States and other donor countries.
  Reuters Health Information, April 20, 2022
• Anti-Vaccine Ideology Gains Ground, Lawmakers Seek to End Rules Legislators are pushing bills to expand exemptions for vaccines, allowing religious exemptions for all vaccine requirements in the state's schools without having to provide any proof of their beliefs.
  Kaiser Health News, April 21, 2022