April 29 – May 9, 2019
The purpose of this bulletin is to compile a handful of articles relating to health care coverage in the United States that are most pertinent to LIUNA and its health and welfare funds. We hope you find this biweekly bulletin helpful and informative.
NPR: Measles Shots Aren't Just For Kids: Many Adults Could Use A Booster Too
Measles is on the rise again, all around the globe.
Kaiser Health News: Summer Bummer: A Young Camper’s $142,938 Snakebite
The snake struck a 9-year old hiker at dusk on a nature trail. The outrageous bills struck her parents a few weeks later.
The New York Times: ‘Medicare For All’ Gets Much-Awaited Report. Both Sides Can Claim Victory.
The Congressional Budget Office Published a much-awaited paper about the possible design of a single-payer or “Medicare for all” system in the United States.
The Hill: Trump Administration Creates New Religious, Moral Protections For Health Workers
The Trump administration is moving to strengthen the rights of health care workers who have religious and moral objections to certain procedures, such as abortions.
Modern Healthcare: VA Proposes Drastic Cut To Federally Funded Union Time
VA Secretary Robert Wilkie on Thursday set out new proposals to cut federally funded union time as the Veterans Affairs Department looks to renegotiate its collective bargaining agreement.
The Food and Drug Administration just added an unexpected twist to a simmering controversy over a rare disease drug that earlier this year briefly became a poster child for high-priced medicines.
The Washington Post: Obesity Epidemic Is Led More By Rural Than Urban Populations
As the rate of obesity around the world has climbed steadily for decades, public health efforts to combat it have largely focused on people in cities.
STATES IN THE NEWS
San Francisco Chronicle: No Stanford Nurses Strike As Union, Hospitals Reach Bargaining Agreements
The union representing 3,700 registered nurses at Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital has reached tentative bargaining agreements with the hospitals, bringing an end to a contract impasse that the nurses had previously authorized a strike over.
UC Davis Professor Bruce Hammock has spent a 50-year career studying insects. He probably wouldn’t be the Ph.D. considered most likely to shake up the multibillion-dollar prescription painkiller market.
Georgia Health News: State Finds Many Valid Complaints Against Health Insurers
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Ambetter of Peach State, and Humana had high levels of consumer complaints last year that the state determined to be justified, according to newly released figures.
Houston Chronicle: Study: Texas Rate Of Uninsured Children Double National Average
Texas led the nation in both the number and percentage of uninsured children in 2017, more than doubling the national rate, according to national findings released Wednesday.
The CT Mirror: Minimum Wage Proposal Vexes Connecticut Nursing Homes
Nursing homes receive a fixed amount of state aid for Medicaid patients, who make up the majority of the facilities’ patient pool.
Currently, the federal government funnels about $7.6 billion into the state's Medicaid program, commonly known as TennCare. This funding isn't capped — so TennCare can grow as more Tennesseans qualify — but block grant funding would inherently be capped, potentially limiting the size of TennCare in the future.
Health News Florida: Drug Importation Fight Moves To Washington
The battle over whether to allow state programs and Floridians to have access to prescription drugs imported from Canada has already been waged in the Legislature, but it is now shifting from the halls of Tallahassee to Washington, D.C.
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