KHN

The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed that the new administration review about 2,400 regulations that affect tens of millions of Americans, on everything from Medicare benefits to prescription drug approvals. Those not analyzed within two years would become void.

Everyone — from toilet paper manufacturers to patient advocates — is lobbying state advisory boards, arguing their members are essential, vulnerable or both — and, thus, most deserving of an early vaccine.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has already begun discussing California health care priorities with Xavier Becerra, tapped this week by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as his Health and Human Services secretary.

Over the past four years, the dialysis industry has spent $233 million on both political offense and defense in California. Most of it went toward protecting its revenues against ballot initiatives, but the industry also strategically worked the corridors of the state Capitol.

Despite his lack of front-line experience, Democrats see the California attorney general as an important ally to shepherd a progressive agenda on the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, reproductive health services and immigration.

Recreational marijuana may face resistance from GOP-dominated state governments despite being voted into law in Montana, South Dakota and Arizona.

Our public messaging about the virus should explain the real costs — in graphic terms — of catching the virus.

The governor won praise around the state for his early efforts to combat the coronavirus, but as the crisis wore on and President Donald Trump played down the threat, Ohio Republicans began to grow restless with DeWine’s stance, and concerns for his reelection campaign in 2022 are rising.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. As attorney general and during his 24 years in Congress, he has staked progressive positions on health care issues, fighting the Trump administration on contraception, suing a major California health system for monopolistic behavior and calling himself a supporter of single-payer health care.

Republican spokespeople for the committees responsible for vetting Health and Human Services nominations said the Senate may not hold hearings on California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the department, until the Senate approves committee assignments for the new Congress. That could delay the start of the process.

When campuses stay open, COVID infections spread widely, and sometimes kill. But by closing dorms and dining halls, scores of smaller schools face finances so ruinous they could be fatal for their institutions.

Instead of taking on the expense of traditional health plans, some small businesses are setting up an “individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement” that allows them to give workers money to put toward comprehensive coverage on the individual insurance market. But consumer advocates are concerned they may shortchange some workers.

The official transition to a Joe Biden administration has finally begun, and he is expected to announce his health care team soon, including a new secretary of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the U.S., officials are preparing for the effort to get Americans vaccinated as soon as vaccines are approved by the FDA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.

Millions of people are looking for coverage on the federal and state marketplaces right now. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a comprehensive plan and a “junk” plan with limited benefits and coverage restrictions.