California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that his state will continue expanding government health benefits to adults who are living in the U.S. illegally, AP reports.
Why it matters: Immigrant health care is likely to become a huge topic on the campaign trail, especially since President Trump has already begun to weigh in against the proposals. The announcement follows all 10 Democratic candidates in last week's second debate saying that they support providing health care to undocumented immigrants.
Air ambulances charge higher rates relative to Medicare than most other services, and these rates have increased over time, according to another new study in Health Affairs.
Why it matters: Insurers often don't contract with air ambulances, meaning patients may be charged exorbitant sums for emergency transportation whether they're insured or not.
Seniors who use generic specialty drugs may end up spending more out-of-pocket than those who use the brand version because of how Medicare's prescription drug benefit is structured, according to a new study in Health Affairs.
The bottom line: "If you need a lot of drugs or some very expensive drugs you would save more money out-of-pocket by using brands instead of generics," tweeted one of the study's authors, Stacie Dusetzina.
Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, is facing sluggish sales, a dwindling workforce and restructuring challenges as it fights a slew of lawsuits claiming that the company contributed to the opioid epidemic, the Wall Street Journal reports.
What's happening: The company's revenue is expected to be less than $1 billion this year for the first time in a decade, and it has said it's considering filing for bankruptcy.
NorthBay Healthcare, a not-for-profit hospital system in California, recently gave a candid look into how it operates, telling investors it has used its negotiating clout to extract "very lucrative contracts" from health insurance companies.
Why it matters: This is a living exampleof the economic theories and research that suggests hospitals will charge whatever they want if they have no or minimal competition.
