When The Hospital Is Boss, That’s Where Doctors’ Patients Go
Hospital ownership of doctors' practices “dramatically increases” odds that a doctor will admit patients there instead of another, nearby hospital, researchers say.
Jay Hancock
Jay Hancock was a senior correspondent for KFF Health News until he retired in Feburary 2022.
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Health Law Experiment Failed To Show Savings
An ambitious demonstration to transform clinics into “medical homes” treating patients in the community instead of the hospital didn’t save money. Some blame the test, not the idea.
By Jay Hancock -
High Court’s Decision On Same Sex Marriage Expected To Boost Health Coverage Among Gay Couples
By marrying partners with employer health plans, people in same-sex relationships are more likely to gain coverage.
By Jay Hancock -
High Court Upholds Health Law Subsidies
The 6-3 ruling stopped a challenge that would have erased subsidies in at least 34 states for individuals and families buying insurance through the federal government’s online marketplace.
By Jay Hancock -
How Not To Find Out Your Health Plan Lacks Hospital Benefits
Don’t assume your employer’s health plan offers comprehensive coverage. Marlene Allen did. Then she got hurt.
By Jay Hancock -
5 Reasons Feds Are Overhauling Regs On Medicaid Outsourcing
Management of the joint state-federal program for low-income people has changed dramatically, and federal officials are seeking to make sure it meets the needs of enrollees.
By Jay Hancock -
Patient Finds Shopping For Low-Priced CT Scan Doesn’t Pay Off
Despite efforts to keep costs down, Douglas White gets a bill nearly three times what he expected.
By Jay Hancock -
‘Milestone’ Rules Would Limit Profits, Score Quality For Private Medicaid Plans
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposal, which includes provisions related to network adequacy and quality standards, would be the biggest regulatory change to Medicaid managed care in more than a decade.
By Jay Hancock -
Radical Approach To Huge Hospital Bills: Set Your Own Price
A small consulting firm is disrupting hospitals’ business as usual by encouraging employers to pay much less than what hospitals bill — based on its analysis of what is reasonable.
By Jay Hancock -
An Obamacare Payment Reform Success Story – One Health System, Two Procedures
As part of an experiment run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, doctors, nurses and managers at Baptist Health System in San Antonio joined forces to cut costs for hip and knee replacements, getting patients on their feet sooner, saving taxpayers money and increasing their own earnings.
By Jay Hancock -
Medicaid’s Tension: Getting Corporate Giants To Do Right By The Needy
Tennessee’s TennCare program awaits federal rules to limit insurer profits and set stricter standards for quality and doctor networks — the biggest rules change for Medicaid managed care in a decade.
By Jay Hancock -
High-Deductible Plans Bring Lower Costs Now, But Will They Bring Pricey Problems?
Companies that introduced these plans experienced overall savings in the first three years, according to a new study.
By Jay Hancock -
Attention, Shoppers: Prices For 70 Health Care Procedures Now Online!
Guroo.org shows the average local cost of 70 common diagnoses and medical tests in most states. That’s the real cost — not “charges” that often get marked down — based on a giant database of what insurance companies actually pay.
By Jay Hancock -
Obama Administration Disallows Plans Without Hospital Coverage
Large-employer plans without inpatient benefits were seen as a health law loophole that trapped workers in inadequate insurance. Now, the Obama administration has blocked them.
By Jay Hancock -
Mixed Results For Obamacare Tests In Primary-Care Innovation
Early reports show two major medical-home experiments run by the health law’s Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation reduced hospitalizations in some cases but are still working to cut overall costs.
By Jay Hancock -
Health-Law Test To Cut Readmissions Lacks Early Results
Results so far show community agencies haven’t made a big difference in keeping seniors from making return hospital trips. But administration officials say the program has plenty of potential.
By Jay Hancock -
Big Investments For ACA Innovation Lab, But Most Results Still Pending
Some 2.5 million patients are involved in federally funded tests to control costs and reduce injuries, but data on most programs still aren’t available.
By Jay Hancock -
Rx For Reform: NC Pharmacists Try To Boost Health And Cut Costs
The federal government has invested $15 million in a North Carolina experiment that gives community pharmacists a new role in patient care.
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Small Businesses Drop Coverage As Health Law Offers Alternatives
Small employers are canceling medical plans and leaving workers to buy insurance through the law’s online marketplaces — sometimes to everyone’s benefit.
By Jay Hancock -
Obamacare Creates Boom For Federal Contractors
Surging contracts related to the Affordable Care Act have helped make the Department of Health and Human Services a fount of revenue for private business.
By Jay Hancock
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