States Offer Privacy Protections To Young Adults On Their Parents’ Health Plan
Now that young people up to the age of 26 can stay on their family plan, it can be difficult for them to keep their medical information confidential.
Michelle Andrews
Michelle Andrews is a contributing writer and former columnist for KFF Health News. She has been writing about health care for more than 15 years. Her work has appeared frequently in The New York Times, where she wrote the Money and Medicine column and contributed regular news and features. Her work has also been published in Money, Fortune Small Business, National Geographic and Women’s Health magazines, among others. Michelle previously worked as a senior writer at U.S. News & World Report and at SmartMoney magazines. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s in journalism from Columbia University.
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Feds Urge State Medicaid Programs To Encourage Long-Acting Contraceptives
Medicaid spends billions on unintended pregnancies, and federal officials say better use of long-acting contraceptives, such as IUDs, offer advantages for women and are cost-effective.
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Researchers report that performance standards set by federal health officials may have led to many patients being dropped from transplant lists without improving survival rates.
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When Adult Children Get Sick, It May Be Hard For Parents To Get Information
Federal law seeks to protect the privacy of patients’ health information, but sometimes leaving parents out of the loop can complicate the patient’s recovery.
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Virginia Insurer’s Decision To Drop Bronze Plans Prompts Concerns
But the action may not indicate a developing national trend to drop bronze coverage. Instead, analysts note that bronze and silver plans may be becoming more similar.
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A Doctor Yearns For A Return To The Time When Physicians Were ‘Artisans’
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People With HIV Are Less Likely To Get Cancer Treatment
New research finds that patients infected with the virus that causes AIDS are less likely to get treatment for nine common cancers than are people who don’t have HIV.
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Insurers Quitting Health Law Exchanges May Still Sell Plans To Individuals
KHN's consumer columnist answers readers’ questions including whether recent announcements about plans pulling out of the health law’s exchanges could affect the access to coverage for consumers who don’t use those exchanges.
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Health Coverage Rates For Lower Income Children Improving
Although Medicaid and CHIP were already helping many children get insurance, the implementation of the health law has improved coverage.
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Raising Medicare’s Eligibility Age Could Trigger Gov’t Savings, But Tally Higher Total Health Spending
A May Health Affairs study examines how Medicare’s eligibility age affects spending and prices, as well as the volume of services used by patients.
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Shortages Of Essential Emergency Care Drugs Increase, Study Finds
The problems persist even after Congress in 2012 gave the FDA enhanced powers to respond when drug levels are low.
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Even As Birth Rates Fall, Teens Say They Are Getting Less Sex Education
A report by the Guttmacher Institute finds that the proportion of teenagers who are getting instructions in birth control methods is declining.
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When consumers who have been injured sue and win an award, insurance plans routinely demand that they be reimbursed for medical costs that they covered. The Supreme Court this term threw a small chink into that strategy.
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More Exchange Plans Offer Patients Easier Access To Some Expensive Drugs: Report
The analysis by Avalere examines changes in how silver plans on the insurance marketplaces handle coverage for high-cost specialty drugs.
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Free Clinics Expanding Mission To Help Insured Patients With High Expenses
Although many people thought the federal health law would nip the need for free clinics, they are still booming.
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Rise In Oncologists Working For Hospitals Spurs Higher Chemo Costs: Study
Researchers found that the facility fees hospitals and their clinics routinely add to the bill helps drive the price increases.
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Even Under Parity Rules, Plans May Charge Higher Specialty Copays For Counseling
A reader asks if it’s fair for his health plan to classify his son’s treatment by a psychologist as specialty care that requires a higher copayment.
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