Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Insurers Fall Short In Catching And Reporting Medicaid Fraud, Inspectors Find

KFF Health News Original

Medicaid has struggled for years with poor oversight and billions lost to improper payments. A new report finds that despite their fraud-fighting rhetoric, Medicaid managed-care companies are not as rigorous as they should be in ensuring the integrity of the Medicaid payment system.

A Hospital’s Human Touch: Why Taking Care In Discharging A Patient Matters

KFF Health News Original

Patients and caregivers often feel abandoned and lose trust in health care professionals when they sense a lack of caring during transitions. With it, they feel better able to handle concerns and act on their doctors’ recommendations.

Listen: A Sudden Freeze On ACA Payouts And What It Means For You

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration suspended a program over the weekend that helps stabilize the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act, prompting some insurance companies to warn of higher premiums. KHN’s Julie Rovner and Chad Terhune explain the uncertain health care landscape in the U.S.

Cancer Mortality Rates Would Plummet More Than 20 Percent If Everyone Had Access To Quality Care

Morning Briefing

There’s already a hint of this happening with the implementation of the health law and the expansion of Medicaid. When patients have access to preventive medicine and screenings, cancer can be caught earlier, improving the chance of a better outcome. In other public health news: medical research, diabetes, anti-depressants, incarceration and the mentally ill, Alzheimer’s, and telehealth.

Only Democrat In Kentucky’s Congressional Delegation Demands Answers Over Cuts To Medicaid Benefits

Morning Briefing

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) had announced that, in response to a judge’s ruling on the state’s request to add work requirements to its Medicaid program, he was canceling dental and vision coverage for almost 500,000 enrollees. Medicaid news also comes out of Arkansas and Kansas.

Nominee For VA Secretary Chief Sails Through Committee And Is Headed For Full Senate Confirmation

Morning Briefing

Robert Wilkie was grilled during his confirmation hearing about whether he will seek to privatize the troubled Veterans Affairs Department. He promised that he won’t. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was the only lawmaker on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to vote against Wilkie.

Pfizer To Temporarily Roll Back Drug Price Increases Following Talk With Trump

Morning Briefing

The company came under fire from President Donald Trump and others when it announced steep price hikes on many of their drugs. “Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason,” Trump said in a tweet prior to the company’s about-face. “They are merely taking advantage of the poor & others unable to defend themselves, while at the same time giving bargain basement prices to other countries in Europe & elsewhere. We will respond!”

Judge Chastises Government For Missing Deadline To Reunite Separated Families: These ‘Are Not Aspirational Goals’

Morning Briefing

Government officials defended the process, pointing to safety concerns as to why it shouldn’t be rushed. Meanwhile, as the reunions slowly begin, there’s relief, joy and heartbreak as some children don’t recognize their parents.

Kavanaugh’s Impact On Elections Highlights The Two Very Different Fights Happening For House And Senate

Morning Briefing

In states where the upcoming battle over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court could help Senate Republican candidates, it could also hurt the party’s chances in the House. Unlike in the upper chamber, where the vulnerable seats are mostly Democrats in red-state districts, the fight for control of the House is taking place in swing-districts across the country.

Beyond Abortion: Democrats’ Focus On Kavanaugh’s Threat To Health Law To Protect Red-State Candidates

Morning Briefing

Ten Democrats face re-election this year in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016, and four of those battlegrounds lean against abortion rights. So instead of making abortion their key issue in the Supreme Court nomination fight, Democratic leadership is focusing on the broader threat to health care access in general. Meanwhile, outlets take a look at where Brett Kavanaugh stands on various other health care issues.