Governors’ Group Highlights Health Care In 2013 Outlook
As governors gear up to deliver their state-of-the-state addresses later this month, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the National Governors Association spoke Wednesday about the broader policy challenges facing all states in 2013 — and sure enough, health care was among the major issues both mentioned. The “State of the States” addresses by Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, […]
Consumers May Draw Wrong Conclusions From Medical Prices
Some health policy experts and consumer advocates are pushing for greater transparency in the pricing of medical good and services. If consumers know the price of an item, so the thinking goes, they’ll make smarter decisions about whether they need it. But a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that consumers’ perceptions […]
Report: Payment Reform Leaves Docs Uneasy
A new report from insurer UnitedHealth Group shows that doctors have mixed views on the new pay-for-performance model promoted in the 2010 health care law as a means of controlling health care costs and improving quality. The law has provisions that transition from a traditional fee-for-service system, where doctors, hospitals and other providers are paid based […]
NFL Medical Records Go High-Tech
The game of football isn’t played without its share of injuries. Look at just one of yesterday’s marquee games: The contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers resulted in Ravens’ tight end Dennis Pitta and the Steelers’ running back Isaac Redman receiving concussions. A Steelers’ defensive lineman, Ziggy Hood, also left the game […]
All The Newly Single (Uninsured) Ladies
Divorce is usually a painful exercise in splitting up assets. But for many women, it also means losing health insurance protection. A study released this week from the University of Michigan reveals that roughly 115,000 American women lose their private health insurance annually after a divorce and about half of them do not get replacement coverage. […]
U.S. Lowering Rate Of Premature Births, But Slowly
The United States is slowly reducing its rate of premature births, bringing the rate to 11.7 percent in 2011, but the figure is still higher than public health advocates believe it should be. The updated figures come from The March of Dimes, a non-profit group that works to improve the health of mothers and babies, […]
Those Who Like The Health Law And Those Who Understand The Health Law
Sure there are those who support the health care law, and those who want to repeal it. But how many people in the U.S. actually understand the Affordable Care Act? That’s what a Stanford University professor asked in a nationwide survey in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, GfK and the Associated Press. The […]
Fixing Health Care Isn’t About Party, ‘It’s About Building A Sustainable System’ – The KHN Interview
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the co-founder of Doctors for America, talked about his organization’s recent bus tour and what concerns physicians about the way the nation’s health system operates.
Patients Often Find Getting Coverage For Eating Disorders Is Tough
Treatment can involve medical care, mental health treatments and nutritional therapy, but insurers say there is little research to show what is the best course of action.
When A Rock Star Tweets About The Uninsured
Among the many struggles for starving artists is a lack of health insurance — something Amanda Palmer, a musician, artist and formerly with punk band The Dresden Dolls — knows all too well. Yesterday Palmer tweeted about her struggles with insurance coverage after reading a New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof. Kristof wrote about […]
Physicians Are Healthier Than Nurses, Other Workers, Says Survey
Are doctors following the same health and wellness advice they give to their patients? Based on new Gallup data, physicians appear to be in better health than other members of the workforce – even nurses– which could set a good example for patients. Gallup interviewed more than 1,900 physicians and more than 7,100 nurses over […]
HHS Secretary Touts The ACA’s Benefits For Older Hispanics
Just hours before the first presidential debate, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius delivered a message about the dire need to protect Medicare and Medicaid funding to a critical electoral constituency. Sebelius was the keynote speaker at the National Hispanic Council on Aging’s National Summit in Washington, an annual meeting of Hispanic health care, housing, aging […]
Eyes Turn To Arkansas’ Bold Effort To Cut Medicaid Costs, Add Transparency
Arkansas hopes a unique collaboration with the state’s big insurers can help them and the state.
Study Links Longer Office Hours, Lower Health Care Costs
After primary care doctors close their doors on weekends and evenings, patients turn to urgent care facilities, pharmacy ‘minute clinics’, and emergency rooms to get the care they need. In doing so, they may also be contributing to the nation’s skyrocketing health system costs. “When a patient shows up in the emergency room, the assumption is […]
Health Care Jobs Report: A Dire Warning To Congress
You knew this was coming: Just four months before a series of automatic spending cuts kick in, Medicare providers warned that, if those cuts become reality, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost. The report, funded by the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, predicts that the 2 […]
Medicare Pilot Program Shows Cost Savings For Treating Dual-Eligibles
Researchers Tuesday released a deeper look at the Physician Group Practice Demonstration, one of the federal government’s first pay-for-performance experiments to improve health care and reduce costs for the Medicare population. They found that it created significant savings — especially for dual eligibles, which is the population who receives health coverage through both Medicare and Medicaid […]
15 Minutes With Your Doctor; Ransoming Health Records
Every week Shefali S. Kulkarni selects interesting reading from around the Web. The New York Times: How Much Can Patients Learn In A 15-Minute Doctor Visit? Built more like a former professional basketball player than an elementary schoolteacher nearing retirement, the patient dropped a bagful of prescription medications on the table in the examining room […]
Every week, KHN reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni selects interesting reading from around the Web. The New York Times: Keeping Parkinson’s Disease A Secret When Nancy Mulhearn learned she had Parkinson’s disease seven years ago, she kept the diagnosis mostly to herself, hiding it from friends, colleagues — even, at first, her mother, sister and teenage children. […]
The Man Behind The ‘Personhood’ Crusade; Atul Gawande On SCOTUS; ‘No One Dies Alone’ Program
Every week, KHN reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni selects interesting reading from around the Web. Newsweek: Behind ‘Personhood’ Leader Keith Mason’s Anti-Abortion Crusade In the four years since Mason launched the pro-life group Personhood USA, he has been crisscrossing the country to convince voters that the best way to overturn Roe v. Wade, the ruling that […]
Native American Rehab Facility Helps Families In Ore.
Every week, KHN reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni selects interesting reading from around the Web. The Oregonian: Native Americans Strive For Health Against Alcohol, Chaos And Trauma Pearl Scott lifts the baby from the crib and balances the child on her hip, just as someone did with her when she was a baby 20 years ago. Her […]
