Latest KFF Health News Stories
Taking Steps To Overcome Alzheimer’s Disease
Robert Egge, the Alzheimers Association vice president of public policy, offers his take on why the current push to develop a national plan to combat Alzheimer’s represents a historic opportunity to strengthen the federal government’s efforts to overcome this disease.
Different Takes: The National Plan To Address Alzheimer’s Disease
Kaiser Health News talked to two experts about current efforts to craft a national plan to overcome Alzheimer’s disease.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the state of Maryland have rated patient safety at hospitals in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
Doctor, Did You Check Your Checklist?
Thousands die in hospitals because of mistakes – often simple oversights – made by doctors and nurses. Here’s how hospitals can improve patient safety.
Romney’s Defense Of The ‘Individual Mandate’ Praised By An Architect Of Mass. Law
When Mitt Romney vigorously defended Massachusetts’ decision to require that nearly every resident either have health insurance or pay a tax penalty Thursday night, some said it was the best support of the individual mandate made by any candidate so far this election cycle.
Controversial Amendments Injected Into Florida Vaccine Bill
Some Florida lawmakers want to allow pharmacists to administer shingles and pneumonia vaccines to seniors. Physicians are pushing back.
The Coming Nursing Home Shortage
Cuts in government payments for patient care and less construction of new nursing homes are taking a toll, and as baby boomers start to retire in great numbers, the timing couldn’t be worse.
Majority Of Americans Think Ideology Will Affect High Court’s Ruling On Health Law
Six in 10 people think that the justices’ decision on the individual mandate will be based on their own ideological views rather than legal analysis.
Obama On Health Insurance Reform: ‘I Won’t Go Back’ (State Of The Union Excerpts)
The president was brief but resolute on health reform in his State of the Union speech. In the GOP response, Gov. Mitch Daniels, R-Ind., said Medicare dollars should be devoted to “those who need them most.”
Tips For Buying Long-Term Care Insurance
Consumer advocates say if you decide to get the coverage, be careful about the details.
The coverage is expensive and often restrictive, but it offers vital protection and flexibility for some consumers facing a nursing home stay.
High Cost Of New Cancer Drugs Sparks New Care Struggle
Unaffordable new cancer drugs, even when they’re covered by insurance, are being rationed by price as patients, doctors and hospital officials struggle with how to pay for the spectacular rise in the cost of cancer care.
Health Plans Launch Own Exchanges Ahead Of Public Versions
Several large insurers in Minnesota are launching private insurance exchanges to protect themselves against competition from the public exchanges when they go online in 2014.
In Quest to Grow, Catholic Hospital System Pares Religious Ties
Catholic Healthcare West today ends its governing board’s religious affiliation to ease concerns from possible new partners. Some of its hospitals will remain Catholic.
Bishops Will Sue Feds Over Contraception Rule
The federal rules, which the Obama administration reaffirmed Friday, require health insurers to provide women with a range of preventive health services, including birth control, without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible.
FDA Dilemma: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Nicotine
Supporters say dissolvables could help smokers “step down” from their nicotine dependence on cigarettes. Opponents say it’s not clear how consumers actually use the products and who is using them.
Kansas Tobacco Prevention Funds Diverted To Other Uses
Of the $745 million in tobacco lawsuit-settlement funds and $1.4 billion in tobacco taxes in the past 12 years, less than $11 million has gone specifically for anti-smoking programs.
The KHN Conversation: ‘Innovation’ Advisors On Achieving CMS’ Triple Aim
In advance of their first Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services meeting next week, four of the newly named innovation advisors talked with KHN’s Christian Torres.
Details about the programs that four of the newly named “innovation advisors” plan to pursue.
‘Tiered’ Insurance Confounds Consumers, Docs In Mass.
Tiered insurance is being offered by various companies in Massachusetts as a way to meet employers’ demands for cheaper insurance premiums.
