Latest KFF Health News Stories
As Hospitals Push ERs, States’ Medicaid Budgets Pressured
With their budgets squeezed, states are trying to reduce unnecessary ER visits by patients in Medicaid. But officials complain that their efforts are sometimes hampered by hospitals’ aggressive marketing of ERs to increase admissions and profits.
Workers Squeezed As Employers Pass Along High Costs Of Specialty Drugs
Employers struggling to keep down insurance costs are increasingly requiring workers to pay a percentage of high-cost drugs rather than a modest co-pay.
Social Security Disability Payments In Peril by 2017
The trust fund that supports Social Security disability benefits will run out of money by 2017, leaving the program unable to pay full benefits unless Congress acts, according to new congressional estimates.
Housing Bust Derails Some Seniors’ Assisted-Living Care
With the real estate market depressed, thousands of seniors are unable to move because they can’t sell their homes.
Health Insurers Seek Delay Of New Consumer-Friendly Coverage Forms
Shopping for health insurance next year will be easier, consumer advocates and government officials say. But the new materials are still a work in progress.
Insurance Experts Hope New Rules Will ‘Empower Consumers With Information’
Mila Kofman and Sabrina Corlette helped to develop the forms that HHS unveiled on Wednesday. The idea is to give consumers simple, clear and standardized information before they buy coverage – akin to nutrition labels.
How The Merger Of Two Health Care Giants May Affect Your Wallet
Express Scripts and Medco Health Services manage the prescription drug coverage that health insurance companies offer to large organizations. The two firms say their plans for a $29 billion merger will help control health care costs for consumers. But will bigger really be better?
New Standardized Insurance Forms Could Make Buying Easier
The head-spinning jargon and fine print common in many health benefit materials could disappear next spring as insurers and employers adopt plain-English models required by the government.
Hospitals Promoting Bargain CT Scans For Smokers
Landmark study shows annual scans reduce lung cancer deaths by 20 percent, but expert groups are not yet recommending such discounted testing because of concerns over complications and overall health costs.
A Need For Health Care Reform: Cancer Care Costs And The Patient Perspective
The health reform discussion has been focusing on the systemic impact of health care costs, but somewhere in the bar graphs detailing trillions of dollars in projected spending, the daily experience of the cancer patient has been lost.
Research shows they daily experience of cancer patients often includes a heavy financial burden that impacts both their quality of life and satisfaction with care. Meanwhile, other data reflects the high-stakes position of oncologists, who often are the midpoint between cancer therapies and their costs.
Oncologists In The Middle: Cancer Therapies And Cancer Costs
Oncologists, trained to consider the clinical implications of their decisions, are unavoidably placed in the middle of an economic predicament. To what extent should economic considerations be a factor in prescribing decisions? In the world of medicine, this dilemma is not peculiar to cancer, but with no other disease are the stakes as frequently or as starkly presented.
Senior Boom Creates A Demand For Home Health Workers
Experts warn of a shortage of qualified workers especially because of low wages, high turnover and a lack of training.
Analysis: Medicare, Liberals And The Lesser Of Two Evils
For some Democrats and for liberals, the best outcome of the super committee’s negotiations could be the automatic Medicare cuts.
Document: Appeals Court Strikes Down Individual Mandate In Health Law
The 304-page opinion from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ends with a short conclusion from Chief Judge Frederick Dubina and Circuit Judge Frank Hull. Judge Stanley Marcus concurred in part and dissented in part.
Deficit ‘Super Committee’: Sharks vs. Jets?
The Fiscal Times outlines who’s on the panel, where they stand on the issues, and the likelihood of an agreement.
FAQ: ‘Super Committee’ Could Have Big Impact On Medicare, Medicaid Spending
A guide to how the congressional “super” committee’s deliberations could influence Medicare and Medicaid.
Health On The Hill: “Super Committee”: Recipe For Gridlock Or Potential For Consensus?
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro’s David Nather talk to Jackie Judd about the now complete “super committee” and what it may mean for Medicare and Medicaid.
Rep. Schakowsky: Without New Tax Revenue, “Super Committee” Unlikely To Be Successful
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., a member of President Obama’s 2010 debt commission led by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, believes lawmakers on the “super committee” should aim for a balanced approach that would include new tax revenue as well as budget cuts.
S.C. City’s Aging Population Offers A Glimpse Of The Future
Aiken, with nearly 22 percent of the residents aged 65 or older, is taking some innovative approaches to serving the community, but still finds the job daunting.
