Latest KFF Health News Stories
Price Tags On Health Care? Only In Massachusetts
Under a new state law, Massachusetts insurers have to post how much tests and procedures cost at different providers in a consumer-friendly way.
Is Texas Prepared for a Public Health Emergency?
Experts says a series of recent threats, including the first Ebola patient to develop symptoms in the U.S., raise questions about the state’s capacity to deal with contagious diseases.
Canceled Health Plans: Round Two
Those who held onto plans that didn’t comply with the health law may have to choose new ones for 2015, and they could cost more.
Proton Center Closure Doesn’t Slow New Construction
A proton beam therapy center in Indiana is closing, and insurers are reluctant to cover the expensive treatment for common cancers. But plans for three new proton therapy centers for the D.C. area are still moving forward.
As Payments Database Debuts, Doctors Urge Caution
Consumers can look up their doctors and see if they were paid in any way by the health industry.
‘The Health Care System Falls Apart When You’re A Complex Patient’
Jeffrey Brenner, a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and executive director of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, is betting that coordinated care for “super utilizer” patients will reduce health costs.
Many Rural Hospitals Are Excluded From Government’s Push For Better Quality
A quarter of the nation’s hospitals are exempt from penalties, quality bonuses and other payment reforms.
Debate Grows Over Employer Plans With No Hospital Benefits
Some insurance pros say the administration intended such coverage to meet Obamacare’s “minimum value” standard. Others disagree, and the government stays silent.
DEA: Vicodin, Some Other Pain Meds Will Be Harder to Get
The regulation, slated to take effect Oct. 6, is a response to the widespread misuse of these prescription medicines.
Personal Attention Seen As Antidote To Rising Health Costs
Some of a hospital’s income now depends on keeping patients healthy. Kevin Wiehrs seeks to save hospitals money by keeping former patients out of the hospital.
Win-Win? CVS Joining Forces With Hospitals, Doctors
The pharmaceutical giant’s latest deal is with MedStar Health, in the Washington, D.C., area.
Insurance Brokers Key To Kentucky’s Obamacare Success
More than 40 percent of the people who signed up for insurance on Kynect, Kentucky’s exchange, used an insurance broker.
Number Of Marketplace Insurers To Rise 25 Percent, HHS Says
More companies will likely mean more competition and lower prices for consumers, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Tuesday.
Insurers Hesitant To Cover Many Proton Beam Therapy Treatments
Supporters of the controversial — and high-priced — therapy say more routine coverage would help propel necessary research.
A Single Insurer Holds Obamacare Fate In Two States
Where did the insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act struggle the most? The answer lies in commerce, not politics.
Miami-Dade County, Like Many Employers, Denied Tools To Trim Health Costs
As the Florida county negotiates health insurance changes with labor unions, it isn’t allowed to know the prices its own insurance plan administrator negotiates with providers, even though it’s self-insured and the claims are paid with taxpayer dollars.
How Much Does That X-Ray Cost? You Can Find Out In New Hampshire
Price transparency efforts in the Granite State help consumers and employers ask smarter questions.
After Vidant Pungo Hospital was shuttered this summer, physicians and patients in this rural North Carolina town fear for their future.
Patients Take On More Health Care Costs But Struggle To Find Prices
The price a consumer pays for a medical procedure can vary significantly — often with little difference in quality.
In South Florida And The Nation, Health Care Costs Often Are Shrouded In Secrecy
Like many employers across the country, Miami-Dade County isn’t allowed to know the prices its own insurance administrators negotiate with healthcare providers, even though the county is self-insured and workers’ claims are paid with taxpayer dollars.
