Latest KFF Health News Stories
How Baby Erik Got Health Insurance
It took his parents 86 phone calls and six months to get their newborn enrolled in a Pennsylvania program for children.
Lawmakers to NY Docs: Screen All Baby Boomers for Deadly Liver Disease
The New York legislature passed a bill that would make the state the first in the nation requiring doctors to offer the hepatitis C test to anyone born between 1945 and 1965.
Hospitals Offer Better Food As Patient Satisfaction Becomes More Important Under Federal Health Law
Hospitals have gone from curing disease to curing meats to boost reviews and qualify for larger Medicare payments.
Patients Lead The Way As Medicine Grapples With Apps
Health apps are turning smartphones and tablets into exercise aides, blood pressure monitors and devices that transmit an EKG. But the explosion of apps is way ahead of tests to determine which ones work.
Britain’s National Health Service Visits D.C. For Some Pointers
A discussion on how to improve the British system turned up buzzwords reminiscent of the U.S. health reform debate: integrated health care, patient-centered services, cutting costs.
A Doctor Goes Viral — On Purpose
Dr. Zubin Damania, a.k.a. ZDoggMD, takes to YouTube to parody and pillory modern medicine. On his serious side, he’s founding a new kind of clinic to try to change primary care.
Boston Marathon Survivor Has Long Road Ahead
Marc Fucarile is one of the last two survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing to be released from the hospital. He knows he will get some compensation from Boston’s One Fund, but he wonders if it will be enough.
How A Florida Medical School Cares For Communities In Need
In places where medical care is scare, medical schools — like Florida International University — are connecting students with people who need to see a doctor, and making it a major part of their curriculum.
Oregon’s Medicaid Lottery: A Participant’s View
Amid the cacophony of expert views about the implications of a landmark study, a Medicaid beneficiary weighs in on the values and shortcomings of public health assistance.
As Refugees Settle In, Health Care Becomes A Hurdle
Dr. Ashenafi Waktola relies on his own experience as a refugee from Ethiopia to shape his practice in Silver Spring, Md. where almost 50 percent of his patients are refugees. The 76,000 new arrivals from troubled countries who come to the U.S. each year qualify for government health care for eight months, but they often face language barriers and a confounding system when that special status elapses.
VA Drive To Hire 1,600 Mental Health Professionals Hits Community Clinics’ Supply
Some experts say the pool of psychologists, psychiatrists and others is too small and the federal effort could jeopardize understaffed local centers.
In The Emergency Department, Gunshot Fatalities Often ‘Hard To Forget’
While some emergency department doctors take strong positions against guns, others maintain that the first defense is keeping firearms out of the hands of people who are mentally ill.
Grieving Doctor Regrets He Didn’t Ask Depressed Patient About Gun
Physicians are urged to discuss access to firearms with patients who might be suicidal.
Q&A: I Had To Return To The Hospital; Will They Be Penalized?
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about what triggers Medicare’s penalties for hospitals who readmit patients too frequently.
Osteopath Aims Approach At Filling Primary Care Gap
Dr. Valerie Goodman, an osteopathic doctor, explains osteopathic medicine and how it influences how she delivers patient-centered care at her practice in rural Centreville, Md.
Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital Is Back, But Changed After Sandy
Doctors, staff and administrators at the large urban institution have had to improvise as they restore partial service to the community and repair the historic hospital’s damaged infrastructure at the same time.
Kidney Donation Over Age 70? Desperate Patients Saying, ‘Yes, Please’
While most of the nation’s kidney transplant centers don’t have an upper age limit for recipients, more than three-quarters don’t accept the organs from people older than 70. Some doctors and patients are pushing to change that.
Despite Incentives, Doctors’ Offices Lag On Digital Records
A recent study found that the health care industry isn’t benefiting from computer networks that have transformed other fields. But the federal coordinator for health IT says there has been a lot of progress that will result in better care and cost savings in the future.
Emergency Departments Are On The Frontline Of The Flu
More patients with the flu are seeking care at the emergency room this year, and despite the 112 million Americans who have gotten a flu shot, it remains to be seen if this year’s version will be just bad or historically bad.
In Many Communties, Nurse Practitioners Fill An Important Void
Many states are trying to loosen decades-old licensing restrictions, known as “scope of practice laws,” that prevent nurse practitioners from playing the lead role in providing basic health services.
