Latest KFF Health News Stories
Fixing Surprise Medical Bill Problem Shouldn’t Fall To Consumers, Panel Told
Though a range of policy solutions have been discussed by Congress, the White House and other experts, a theme of a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday was that providers and insurers are key to correcting the issue.
Device-Safety Experts To FDA: Make Data Public
For almost two decades, device makers have sent reports of incidents to databases hidden from public view.
Must-Reads Of The Week (Some Flying Below The Radar)
Executive editor Damon Darlin takes a spin as host of “The Friday Breeze,” whirling through a week of health care news so you don’t have to.
State Laws Ban Surprise Medical Bills. She Got One for $227K And Fought Back.
No one told a Washington state woman she was racking up massive out-of-pocket charges during a month-long emergency stay in an Oregon hospital. For six months, she and her husband were haunted by looming debt — and bill collectors.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Surprise! Fixing Surprise Medical Bills Is Harder Than it Looks
Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the efforts to curb “surprise” medical bills to patients who inadvertently get out-of-network care; a look at where the 2020 presidential candidates stand on health; and the Trump administration’s efforts to end HIV in the U.S. Also, Rovner interviews Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who is leaving his job in early April.
Did Your Doctor ‘Ghost’ You? An Employment Contract May Be To Blame
How “noncompete” clauses in contracts between doctors and hospitals or clinics prevent patients from seeing their longtime doctors.
Listen: Reporter Describes Breakdowns In Electronic Medical Records
KHN senior correspondent Fred Schulte describes a KHN-Fortune investigation into the massive push to track and share patient health care records.
Five Things To Know About The Electronic Health Records Mess
The U.S. government claimed that ditching paper medical charts for electronic records would make health care better, safer and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the digital revolution has gone awry.
Death By 1,000 Clicks: Where Electronic Health Records Went Wrong
The U.S. government claimed that turning American medical charts into electronic records would make health care better, safer and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the system is an unholy mess. Inside a digital revolution that took a bad turn.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Nursing Home Fines Drop As Trump Administration Heeds Industry Complaints
Inspectors are citing nursing facilities for violating health and safety more often than during the Obama administration. But the average fine is nearly a third lower than it was before President Donald Trump took office.
Military Doctors In Crosshairs Of A Budget Battle
Details of the reductions have not yet been announced, but in 2017 Congress ordered mandated changes to make the military health system more efficient.
FDA Announces Sweeping Plan To Review Safety Of Surgical Staplers
The FDA said it might reclassify the widely used devices featured in a recent Kaiser Health News investigation.
Hidden FDA Reports Detail Harm Caused By Scores Of Medical Devices
The Food and Drug Administration has let medical device companies file reports of injuries and malfunctions outside a widely scrutinized public database, leaving doctors and medical sleuths in the dark.
Medicare Trims Payments To 800 Hospitals, Citing Patient Safety Incidents
The penalties are part of a program set up by the Affordable Care Act to prompt hospitals to pay more attention to safety issues that can lead to injuries, such as falls or hospital-acquired infections.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Medicare-For-All’ Debate: Who’s Going To Pay
Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the new “Medicare-for-all” bill introduced by House Democrats, the grilling of pharmaceutical company CEOs by a Senate committee and new Trump administration rules that take aim at Planned Parenthood. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Julie Appleby about the latest “Bill of the Month” installment.
Cancer’s Complications: Confusing Bills, Maddening Errors And Endless Phone Calls
Carol Marley has pancreatic cancer — and dealing with its financial toll has become her full-time job.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ A ‘Healthy’ State Of The Union
Health was a featured player in President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address. The president set goals to bring down prescription drug prices, end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and cure childhood cancer, among other things. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week. Rovner also interviews KHN senior correspondent Phil Galewitz about the current “Bill of the Month” feature.
Ideas To Curb Surprise Medical Bills Percolate With Rare Bipartisan Push
The recent declaration by President Donald Trump that taming unexpected medical bills would be a top priority for his administration echoed through the halls of Congress.
Transparent Hospital Pricing Exposes Wild Fluctuation, Even Within Miles
A new federal rule requires hospitals to post their prices online. These lists reveal the wildly different charges for basic procedures and services, but consumers will have a hard time putting this information to use.
