Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Effect Of Bedside Manner; Migraines And Sexism
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. Time: Your Doctor’s Bedside Manner Could Affect Your Health Even if your doctor doesn’t have the best beside manner, you’re probably willing to excuse her behavior as long as she treats your condition and makes you healthy again, right? Well, […]
Health Coverage Holding Up Better For Union Members
Labor unions, under pressure by states and employers to shoulder more of their health care costs, have fared relatively well at protecting workers’ health benefits during the recession, according to a study released today. The study by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington found that from 2007 to 2009 union workers were less […]
Preserve Or Repeal The CLASS Act? Debt Talks Focus In
As debt-talks smolder in Washington, a proposal by the bipartisan “Gang of Six” senators to cut health program spending and increase revenue has scored a lot of attention. Among the proposal’s key health program tenets is the repeal of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, the CLASS Act, that is part of last year’s health […]
Advocates Press For Federal Aid In Making Mental Health Records Electronic
Joan Sivley believes that health information technology could have helped her son Dan from unnecessary suffering as he struggled for eight years to get an accurate diagnosis of schizo-affective disorder. During that time, he shuffled through various psychiatric hospitals and residential centers, paying as much as $30,000 a month out of pocket, only to receive […]
Today’s Headlines – July 21, 2011
Good Thursday morning! It’s going to top 100 degrees in Washington today, which is almost as hot as the debt talks are getting. Here’s what we’re reading — indoors — to stay cool. Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about some of the specific cuts included in the “Gang of […]
Leading Venture Capitalists Place A Bet On ACOs
The Silicon Valley investors who thought the nascent tech start-up Google was a good idea back in 1999 are now putting their money behind another zany scheme: accountable care organizations, the networks of doctors and hospitals that experts hope will save the health system millions of dollars. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the venture capital […]
Hospice Companies Focus In On Nursing Home Patients
Dying patients in nursing homes are an increasingly lucrative market for hospice companies, which have expanded rapidly into these facilities, according to a new federal audit. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General found that Medicare spending on hospice care for patients in nursing facilities grew by 69 percent over just four […]
Hospital Executives Open To ACOs, Survey Finds
Hospitals and other health care providers have complained that federal regulations for accountable care organizations (ACOs) – a proposed model of care in which doctors and hospitals work together to cut unnecessary treatment of patients and share in the savings – don’t offer enough financial rewards and are too burdensome. But the results from a […]
Seniors’ Advocates Warn About Cuts To Entitlements
With officials from both parties considering cuts to entitlement programs as part of a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling, advocates for seniors are taking their message to Capitol Hill Wednesday to press Congress about the impact of potential cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. About 250 members of the National Association of Agencies on […]
Today’s Headlines – July 20, 2011
Good morning. Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including details on shifts in public opinion about congressional efforts to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, reduce spending for Medicare and other entitlements, and raise taxes. The Wall Street Journal: Public Tilts Toward Debt-Cap Compromise The poll of 1,000 adults, taken July 14-17, found a […]
IOM Recommends Free Birth Control For All
American women ought to be able to get their birth control for free, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The group is the latest to weigh in on which preventive services health insurers should have to offer at no cost under the new health law. Officials at the Department of Health […]
Gang Of Six Deficit Plan: Executive Summary
The bipartisan group of senators’ plan to reduce the deficit calls for major changes to health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and the CLASS act for long-term care.
Maine Governor, Nuns And Maternity Coverage
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who last month signed into law legislation that will phase out a state program subsidizing health care coverage for more than 8,000 residents, says government-run health programs won’t lower costs or help the uninsured. “The only government system that worked was the GI Bill because it provided checks to those who […]
Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog Is there nothing in last year’s Affordable Care Act that people won’t fight over? The latest battle is set to come to a head Wednesday, when the independent Institute of Medicine is expected to make recommendations about preventive health care services for women. And one service […]
Today’s headlines – July 19, 2011
Good morning! It’s hot here in Washington, and it’s not just the debt negotiations. Here’s what we’re reading to try to stay cool. Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including updates on the deficit talks, new public opinion polls and health law implementation issues. The Washington Post: Debt-Ceiling Crisis Still Eludes Compromise […]
Does President Obama Really Want To Means-Test Medicare? Probably Not
President Obama (and many, many others) have been throwing around the phrase “means testing” as they talk about ways to cut spending for Medicare. “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means,” says Inigo Montoya, Mandy Patinkin’s character in one of the many now-famous lines in the […]
Today’s Headlines – July 18, 2011
Good morning! Today’s health policy headlines include the latest news on the debt-ceiling talks as well as reports on IPAB and health exchanges. The Washington Post: Congress Tees Up Crucial Votes On Debt Limit A bipartisan effort in the Senate to allow President Obama to raise the federal debt ceiling in exchange for about $1.5 […]
Get Yer Summer Health Care Fact-Checking Here
The debt ceiling debate this month has sent claims and counter claims flying, keeping the nation’s fact checkers busy. Here’s a sampling of their mid-summer efforts: FactChecker.org was very curious about a number of claims by the conservative group Crossroads GPS, which is running a $7 million ad campaign aimed a number of Democrats, including […]
Supermarkets Can’t Alleviate Food Deserts
Even as officials are pushing for more supermarkets to open in produce-starved neighborhoods, a recent study suggests that they might not make the drive-thru line any shorter at fast food restaurants. The study shows that low-income residents are far more dependent on fast food restaurants than grocery stores and supermarkets — even if healthier food […]
Drug Industry Rebates: The Sequel
Note to drug makers: Just in case you thought you’d be spared as part of the debt ceiling talks, think again. At a Friday news conference President Barack Obama made it clear that drug industry rebates to Medicare are very much in the mix as negotiators try to find ways to reduce federal spending on entitlement programs. […]
