Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicaid Coverage Limits Access To Medications For Painkiller Addicts
Patients face severe limitations on the amount and duration of medicines they take to fight addiction to pain pills.
Your Smartphone Might Hold Key To Your Medical Records
Hospitals and clinics are slowly replacing paper files with electronic health records, but information often isn’t easily shared. Smartphones may be one way consumers can bridge the electronic gap.
CDC Takes A Closer Look At Kids’ Mental Health
Somewhere between 13 and 20 percent of kids in the United States experience some sort of mental illness, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That adds up to millions of children suffering from disorders like ADHD, depression, autism and illicit drug use. The total annual cost of the […]
Alicia Keys Shines Light On Women And HIV
One in 32 African American women in the United States is likely to be diagnosed with HIV in her lifetime. “One in 32, think about that,” said singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic at an event Monday. “Thirty years after we first heard of AIDS, it is really a […]
Health Care Cuts From Vaccinations To Research
Sequestration’s cuts will likely affect how low-income Americans get maternal care, vaccinate their children and get treatment for mental illness, even if the cuts largely spare Medicare and Medicaid.
Feds Help States Qualify For More Medicaid Dollars
The Obama administration on Friday released guidance to states on how they can increase their Medicaid funding by eliminating copays for certain preventive services, including immunizations. The provision of the Affordable Care Act was slated to take effect Jan. 1. States that implement the changes can apply for the funding retroactive to that date. The specified preventive services […]
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.
Momentum Builds For Hepatitis C Testing Of Baby Boomers
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential and often controversial panel of doctors, is moving toward a recommendation for testing that could apply to all baby boomers. The group issued draft advice to doctors saying they should consider giving a hepatitis C test to people born between 1945 and 1965, […]
Health Law Has Gaps In Men’s Care
At the urging of women lawmakers and advocacy groups, the overhaul provides coverage for some specific preventive care, especially for sexual and reproductive health, but men’s coverage is more limited.
CDC: All Baby Boomers Should Be Tested For Hepatitis C
When it comes to preventive screenings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants baby boomers to add one more item to the list. The CDC is calling for all Americans born between 1945 and 1965 to be tested for the Hepatitis C virus as part of expanded recommendations to limit related illnesses and deaths that were released today. Hepatitis […]
CDC Releases New Outpatient Safety Checklist
Just as airline pilots are required to use safety checklists before taking off, so should medical facilities who are treating people on an outpatient basis, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday. The CDC issued a new set of safety checklist guidelines to reduce outpatient infections because it has found that multiple […]
