Latest KFF Health News Stories
So Much Care It Hurts: Unneeded Scans, Therapy, Surgery Only Add To Patients’ Ills
Overtreatment of breast cancer and other diseases is pervasive, burdening patients and the health care system with enormous costs and needless suffering.
Hurricane’s Health Toll: A Texas Doctor Taps Lessons From Katrina
After weathering the catastrophe in New Orleans 12 years ago, Dr. Ruth Berggren moved to Texas, where she again finds herself in the center of a hurricane crisis. In a Q&A, she draws parallels between the harrowing events and pinpoints risks in Harvey’s aftermath.
Asthma, More Deadly With Age, Takes Heavy Toll On Older Adults
Death rates for older adults with asthma run five times higher than younger people, and serious complications are far more common.
Lag In Brain Donation Hampers Understanding Of Dementia In Blacks
A long history of racism and cruel experimentation in health care are among the reasons African-American families oppose donating patients’ brains for study.
Florida Law Will Let Patients Get All Their Drug Renewals At The Same Time
The new law will help people with chronic conditions that require multiple prescriptions cut down on their shuttles to the drug store and could improve adherence to their drugs.
Cuando las heridas no sanan, las terapias pueden costar hasta $5 mil millones
Cerca de 6,5 millones de personas en el país tienen heridas que tardan meses, y hasta años en sanar… si llegan a curarse. El costo, económico y psicológico, de estos padecimientos es astronómico.
When Wounds Won’t Heal, Therapies Spread — To The Tune Of $5 Billion
The market for wound care products booms among a growing older and diabetic patient pool, but many treatments are untested and funding for research falls short.
Denial, Appeal, Approval … An Adult’s Thorny Path To Spinraza Coverage
The FDA granted approval for Spinraza in late December for use on children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy. Insurance coverage is mostly focused on infants and children.
Drug Puts A $750,000 ‘Price Tag On Life’
The high cost of Spinraza, a new and promising treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, highlights how the cost-benefit analysis insurers use to make drug coverage decisions plays out in human terms.
Depression Among Heart Attack Survivors Can Be Deadly, Yet Is Often Ignored
One in 5 heart attack patients suffers from severe depression, yet many get little or no treatment that could ease their suffering or save their lives.
Health Insurers Try Paying More Upfront To Pay Less Later
Some health plans are beginning to offer free maintenance care for people with chronic health problems, hoping that spending a little more early on will save a lot of money in the long run.
Drop In Sudden Cardiac Arrests Linked To Obamacare
A study published by the Journal of the American Heart Association showed that sudden cardiac arrests dropped by 17 percent in one Oregon county after people gained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Promises Made To Protect Preexisting Conditions Prove Hollow
Experts say the loopholes would allow states to bypass some protections for people with preexisting conditions.
Huecos en las promesas de proteger la cobertura de condiciones preexistentes
Expertos en políticas de salud que han analizado el texto del proyecto de salud del Senado, aseguran que la legislación no siempre garantizaría la atención de personas con condiciones preexistentes.
Survivors Of Childhood Diseases Struggle To Find Care As Adults
Once-fatal childhood diseases, like cystic fibrosis, congenital heart disease and sickle cell anemia, now can be survived into adulthood. But when those patients become too old to see pediatricians, it can be difficult for them to find physicians familiar with their conditions.
Many COPD Patients Struggle To Pay For Each Medicinal Breath
One in 9 Medicare enrollees have COPD and many of them can’t afford the inhalers that keep them out of the emergency room.
Cómo ayudar a pacientes con Alzheimer a disfrutar la vida, sin desaparecer de a poco
Un robusto grupo de investigaciones que las personas con Alzheimer y otros tipos de demencia mantienen un fuerte sentido de sí mismos y que, en general, pueden tener una calidad de vida buena y positiva hasta las etapas finales de la enfermedad.
How To Help Alzheimer’s Patients Enjoy Life, Not Just ‘Fade Away’
Research shows that people with dementia can benefit significantly from efforts to ease communication, improve overall health and other key measures.
Tracking Air Quality Block By Block
An environmental advocacy group plans to install 100 pollution sensors at homes, schools and businesses in the congested area near the Port of Oakland to capture variations in the level of diesel contaminants.
¿Siente dolor? Muchos médicos dicen que los analgésicos no son la solución
Muchos médicos ya no recetan generosamente analgésicos opioides como la oxicodona o el fentanilo para el dolor de espalda o las migrañas. En cambio, recurren cada vez más a opciones no farmacológicas como la acupuntura y la fisioterapia.
