Latest KFF Health News Stories
Customers’ Pot Smoking May Not Be A Deal Breaker For Life Insurers
A survey of officials at life insurance companies finds that many factor in marijuana use when considering coverage, but they are often concerned about the frequency of use.
Study Suggests Federal Standard May Be Thwarting Some Transplant Patients
Researchers report that performance standards set by federal health officials may have led to many patients being dropped from transplant lists without improving survival rates.
Young People At Risk For STDs Often Don’t Get Tested: Study
A CDC survey of teens and young adults finds that nearly half who have had sex but not been tested for disease believe they are not at risk. Yet young people account for half of all new sexually transmitted infections.
When Adult Children Get Sick, It May Be Hard For Parents To Get Information
Federal law seeks to protect the privacy of patients’ health information, but sometimes leaving parents out of the loop can complicate the patient’s recovery.
Virginia Insurer’s Decision To Drop Bronze Plans Prompts Concerns
But the action may not indicate a developing national trend to drop bronze coverage. Instead, analysts note that bronze and silver plans may be becoming more similar.
A Doctor Yearns For A Return To The Time When Physicians Were ‘Artisans’
Dr. Abraham Nussbaum, author of a new book examining the drive toward quality metrics such as checklists, says he fears medicine could become just another job and not a “calling.”
People With HIV Are Less Likely To Get Cancer Treatment
New research finds that patients infected with the virus that causes AIDS are less likely to get treatment for nine common cancers than are people who don’t have HIV.
Insurers Quitting Health Law Exchanges May Still Sell Plans To Individuals
KHN’s consumer columnist answers readers’ questions including whether recent announcements about plans pulling out of the health law’s exchanges could affect the access to coverage for consumers who don’t use those exchanges.
Health Coverage Rates For Lower Income Children Improving
Although Medicaid and CHIP were already helping many children get insurance, the implementation of the health law has improved coverage.
A May Health Affairs study examines how Medicare’s eligibility age affects spending and prices, as well as the volume of services used by patients.
Shortages Of Essential Emergency Care Drugs Increase, Study Finds
The problems persist even after Congress in 2012 gave the FDA enhanced powers to respond when drug levels are low.
Even As Birth Rates Fall, Teens Say They Are Getting Less Sex Education
A report by the Guttmacher Institute finds that the proportion of teenagers who are getting instructions in birth control methods is declining.
High Court Ruling May Hinder Plans’ Efforts To Recoup Consumers’ Legal Awards
When consumers who have been injured sue and win an award, insurance plans routinely demand that they be reimbursed for medical costs that they covered. The Supreme Court this term threw a small chink into that strategy.
More Exchange Plans Offer Patients Easier Access To Some Expensive Drugs: Report
The analysis by Avalere examines changes in how silver plans on the insurance marketplaces handle coverage for high-cost specialty drugs.
Free Clinics Expanding Mission To Help Insured Patients With High Expenses
Although many people thought the federal health law would nip the need for free clinics, they are still booming.
Rise In Oncologists Working For Hospitals Spurs Higher Chemo Costs: Study
Researchers found that the facility fees hospitals and their clinics routinely add to the bill helps drive the price increases.
Even Under Parity Rules, Plans May Charge Higher Specialty Copays For Counseling
A reader asks if it’s fair for his health plan to classify his son’s treatment by a psychologist as specialty care that requires a higher copayment.
Prices And Health Care Quality: Many Consumers Don’t See A Link
A study in the journal Health Affairs found a majority of people don’t associate price and quality in health care services.
Patients’ Assessment Of Their Health Is Gaining Importance In Treatment
As medicine moves to a patient-centered model, doctors and other health providers are slowly adding patients’ self-reports to the other tests and exams they use to determine care.
Workers’ Desire Grows For Wage Increases Over Health Benefits
A recent survey finds that the number of workers who say they would give up some health benefits to get a pay raise has grown from 10 to 20 percent since 2012.
