Latest News On Michigan

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Who Polices Hospitals Merging Across Markets? States Give Different Answers

KFF Health News Original

Increasingly, hospitals are merging across separate markets within states. It’s a move that health economists and the Federal Trade Commission have been closely watching, as evidence shows such mergers raise prices for patients with no improvement in care.

Florida Foster Kids Are Given Powerful Medications, but Feds Find State Oversight Lacking

KFF Health News Original

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services raises troubling questions about the use of powerful medications within Florida’s child welfare system and the risk of overdoses or dangerous side effects if children are given the wrong combination of drugs.

As More Patients Email Doctors, Health Systems Start Charging Fees

KFF Health News Original

Doctors say billing for email consultations reduces message volume and gives them more free time. The increasingly prevalent practice has also raised fears about negative impacts to patient care.

Pacientes reciben facturas por enviarles correos electrónicos a sus médicos

KFF Health News Original

Con un fuerte aumento de los mensajes de correo electrónico durante la pandemia de covid, un número creciente de sistemas de salud han empezado a cobrar a los pacientes cuando los médicos y otros profesionales clínicos responden a sus mensajes.

Artificial Intelligence May Influence Whether You Can Get Pain Medication

KFF Health News Original

To contain the opioid crisis, health and law enforcement agencies have turned to technology to monitor doctor and patient prescription data. Experts have raised questions about how these systems work and worry about their accuracy and potential biases. Some patients and doctors say they’re being unfairly targeted.

Mental Health Respite Facilities Are Filling Care Gaps in Over a Dozen States

KFF Health News Original

As three years of pandemic stress accelerated an ongoing nationwide mental health crisis, peer respite programs diverted patients from overburdened emergency rooms, psychiatric institutions, and behavioral therapists. Now, more “respites” are opening.

As Low-Nicotine Cigarettes Hit the Market, Anti-Smoking Groups Press for Wider Standard

KFF Health News Original

The first FDA-authorized cigarettes with 95% less nicotine than traditional smokes will go on sale in California, Florida, and Texas starting in early July. Anti-smoking groups oppose greenlighting just one plant biotech’s products and instead urge federal regulators to set a low-nicotine standard for the entire industry.

Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics

KFF Health News Original

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of older Americans, with Black and Hispanic people at higher risk. Despite medical advances, researchers say, disparities are expected to worsen in the coming decades.

La enfermedad cardiovascular podría matar a más adultos mayores hispanos

KFF Health News Original

El dramático envejecimiento de la población de Estados Unidos y el número creciente de personas con afecciones como hipertensión, diabetes y obesidad —que aumentan el riesgo cardíaco— se espera que contribuyan a este escenario alarmante.

Remote Work: An Underestimated Benefit for Family Caregivers

KFF Health News Original

The debate about whether employees should be required to return to the workplace has generally focused on commuting, convenience, and child care. A fourth C, caregiving, has rarely been mentioned.

California Confronts Overdose Epidemic Among Former Prison Inmates

KFF Health News Original

Individuals newly released from prison are 40 times as likely to die of opioid overdoses than members of the general population, researchers say. In response, California corrections officials aim to arm departing inmates with an antidote that can be used to reverse the effects of opioid poisoning.

Feds Move to Rein In Prior Authorization, a System That Harms and Frustrates Patients

KFF Health News Original

The federal government wants to change the way health insurers use prior authorization — the requirement that patients get permission before undergoing treatment. Designed to prevent doctors from deploying expensive, ineffectual procedures, prior authorization has become a confusing maze that denies or delays care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. New rules may not be enough to solve the problems.

Montana Seeks to Insulate Nursing Homes From Future Financial Crises

KFF Health News Original

Lawmakers are considering creating standards to set Medicaid reimbursement rates. But industry observers wonder whether the move would be too little, too late to bolster a beleaguered industry.

States Seek Crackdown on Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics to Close Gaps in Federal Oversight

KFF Health News Original

Washington state regulators found formaldehyde, lead, and arsenic in lipstick, powder foundations, skin lotions, and hair products marketed to and popular with women of color. Now legislators there are seeking to ban the products and, like at least a dozen other states, make up for lax federal rules.