Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
What’s California’s Prescription For Rising Drug Costs?
How high-cost drugs are impacting California.
Political Gridlock Blocks Missouri Database For Fighting Drug Abuse
Every state except Missouri has a database that doctors can check to see if a person filling a prescription for an opioid is trying to get it from other pharmacies, too.
Hospital Software Often Doesn’t Flag Unsafe Drug Prescriptions, Report Finds
A survey conducted by the Leapfrog Group finds that though many hospitals have computer-based medication systems in place to protect against errors, many still fall short in highlighting possible problems.
Coinsurance Trend Means Seniors Likely To Face Higher Out-Of-Pocket Drug Costs, Report Says
More Medicare Part D drug plans are requiring coinsurance rather than copayments for more types of medications, making beneficiaries’ costs less predictable.
How Medicare Drug Plans Hope To Follow Private Sector Lead
The proposal that Medicare made this month to better control prescription drug costs involves testing strategies used with some success in the private sector.
Medicare To Test New Payment Approaches For Some Prescription Medications
Regulators unveiled a two-part plan that will change payments and test ways in which the Medicare Part B program can change the incentives that some policy experts say encourage doctors to choose higher-cost medications.
Candidates’ Drug-Price Plans May Miss The Mark
There is more than one reason prices are rising, and no single solution.
Urban Medicare Beneficiaries May See More Drug Savings This Year
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says access to special, lower-cost pharmacies has improved for Medicare beneficiaries in urban areas.
Study: Doctors’ Texts Can Prod Patients To Take Drugs, But Questions Linger
In an analysis published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found that text message reminders help patients do better when it comes to taking their medicines. But questions about the specific ways to make the most of this strategy remain.
California Voters Will Have Their Say On Drug Prices
Heated battle expected over November ballot proposal to curb state’s prescription drug costs, as pharmaceutical industry opens its pocketbook to defeat the measure.
Research Gives Context To Addressing Nation’s Drug Abuse Crisis, Review Finds
As presidential candidates, state officials and even President Barack Obama wrestle with how to handle drug addiction, scientists lay out some of the intersections between opioid prescriptions and heroin abuse in the New England Journal of Medicine, including findings that crackdowns on opioid prescriptions may not fuel increases in heroin use.
Broader Strategies Necessary To Counter Painkiller Over Prescribing, Researchers Say
A research letter published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine says opioid-prescribing practices are consistent with that of other medications.
Testing For Hepatitis C In Prisons Could Save Many Lives On The Outside
Treating Hep C is expensive, but new drugs can quickly cure the disease, ultimately saving money.
Most Americans See Personal Tie To Rising Prescription Painkiller Abuse
A new Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll reports 16 percent say they know someone who died from a prescription painkiller overdose.
Fewer Medicare-Subsidized Drug Plans Means Less Choice For Low-Income Seniors
The number of Medicare plans that cover medications with a subsidy provided for low-income beneficiaries is declining in 2016 by 20 percent.
