Latest KFF Health News Stories
Study Says Concerns About Orphan Drug Spending Are Unjustified
A study in Health Affairs concludes that orphan drugs for rare diseases are not having a widespread or deep impact on health care spending.
With Chronic Illness, You Are Your Own Best Friend
Participants in a mostly online diabetes self-management program had lower blood sugar and were more likely to take their medicine regularly, study finds.
Experts Say Stepped-Up Monitoring Is Crucial As Zika’s Threat Lasts Beyond A Baby’s Birth
A Brazilian case report indicates the virus may cause brain impairment after a child is born, increasing the need for tracking the development of children who may have been exposed.
Attending To The ‘Human Element’ Is Key To Keeping Patients Healthy
Research to be published in full this fall details how medicine’s “implicit bias” — whether real or perceived — undermines the doctor-patient relationship and the well-being of racial and ethnic minorities as well as lower-income patients.
Drop In Teen Pregnancies Is Due To More Contraceptives, Not Less Sex
Sexually active teenagers are more likely to use birth control and are choosing forms that are more effective, a study finds. Births to teens dropped by 36 percent from 2007 to 2013.
Trans And Adopted: Exploring Teen Identity
A Boston health clinic that treats transgender kids and teens finds that the percentage of its young patients who are adopted is higher than expected. These kids might need extra support, doctors say.
Did It Hurt Or Help? Researchers Analyze Ohio’s 2011 Abortion Law
A new study finds that women may have suffered more complications and needed more follow-up care as a result of the law. The law’s advocates question the findings.
Another Reason To Diet: Experts Find Additional Evidence Of Obesity-Cancer Link
A review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer reaffirms earlier findings that excess body fat increases the risks for certain cancers.
Preventive Care, Specialists Key To Controlling Kidney Failure Treatment Costs
These findings in JAMA Internal Medicine also note the importance of coordinating care and, some experts say, could provide a model for other diseases.
Insurance Doesn’t Ensure Children Get Needed Visual Exams, Study Says
Researchers estimate thousands of children suffer two debilitating eye conditions because they don’t get proper exams while young.
Survey: Millions More Californians Insured After Obamacare Launch, Medicaid Expansion
But the remaining uninsured are tough to reach.
Genetic Insights About Health Risks Limited By Lack Of Diversity, Study Finds
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine detailed how the diagnoses of risk for a common hereditary heart disease may have been skewed because studies have traditionally had low numbers of black participants.
Hidden Plan Exclusions May Leave Gaps In Women’s Care, Study Finds
The research finds that many plans don’t make details about what services are not covered readily apparent.
Race, Ethnicity Affect Kids’ Access To Mental Health Care, Study Finds
An analysis in the International Journal of Health Services finds disparities between white young people and their black and Hispanic counterparts in how often they receive mental health treatment.
Researchers Identify A Key Weapon of Zika Virus
University of Southern California scientists determined the virus uses certain types of protein to interrupt the brain development of fetuses. The finding is a step toward the possible development of an intervention that could prevent the infection from leading to microcephaly.
Teaching In-Home Caregivers Seems To Pay Off
Intensive training for such aides helps reduce repeated ER visits and hospitalizations of elderly disabled people, a pilot project suggests.
Assisted Living Residents With Dementia Prone To Abusing Others, Study Finds
Residents with dementia need to be monitored and increased training is needed for staff who care for them, said researchers who examined reported instances of abuse in assisted living facilities.
Big Companies Expect Moderate Increases In 2017 Employee Health Care Costs
Two surveys suggest these companies continue to try new ways to control the expense of employees’ coverage.
‘Lost In Translation:’ Hospitals’ Language Service Capacity Doesn’t Always Match Need
A study in Health Affairs finds that nationwide hospital-based language services are not available in a systematic way.
In Later Years, Disabilities End Blacks’ Active Lives Sooner Than Whites’
Elderly black women suffer most from shorter active life expectancy free of disabilities, showing no improvement since the early 1980s, Health Affairs study finds.
