Study: Hospital Observation Stays Increase 25 Percent In 3 Years
By Susan Jaffe
June 4, 2012
KFF Health News Original
The number of Medicare patients who enter the hospital for observation rose dramatically even though Medicare enrollment and hospital admissions declined slightly, according to a study by gerontologists at Brown University in Providence, R.I. The researchers analyzed medical records and hospital claims for 29 million people in traditional Medicare from 2007 to 2009. They found […]
Today’s Headlines – May 7, 2012
By Stephanie Stapleton
May 7, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Happy day to you! It may be Monday, but let these headlines take your mind off it: The Washington Post: The Associated Press/Chicago Tribune: House GOP Plan Cuts Social Programs To Stave Off Pentagon Cuts Fully one-fourth of the House GOP spending cuts come from programs directly benefiting the poor, such as Medicaid, food stamps, […]
Transcript: Highlights Of The Lively Arguments At The Supreme Court, Day 2
March 27, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Here are excerpts of some of the most compelling parts of Tuesday’s oral arguments at the high court.
Chart: CEO Pay Packages, Ranked By Hospital Revenue
September 27, 2011
KFF Health News Original
2009 pay packages for the CEOs of the top 25 children’s hospitals.
Health Insurers Deny Coverage To Many Who Apply For Individual Policies
By Phil Galewitz
September 11, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Data from a federal website show that denial rates routinely exceed 20 percent and often are much higher.
Hospitals Look For Disney Magic To Make Customers Happy
By Phil Galewitz
July 21, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Medicare payments soon will partly reflect patient satisfaction, so hospitals are seeking advice from the entertainment kingdom.
Policy Riders And Spending Debate Fueling Govt. Shutdown Fears
By Stephanie Stapleton Karl Eisenhower
April 7, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Policy issues including a number of controversial health-related items are adding to the difficulties faced by lawmakers as they try to reach agreement on legislation to provide funding to avert a federal government shutdown.
Chart: Major CBO Estimates for House, Senate and President’s Proposals
September 29, 2010
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By Kate Steadman KFF Health News Staff Writer The Congressional Budget Office, an independent government agency, estimated the costs and revenues of the three major health overhaul proposals before Congress. The table below lays out key items in the bills, including the total cost, the amount the bills reduce the federal deficit and the different […]
New Survey: Consumers Who Buy Their Own Health Insurance Report Big Rate Increase Requests
By Julie Appleby Jaclyn Schiff
June 21, 2010
KFF Health News Original
When the big California health insurer Wellpoint sought rate increases up to 39 percent this year, some wondered if they were unusual. But in a new national survey consumers who buy their own policies report the most recent rate requests averaged 20 percent.
Spouses Face Hurdles When Caring For Themselves, Ill Loved Ones
By Paula Span
May 25, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Family caregivers now administer arsenals of medications and undertake procedures, from wound care to dialysis, that were once the province of medical professionals.
The President’s Orders On Same-Sex Partners’ Hospital Visitation Rights
April 16, 2010
KFF Health News Original
The White House released a copy of the memo sent by President Barack Obama to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on hospital visitors’ rights, including those for same-sex partners of patients.
Teaching Doctors The Price Of Care
By Susan Okie
May 4, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Doctors in training have traditionally been insulated from details about the cost of tests and treatments they prescribe. But concerns about rising health costs are slowly changing that.
Why Are Health Costs So High? The System Pushes Doctors To Give Unnecessary Care
By Alix Spiegel, NPR News
October 9, 2009
KFF Health News Original
In the mid-1970s, an unconventional researcher named Jack Wennberg discovered an unusually high rate of hysterectomies in Lewiston, Maine. That was just one of a series of studies that led to a very surprising conclusion about health care: a large portion of the medical care Americans get is unnecessary.
The House Bill Costs Far More Than $1 Trillion
By James C. Capretta
July 23, 2009
KFF Health News Original
House Democratic leaders have been selling the health care bill — now reported out by two of the three House committees to which it had been referred — as costing “only” $1 trillion over a decade. But that’s not really the whole story.
Paying for COBRA, Waiting for Discount
By Rick Schmitt
April 7, 2009
KFF Health News Original
Some people who qualify for the economic stimulus package’s COBRA subsidies are still waiting for the “lifeline.” Reporter Rick Schmitt, who was laid off in November, writes about the hurdles he has experienced while trying to get the subsidy.
