Latest KFF Health News Stories
Hoping To See Your Doctor Via Telemedicine? Here’s A Quick Guide.
All private health plans, Medicare, state Medicaid programs and the VA now cover some e-visits — albeit with restrictions.
How A Drugmaker Turned The Abortion Pill Into A Rare-Disease Profit Machine
An abortion drug invented decades ago is being used to treat Cushing’s syndrome — and it’s bringing in tens of millions of dollars a year.
Without Context Or Cushion, Do Online Medical Results Make Sense?
In some cases, information now available to people without talking to a doctor can be a source of confusion and alarm and the cause of more work for doctors because it comes without adequate guidance.
As Trump Targets Immigrants, Elderly Brace To Lose Caregivers
Families and nursing homes say Trump administration policies threaten to drive immigrants away from caring for older and disabled patients, intensifying a shortage in these low-wage jobs.
Women In Medicine Shout #MeToo About Sexual Harassment At Work
Lawsuits and complaints about sexual harassment are piling up in the health care industry as women take on doctors, peers and co-workers.
Black Men’s Blood Pressure Is Cut Along With Their Hair
A new study shows that educational sessions about high blood pressure at African American barbershops, coupled with prescribing and helping to manage medication, reduced hypertension rates significantly.
Crowded Shelters And The Vicious Flu Brew Perfect Storm For The Homeless
Although homeless shelters provide lifesaving protection from the winter’s cold, they also act as incubators for diseases like influenza.
Buried In The Budget Bill Are Belated Gifts For Some Health Care Providers
How physical and occupational therapists triumphed in a two-decade-long quest to overturn limits on their compensation.
Bad Bedside Manna: Bank Loans Signed In The Hospital Leave Patients Vulnerable
Hospitals increasingly team up with lending institutions to offer low- or no-interest loans to patients to make sure their bills get paid. But critics say the complexity of hospital pricing means consumers should be cautious.
Trump Administration Relaxes Financial Penalties Against Nursing Homes
Medicare is discouraging regional offices from levying fines for “one-time mistakes” or from using daily fines that seek to put pressure on nursing homes to make changes.
An Overlooked Epidemic: Older Americans Taking Too Many Unneeded Drugs
Researchers estimate that 25 percent of people ages 65 to 69 take at least five prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions. But some doctors are trying to teach others about “deprescribing” or systematically discontinuing medicines that are inappropriate, duplicative or unnecessary.
Cities, Counties and Schools Sidestep FDA Canadian Drug Crackdown, Saving Millions
Medicines are up to 80 percent cheaper north of the border and overseas, so U.S. localities are greasing a pharmaceutical pipeline that the feds warn is illegal and possibly unsafe.
Hospitals Find Asthma Hot Spots More Profitable To Neglect Than Fix
Months of reporting and rich hospital data portray life in the worst asthma hot spot in one of the worst asthma cities: Baltimore. The medical system knows how to help. But there’s no money in it.
Hospitals With History Get A Second Life
The number of hospitals across the country has plummeted, but many old buildings are being resuscitated as apartments and condos.
Taken For A Ride? Ambulances Stick Patients With Surprise Bills
Public outrage over surprise medical bills prompted 21 states to pass consumer protection laws. But these laws largely ignore ambulance rides, which can leave patients stuck with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in bills.
Massachusetts Grabs Spotlight By Proposing New Twist On Medicaid Drug Coverage
In an effort to reduce drug costs and increase efficiency, Massachusetts is seeking federal approval to implement a new approach to how the state’s Medicaid program covers prescription medications.
Nowhere To Go: Young People With Severe Autism Languish In Hospitals
Some teens and young adults are spending weeks or even months in retrofitted emergency rooms — even in mesh-covered tents — until specialized care can be found. ‘It’s a huge problem,’ one doctor says.
