Rural Hospitals Team Up To Survive
Dozens of rural hospitals have closed in recent years, prompting others to form alliances.
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Dozens of rural hospitals have closed in recent years, prompting others to form alliances.
Consumers in New York are getting new protections against “balance billing,” where insurers bill patients for the difference between what insurers pay and what providers want, and states considering similar laws are watching closely.
The topic is complex and sometimes requires multiple visits, but right now doctors are paid for it only if they discuss end-of-life planning in their initial visit with a new Medicare patient.
Much of the recent debate about drug costs has centered on high-priced specialty drugs, such as those to cure hepatitis C. But millions more people have diabetes and their drugs are also expensive.
Study reports adolescents’ unmet health care needs foreshadow problems later in life.
As hospitals try to improve their consumer ratings, many are revisiting nighttime policies to help patients maximize their chances to get some rest.
State officials say Medi-Cal managed care plans will better coordinate treatment for children needing highly specialized care. Parents and pediatric medical centers say it’s a bad idea.
The Obama administration has announced a change in how the out-of-pocket health spending limits will be calculated for families, but employers object that it will leave them holding the bill.
A study done in Massachusetts highlights the difficulties consumers face in trying to find out how much health care services cost.
California regulators have tried harder than most to make mental health parity laws work but it’s been tough to enforce the rules and gain the cooperation of insurers.
Republican candidates on the campaign trail say they have defunded Planned Parenthood in their states already. But a lot depends on how they define “defund.”
Spending for high-priced specialty drugs for diseases such as cancer, HIV and hepatitis C is expected to rise dramatically next year, and large companies hope to put controls in place to help keep their costs down, according to a new survey.
Some states are spending millions of dollars to train medical students, only to see them leave because of a shortage of residency positions.
Kaiser Health News correspondent Julie Rovner discusses the efforts to defund Planned Parenthood on NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook.
Tricare, the military’s health plan for active and retired servicemembers, covers most contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration. But women who are deployed can have trouble refilling specific types of birth control.
Incentives advanced by state-based health reforms and the federal health law have created new opportunities for nonprofit organizations like Boom!Health, says Robert Cordero, the integrated clinic’s ougoing president.
New research finds that patients who repeatedly use costly hospital and emergency room services, known often as super-utilizers or frequent fliers, generally don’t seek such intense care for a lifetime but instead for a short period of time.
Many in Iowa get Medicaid -- the state-federal health program for poorer Americans -- especially after the state expanded the program under the federal health law. But a plan to switch administration of the program to private health care companies has patients worried that their care will suffer.
Counseling by mental health professionals over the phone was effective in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms, according to researchers.
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