Patients Want To Price-Shop For Care, But Online Tools Unreliable
By Elana Gordon, WHYY
November 30, 2015
KFF Health News Original
A tough diagnosis and a high-deductible insurance plan motivated one couple to shop carefully for care. But they hit a snag — inaccurate prices on online calculators. Who can comparison shop if the price tags are wrong?
Watchdog Report Sharply Criticizes Fed’s Efforts To Recoup Medicare Advantage Overcharges
May 10, 2016
Morning Briefing
The Government Accountability Office said that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has spent about $117 million on Medicare Advantage overbilling audits, but so far has recouped just $14 million. Meanwhile, some Democrats are speaking up for the Medicare Part B change in the face of intense criticism. Also, fee-for-service payments are published and health systems offset Medicare losses.
Why Don’t We Have Mental Health Parity?
August 27, 2015
KFF Health News Original
The law says insurance companies must pay for mental health benefits the same as they do everything else. Addiction as much as diabetes. Depression as much as cancer. But around the country, consumers are taking their insurers to court saying the companies are refusing to pay up. The insurance providers say mental health is complicated, […]
Buyer Beware: A Mammogram’s Price Can Vary By Nearly $1,000, Study Finds
By Jordan Rau
October 7, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Researchers looked at women’s health services around the country and found stark disparities between cities but also within health care markets.
A Med School Teaches Science And Data Mining
By Julie Rovner
October 30, 2015
KFF Health News Original
At NYU medical school, students learn to access huge troves of data to become doctors who understand the health care system, and individual ailments, better.
In Caring For Sickest Infants, Doctors Tap Parents For Tough Calls
By Jenny Gold
November 17, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Doctors were once unquestioned authorities on how aggressively to treat the sickest and most premature babies. Now, they increasingly include parents in these wrenching choices.
It’s Never Too Soon To Plan Your ‘Driving Retirement’
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio
November 9, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Experts say families should re-think how seniors give up the car keys. Planning transportation options way ahead of time can avoid often painful conversations and confrontations.
The Battle Over Planned Parenthood
August 11, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News correspondent Julie Rovner discusses the efforts to defund Planned Parenthood on NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook.
Pfizer-Allergan $150B Merger Thrown Into Doubt After Treasury Imposes New Rules On Tax Inversions
April 5, 2016
Morning Briefing
The move, which was more aggressive than expected, is aimed at companies that are attempting to move their tax addresses out of the U.S. to shift profits to low-tax countries using a maneuver known as earnings stripping. “They’ve addressed literally every benefit that one attempted to gain from an inversion and shut them all down systematically,” says Robert Willens, a New York-based tax analyst.
Fewer Black Men Apply To Medical School Than In 1978
By Lauren Silverman, KERA
October 26, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Just 1,337 black men applied to medical school in 2014 and 515 enrolled. Why?
A Sick Newborn, A Loving Family And A Litany Of Wrenching Choices
By Jenny Gold
November 16, 2015
KFF Health News Original
In deciding how far to go in treating their very sick and premature baby, one San Francisco couple acted out of hope, not always in sync with doctors and nurses.
Tax Group: Pfizer Would Avoid $35B In Taxes Through Merger
February 26, 2016
Morning Briefing
The Americans for Tax Fairness slammed the drugmaker in a new report that says Pfizer structured its deal with Ireland-based Allergan so that it could move its address out of the country, thus avoiding $35 billion in taxes.
‘Paying For Drugs To Go In The Trash’: How Americans Waste $3B On Medications A Year
March 2, 2016
Morning Briefing
The U.S. has taken a one-size-fits all approach when it comes to packaging for expensive high-tech drugs, which has led to extraordinary waste, a new study finds.
Rising Obesity Puts Strain On Nursing Homes
By Sarah Varney
December 15, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Residences for older adults are increasingly overwhelmed, and unprepared, for huge patients, and facilities rarely accept more than a few.
Controversies Made Preventive Services Panel Stronger, Says Retired Leader
By Michelle Andrews
June 23, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Dr. Michael LeFevre, who has stepped down as chairman of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force after 10 years, describes how the health law changed the group’s work and the need to improve communication about it.
IBM To Use $2.6B Truven Purchase To Bulk Up Health Data
February 19, 2016
Morning Briefing
The deal, part of a recent health-care spending spree by the company, will add the health information of about 300 million patients to the data trove used by IBM’s Watson cognitive supercomputer.
Workplace Wellness Programs Put Employee Privacy At Risk
By Jay Hancock
September 30, 2015
KFF Health News Original
A large variety of information may be collected by wellness programs and shared with others, including businesses eager to make a buck off of it.
Surge In Statin Use Among Very Elderly Without Heart Trouble Raises Doubts
By Lisa Gillespie
September 21, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Preventive medicine trend highlights shortage of studies on drugs’ effects on very elderly.
Implementation Of Obamacare Remains A Work In Progress
July 6, 2015
KFF Health News Original
With the Supreme Court decision, it appears the Affordable Care Act will stand, but that doesn’t mean the law’s troubles are over. NPR’s Renee Montagne talks to KHN’s Julie Rovner.
Oscar Wants To ‘Revolutionize’ Health Care. But Will It Even Survive Covered California?
By Dan Diamond, California Healthline
August 10, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Covered California made it official last week: After two years in the wilderness, UnitedHealthcare will return to the state’s individual insurance market and begin selling health plans on California’s exchange later this year. Not much can overshadow news about the nation’s largest insurer — except maybe a story about one of the smallest. Hi, Oscar. […]
