How to Weigh Evacuation Options With Both Wildfires and COVID at Your Door
By Jenny Gold
August 28, 2020
KFF Health News Original
As the twin disasters of COVID-19 and fire season sweep through California, thousands of residents are weighing difficult options, pitting risk against risk as they decide where to evacuate. Amid a virulent pandemic, where can you safely relocate?
Coronavirus Crisis Disrupts Treatment For Another Epidemic: Addiction
By Giles Bruce
July 6, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The coronavirus has forced drug rehabilitation centers to scale back operations or temporarily close, leaving people who have another potentially deadly disease — addiction — with fewer opportunities for help.
In Search of the Shot
February 25, 2021
KFF Health News Original
KHN readers detail their frustrations and successes as they hunt for a scarce covid-19 vaccine.
Vaping By The Numbers
By Harriet Blair Rowan
September 12, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The explosive rise in a serious lung illness linked to vaping spotlights the popularity of e-cigarettes among teens and young adults. Vaping is now so pervasive among young people that federal health officials say its use has fueled a sharp reversal in what had been a celebrated two-decade decline in overall tobacco use by teenagers.
Hospitals Chafe Under Medicare’s New Payment Rule For Off-Campus Clinics
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
April 26, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Under the rule that took effect this year, Medicare will lower payments for clinic visits performed at hospital-owned facilities to a rate that is equivalent to what it pays an independent doctor. Federal officials expect the move will save the government $380 million this year.
Camouflaged Vaping Devices Are Hoodwinking Parents And Schools
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
September 19, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The vaping hoodie. The vaping watch. The vaping phone case. Each ready to deliver a puff of nicotine (or marijuana) anywhere, anytime. The vaping market is crowded with sleek, camouflaged devices that have teachers and parents struggling to monitor illicit usage of a product that has surged in popularity among high schoolers.
Vapers Seek Relief From Nicotine Addiction In — Wait For It — Cigarettes
By Ana B. Ibarra
September 13, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Even though e-cigarette makers market their products as a safer alternative to cigarettes, a growing number of vapers are trying to quit— and they’re turning to cigarettes to help them.
Watch: High Cost Of Insulin Sends Americans To Canada To Stock Up
By Sarah Varney
July 10, 2019
KFF Health News Original
KHN, in collaboration with PBS NewsHour, reports on the skyrocketing cost of insulin — and the trend’s deadly consequences. The price in the U.S. nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016, prompting some patients and activists to travel to Canada, where insulin can be 90% cheaper.
Cancer’s Complications: Confusing Bills, Maddening Errors And Endless Phone Calls
By Anna Gorman
February 27, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Carol Marley has pancreatic cancer — and dealing with its financial toll has become her full-time job.
Health Insurance Costs Crushing Many People Who Don’t Get Federal Subsidies
By Steven Findlay
December 14, 2018
KFF Health News Original
The rising costs of premiums, deductibles and copayments have driven millions who don’t get a subsidy to drop their coverage or turn to cheaper, less comprehensive — and sometimes inadequate — insurance.
Maryland’s Reinsurance Plan Pays Off For Residents Who Will See Cheaper Insurance For Second Year In Row
September 20, 2019
Morning Briefing
The $380 million plan is funded through a tax on insurance companies. “By addressing this crisis head-on, we have gone from an individual market on the brink of collapse to two straight years of lower premiums for Marylanders,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement. Other insurance and health care industry news focuses on Medicare Advantage plans, dialysis centers, and hospital lawsuits.
Judge Sides With Hospitals Over Medicare Payments For Clinic Visits
September 18, 2019
Morning Briefing
U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said in her ruling that the Trump administration overstepped its authority when issuing its so-called site-neutral pay policy. The decision is a big win for hospitals, who in their original complaint led by the American Hospital Association projected cuts of about $380 million this year and $760 million in 2020. In other CMS news: skilled-nursing facilities and bundled radiation therapy payments.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ What’s Next For The VA?
April 26, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo discuss the collapse of the nomination of White House physician Ronny Jackson to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. They also discuss new bipartisan congressional efforts to address the opioid epidemic. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week.
He Started Vaping As A Teen And Now Says Habit Is ‘Impossible To Let Go’
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio
June 8, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Public health officials worry vaping is an emerging disaster that could reverse years of decline in smoking by young people. What’s the latest evidence that e-cigarettes are a gateway to tobacco?
Infection Lapses Rampant In Nursing Homes But Punishment Is Rare
By Jordan Rau
Photos by Heidi de Marco
December 22, 2017
KFF Health News Original
A Kaiser Health News analysis of federal inspection records shows that nursing home inspectors labeled mistakes in infection control as serious for only 161 of the 12,056 homes they have cited since 2014.
In Oregon, End-of-Life Wishes Are Just A Click Away
By JoNel Aleccia
October 10, 2017
KFF Health News Original
A new link creates two-way access to the state registry that documents the type of medical care sick and frail patients want — or refuse.
So Much Care It Hurts: Unneeded Scans, Therapy, Surgery Only Add To Patients’ Ills
By Liz Szabo
October 23, 2017
KFF Health News Original
Overtreatment of breast cancer and other diseases is pervasive, burdening patients and the health care system with enormous costs and needless suffering.
How To Get Long-Term Care At Home Without Busting The Bank
By Judith Graham
July 27, 2017
KFF Health News Original
The majority of older adults receive long-term care at home and need help covering these services with affordable insurance policies. The long-term insurance industry needs to focus on home care.
Cómo tener atención médica de largo plazo en el hogar sin caer en bancarrota
By Judith Graham
July 27, 2017
KFF Health News Original
La gran mayoría de los adultos mayores reciben atención a largo plazo en sus casas, no en hogares. Pero pocas personas planean con anticipación para enfrentar este gasto.
Need Pricey Drugs From An Obamacare Plan? You’ll Shoulder More Of The Cost
By Jordan Rau Julie Appleby Elizabeth Lucas
November 30, 2016
KFF Health News Original
A Kaiser Health News analysis finds that the portion of federal marketplace plans requiring people to pay a third or more of the cost of specialty drugs have jumped from 37 to 63 percent since 2014.
