Readers And Tweeters Stay At Home And Stay In Touch With KHN
April 13, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
The Health Care Promises We Cannot Keep
By Judith Graham
December 12, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Family caregivers pledge to fulfill their loved ones’ end-of-life wishes. But too often circumstances change, and they must break their word and guard against breaking hearts ― including their own.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Could The ACA Really Go Away?
July 11, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Is the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional? That was the question before a federal appeals court in New Orleans this week. Two of the three judges on the panel seemed inclined to agree with a lower court that the elimination of the tax penalty for failure to maintain coverage could mean the entire health law should fall. Also this week, President Donald Trump wants to improve care for people with kidney disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus courts blocking efforts to require drug prices in TV ads and to kick Planned Parenthood out of the federal family planning program. Plus, Rovner interviews University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley about the latest legal threat to the ACA.
‘Stonewall Generation’ Confronts Old Age, Sickness — And Discrimination
By JoNel Aleccia and Melissa Bailey
May 22, 2019
KFF Health News Original
For a generation of LGBTQ people who lived through unprecedented social change, getting older poses new challenges — lack of services, discrimination, neglect and even abuse.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
By Brianna Labuskes
July 12, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Medicare Going In ‘Right Direction’ On Opioid Epidemic
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
July 10, 2019
KFF Health News Original
A new report by the inspector general for HHS shows prescriptions to treat opioid addiction are way up in recent years, while prescriptions for the painkillers have fallen.
Listening To Older Patients Who Want To Stop Dialysis
By Judith Graham
February 28, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Older adults with advanced kidney disease sometimes want to stop dialysis but often meet resistance from doctors, new research shows. We explore options available to these patients, including conservative care.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
By Brianna Labuskes
May 17, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Working Conditions Have Improved, But Health Workers Struggle With Psychological Toll
June 16, 2020
Morning Briefing
In other health care news: Medical schools face backlash over racism and hazing; hospital unions gain strength; hospice nurses step up; and American Girl dolls get a new scrubs outfit.
Analysis: Why Alexa’s Bedside Manner Is Bad For Health Care
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
June 4, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Amazon’s personal assistant is gaining medical skills to provide coaching or transmit and monitor patient data. Besides the loss of the human touch, virtual medicine pursued in the name of business efficiency or profit bodes ill.
Families Question Why Hospitals Told Black COVID Patients To Go Home
September 3, 2020
Morning Briefing
A ProPublica investigation in Louisiana found what it called “a striking pattern: Before they died, about two dozen patients first sought care at a hospital, which then discharged them, in many cases sending them home to die with hospice care. All were Black. The vast majority came from Ochsner Health, the largest hospital network in Louisiana.”
KHN Investigation On Opioid Prescribers Pains Some Readers And Tweeters
July 18, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Why It’s So Hard To Predict How Much Funding 9/11 First Responders Need
By Michael McAuliff
July 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Eighteen years ago, most first responders were not thinking about their future health when they spent hours searching “The Pile” for the remains of terror victims. Today, their illnesses are a slow-moving epidemiological nightmare that has been as difficult for scientists to study as it has been easy for politicians to overlook.
Congress Targets Misuse Of Hospice Drugs
By Melissa Bailey
October 4, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In the bipartisan opioid bill headed to the president’s desk, hospice workers would be allowed to destroy patients’ unneeded opioids, reducing the risk that families misuse them.
Missouri Firm With Silicon Valley Ties Faces Medicare Billing Scrutiny
By Lauren Weber and Fred Schulte
July 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Amid an overall crackdown on private insurers’ Medicare billing practices, a new government audit and a whistleblower suit allege St. Louis-based Essence Group Holdings Corp.’s Medicare Advantage plans overcharged taxpayers.
Opioid Prescriptions Drop Sharply Among State Workers
By Marla Cone
May 20, 2019
KFF Health News Original
New data from the California agency that manages health benefits for 1.5 million public employees, retirees and their families shows that doctors are writing far fewer opioid prescriptions, reflecting a national trend of physicians cutting back on the addictive drugs.
Sobering Up: In An Alcohol-Soaked Nation, More Seek Booze-Free Social Spaces
By Laura Ungar and Jayne O’Donnell, USA Today
July 8, 2019
KFF Health News Original
A national trend of boozeless bars is cropping up nationwide to create social spaces without the hangovers, DUIs and alcoholism culture. It’s part of a new push for sober options.
Dentists, Physicians Offices Hit Hardest During April’s Loss Of 1.4M Health Care Jobs
May 11, 2020
Morning Briefing
The industry is usually immune to economic hardships, but closings of dentist offices and eliminating nonessential surgeries and procedures led to many layoffs and furloughs. News on health workers is nursing, paramedics, sports specialists, Doctors Without Borders, medical students, mobile health clinics, residents, mental health and hospice care, as well.
Mini-Biographies Help Clinicians Connect With Patients
By Bram Sable-Smith
June 10, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Some Veterans Affairs hospitals around the country use writers to record patients’ life stories, then place a short biography in each vet’s medical record. The My Life, My Story program gives clinicians another way to get to know their patients.
How Helping Patients Get Good Care At Home Helps Rural Hospitals Survive
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
January 8, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Hospitals are now financially rewarded by insurers for safety and efficacy — which often results in patients spending less time as inpatients.