Mission and Money Clash in Nonprofit Hospitals’ Venture Capital Ambitions
By Jordan Rau
August 24, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Nonprofit hospitals of all sizes have been trying their luck as venture capitalists, saying their investments improve care through the creation of new medical devices, health software and other innovations. But the gamble at times has been harder to pull off than expected.
Doctors Tell How to Make the Most of Your Telehealth Visits
By Julie Appleby
June 2, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Public health restrictions put in place during the pandemic are loosening, meaning it’s OK to go back to your doctor’s office. But will virtual visits remain an option?
2022 Medicare Advantage Sign Ups Jump 9% On Last Year
January 18, 2022
Morning Briefing
Reports say that there’s been an 8.8% rise in Medicare Advantage enrollments, as of Jan. 1, over the same period last year. But while most beneficiaries in Parts A and B are expected to join Advantage plans by next year, the spending may still outpace traditional paid health costs.
He Fell Ill on a Cruise. Before He Boarded the Rescue Boat, They Handed Him the Bill.
By Bram Sable-Smith
May 22, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A man from Michigan was evacuated from a cruise ship after having seizures. First, he drained his bank account to pay his medical bills.
Medicare Advantage Plans Cost Taxpayers More
November 11, 2021
Morning Briefing
In other reports on Medicare, the savings in drug price legislation won’t be felt immediately, but rather over a decade or more; advice on the Medicare gap; and appealing income-related charges.
California’s $12 Billion Medicaid Makeover Banks on Nonprofits’ Buy-In
By Angela Hart
May 16, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California’s Medicaid program is relying heavily on community groups to deliver new social services to vulnerable patients, such as security deposits for homeless people and air purifiers for asthma patients. But many of these nonprofits face staffing and billing challenges and haven’t been able to deliver services effectively.
Dentistas eliminan los problemas de las personas sin seguro ofreciéndoles ellos mismos planes
By Phil Galewitz
September 20, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Estos planes limitados a una práctica están dirigidos principalmente a los 65 millones de estadounidenses que no tienen cobertura dental, y tienen que pagar de su bolsillo toda su atención.
How a Medical Recoding May Limit Cancer Patients’ Options for Breast Reconstruction
By Rachana Pradhan Anna Werner, CBS News Leigh Ann Winick, CBS News
May 31, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The federal government’s arcane process for medical coding is influencing which reconstructive surgery options are available, creating anxiety for breast cancer patients.
Biden Quietly Transforms Medicaid Safety Net
By Noam N. Levey Phil Galewitz
June 24, 2021
KFF Health News Original
In a sharp shift from Trump-era policies, President Joe Biden looks at expanding Medicaid eligibility to new mothers, inmates and undocumented immigrants and adding services such as food and housing.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Live From Aspen: Health and the 2024 Elections
June 21, 2024
Podcast
Health policy may not be the top issue in this year’s presidential and congressional elections, but it’s likely to play a key role. President Joe Biden and Democrats intend to hold Republicans responsible for the Supreme Court’s unpopular ruling overturning the right to abortion, and former President Donald Trump aims to take credit for government efforts to lower prescription drug prices — even in cases in which he played no role. Meanwhile, some critical health care issues, such as those involving Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, are unlikely to get discussed much, even though the party in power after the elections would control the future of those programs. This week, in an episode taped before a live audience at the Aspen Ideas: Health festival in Aspen, Colorado, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
People Falling Victim To Price Gap For Tests In Surprise Billing Law
March 8, 2022
Morning Briefing
Also, changes in care models driven by staff shortages and treatment deferrals; a battle over Medicare Advantage coding intensity; a novel pediatric care clinical model from NYC; reduced pediatric hospitalization thanks to medical-legal partnerships; and more.
Científicos dicen que una píldora diaria para tratar covid estaría a meses de distancia
By JoNel Aleccia
September 24, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Los medicamentos que se están investigando tendrían el potencial de interferir con la capacidad del virus para replicarse en las células humanas.
Your Exorbitant Medical Bill, Brought to You by the Latest Hospital Merger
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
August 11, 2023
KFF Health News Original
After decades of unchecked mergers, health care is the land of giants, with huge medical systems monopolizing care in many cities, states, and even whole regions of the country. This decreases patient choice, impedes innovation, erodes quality of care, and raises prices. And federal regulators have been slow to act.
As Pandemic Eases, Many Seniors Have Lost Strength, May Need Rehabilitative Services
By Judith Graham
May 21, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A little-discussed, long-term toll of the pandemic is that large numbers of older adults have become physically and cognitively debilitated and less able to care for themselves after sheltering in place.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Supreme Court and the Abortion Pill
March 28, 2024
Podcast
The Supreme Court this week heard its first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, about an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. But while it seems likely that this case could be dismissed on a technicality, abortion opponents have more challenges in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health issues are heating up on the campaign trail, as Republicans continue to take aim at Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act — all things Democrats are delighted to defend. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who wrote a KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about Medicare and a very expensive air-ambulance ride. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Patients Went Into the Hospital for Care. After Testing Positive There for Covid, Some Never Came Out.
By Christina Jewett
November 4, 2021
KFF Health News Original
About 21% of patients diagnosed with covid during a hospital stay died, according to data analyzed for KHN. In-hospital rates of spread varied widely and patients had no way of checking them.
PBMs, the Brokers Who Control Drug Prices, Finally Get Washington’s Attention
By Arthur Allen
May 11, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Drugmakers, pharmacies, and physicians blame pharmacy benefit managers for high drug prices. Congress is finally on board, too, but will it matter?
Time to Say Goodbye to Some Insurers’ Waivers for Covid Treatment Fees
By Julie Appleby
April 26, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Insurers voluntarily set the charges aside earlier in the pandemic — but that means those same health plans can decide to reinstate them.
Abortion Bans Are Motivating Midterm Voters, Poll Shows
By Emmarie Huetteman
October 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A new KFF poll shows Democrats and those living in states where abortion is illegal say the issue has made them more motivated to vote. It also shows that 70% of Republicans oppose total abortion bans.
Under New Cost-Cutting Medicare Rule, Same Surgery, Same Place, Different Bill
By Susan Jaffe
March 23, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A Trump administration Medicare rule will push some hospital patients into a Catch-22: The government says several hundred procedures no longer need to be done in a hospital, but it did not approve them to be performed elsewhere. So patients will still need to use a hospital while not officially admitted — and may be charged more out-of-pocket for the care.
