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At Hillcrest Medical Center, which is testing a "bundled" Medicare payment system, some seniors get paid up to $1,157 for having surgery. The pilot program aims to save money and improve care by paying doctors and hospitals a lump sum and rewards the patients with part of the savings.
The Indian Health Service serves as an example of "big" government health care that is lean and efficient.
A number of insurers are replacing jargon with plain English. Aetna has published a book called "Navigating Your Health Benefits for Dummies." CIGNA employees are taught, for example, that they should use "doctor" instead of "provider" in communicating with the public.
Facility fees, charged to patients who get treatment in hospital-owned outpatient clinics, are used defray to hospital overhead, pay salaries and meet stringent standards, hospital officials say. Critics say the fees are a way to increase the cost of care when patients can least afford it.
The Senate Finance Committee could begin work on a health overhaul bill as early as next week.
KHN's Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin discuss recent and upcoming activities on the Hill -- part of a weekly series of video reports.
In Seattle, three major hospital systems have sophisticated electronic medical records, one of the many goals of health reform. But the systems can't talk to each other. Overcoming the obstacles will take 'federal will and money.'
If there is any hope of passing a bipartisan health care bill in the Senate, it may well lie with a key group of senators known as the Gang of Six. Three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee have continued to work on a compromise health care bill through Congress' summer recess. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
As efforts continue to trim the cost of health reform, some lawmakers and patient groups are worried that the resulting insurance benefits will be less generous and affordable than they had hoped. Fiscal conservatives counter that Congress needs to be realistic about what the country can afford.
People who knew and worked with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy discuss his efforts to promote major change in the U.S. health care system.
Advocates say e-prescribing is a key advance toward health care's digital future because of its potential to reduce medical errors, cut drug costs and save doctors and patients time and money. But kinks need to be worked out to spur more rapid acceptance.
The following is a press release on Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' new health care reform legislation.
The White House released a transcript of President Barack Obama's town hall meeting in Belgrade, Montana. He begins with prepared remarks and then answers questions from the audience.
Memphis, Tenn., is one of a growing number of areas with a successful high-tech health information exchange, which proponents say saves lives and money. But the system now faces a crucial test: what happens when the initial funding runs out?
With many people strapped for cash, barter "exchanges" for health care is providing a temporary safety net of sorts for some workers who have lost their jobs and health coverage. And in some cases, people who have inadequate insurance are using barter to get critical services, such as dental and vision benefits.
President Barack Obama spoke about health insurance, a pressed for a need to overhaul the health care system at town hall meeting in Grand Junction, Colorado on Saturday.
President Barack Obama continued his press for public support of health reform initiatives Tuesday at what The White House called a "Health Insurance Reform Town Hall" meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
While lawmakers are targeting rising costs and growing numbers of uninsured, a new crop of health care-focused documentaries offer a darker, more conspiratorial view: Powerful vested interests lusting for profits are responsible for the country's medical malaise.
Labor leaders are worried as congressional Democrats weigh various health care overhaul proposals. Unions oppose taxation of employee benefits and want a strong public insurance plan to compete with private insurers, but some Democrats say they're open to compromises on both issues to attract Republicans and fiscal conservatives in their own party. Unions have pledged to spend $80 million in their campaign to influence legislation.
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