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This week, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will release a budget blueprint that tackles the three big health care challenges facing the budget
Wright Lassiter is doing the seemingly impossible as CEO of the Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, Calif.: He's turned a mismanaged urban safety-net hospital system in one of America's most violent cities into a model for other public hospitals by trimming costs -- and did it while expanding services.
Lawmakers are close again to delaying a 25 percent cut in reimbursement to doctors who serve Medicare patients. It's the fifth time this year Congress has faced down the cuts, which could have dire consequences for the program if enacted.
A web-based company called ZocDoc is piggybacking on doctors' increasing willingness to let patients make appointments online.
Kaiser Health News' story on California's Costliest Hospitals, months in the making, relied on data from a number of sources.
Sutter Health, the most expensive health system in California, is expanding at a rapid pace and transforming itself into an "accountable care organization." Some worry about the nonprofit hospital's growing leverage.
After years of steady progress, the percentage of 2 year olds in private health plans being immunized dropped last year, while it went up for Medicaid patients.
Private medical centers in California are more likely to perform C-sections compared with nonprofit hospitals.
In addition, beneficiaries will get free annual wellness visits that include a health risk assessment and a review of functional and cognitive abilities.
Patients typically wait 20 minutes or more to see the doctor, the AMA says. But a new scheduling system that allows patients to see the doctor on the day they call for an appointment has surprising success in cutting that delay.
The number of people hospitalized or killed by serious heart attacks each year is down sharply, new studies show. The overall rate of hospitalization for heart disease is down, too. Experts attribute improving heart health to the decline in smoking, more people getting treated for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and the greater attention many people now give to eating healthier foods and getting exercise. Prevention clearly pays off for those who pay attention.
A few years ago, federal officials began rating Medicare Advantage plans - using a scale of one to five stars - but seniors' advocates, policy analysts, insurers and some top Medicare officials agree the ratings are flawed. Even so, the star system is about to become more significant.
The health care industry is bulletproof when it comes to increasing spending or creating jobs as growth rates often double the rest of the economy.
Medical homes - where primary care doctors are held responsible for coordinating care for individual patients
The federal government says current law will likely keep it from following the lead of some private insurance companies that will begin offering coverage this year to young adults.
A directive passed last November in Tulsa, Okla., raises fresh questions about the ability of patients to have their end-of-life treatment wishes honored - and whether and how a health care provider should comply with lawful requests not consistent with the provider's religious views.
Both the House and Senate health care proposals would expand Medicaid eligibility to about 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Although the measures would help the states cover the costs, governors are worried that the additional federal money simply won't be enough. KHN's Mary Agnes Carey offers her insight.
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.
The President has said "the status quo is not an option," but that is for the most part what these bills would give us.
Public and private insurance plans say they evaluate medical services for coverage by looking at published scientific research, rating the evidence and making comparisons based on effectiveness and safety. But their approaches vary widely in terms of transparency, comprehensiveness in reviewing evidence, openness to outside suggestions and explicit consideration of cost.
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