The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
A self-employed handyman chose not to buy health insurance. Now, with his savings exhausted and health problems that may lead to blindness, The Charlotte Observer blogs about how his case poses economic, as well as moral challenges.
A small consulting firm is disrupting hospitals’ business as usual by encouraging employers to pay much less than what hospitals bill — based on its analysis of what is reasonable.
Facing a shortfall of doctors — and a dearth of money — L.A. County, Calif., is using a web-based system called eConsult that allows primary care doctors and specialists to exchange patient medical records before sending them for referral appointments.
Medicaid expansion was a big deal in a handful of states’ legislatures this year. Wyoming said no, Tennessee said no. Montana said yes in last-minute maneuvering, and three more states are coming down to the wire, including Utah, Alaska and Florida.
The Nurse-Family Partnership is one of more than a dozen programs that are eligible for funding under the federal health law. Congress renewed the spending this year.
An interview with policy expert Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute about the possible consequences of the latest health law case before the Supreme Court, King v. Burwell.
Meet three people from the Bayou State who would likely lose their insurance and their newfound sense of financial stability if the Supreme Court rules subsidies illegal in the King v. Burwell case.
The announcement says that the health law’s provision that insurers provide free contraceptives extends to all types of prescribed methods.
A stinging federal audit and complaints of long wait times give reluctant lawmakers a line of attack.
Faced with the possible loss of an important insurer, a large Orange County, Calif., hospital rapidly reduced excessive cesarean section rates in part by sharing each physician’s rate with everyone in the obstetrics department.
When the Cleveland Clinic opens its new cancer center, it will be five minutes away from a competitor’s new cancer hospital.
Some hospitals are using a remote command center to keep an eye on ICU patients. This brings the expertise of a major medical center to rural hospitals — and may help keep the rural centers open.
Having blood work and other tests before cataract surgery isn’t usually recommended, but a study finds that more than half of Medicare beneficiaries get them.
State health officials say they will seek increased federal funding and permission to “experiment” with Medicaid to shore up rural and safety net hospitals.
Economic challenges are squeezing the city of Lakewood, just outside of Cleveland, forcing the closure of one hospital, even as another is built in a more affluent suburb.
Despite ‘a good conversation’ with HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, Gov. Rick Scott gets no commitment on uncompensated care funding.
Even as end-of-life planning gains favor with more Americans, African-Americans, research shows, remain very skeptical of options like hospice and advance directives. The result can mean more aggressive, painful care at the end of life that prolongs suffering.
Despite frequent fears in communities when losing their hospitals, mortality rates do not rise, say Harvard researchers who examined 194 closures.
Like wellness programs in the private sector, more than a dozen states are offering incentives to Medicaid enrollees to spur them to make healthier decisions — and potentially save taxpayers money.
In response to an HIV outbreak of historic proportions, Indiana’s legislature passed a bill permitting drug users in areas with disease outbreaks to trade used needles for clean ones. Sarah Varney reports for KHN and PBS NewsHour from Austin, Indiana.
