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A draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says women between ages 30 and 65 should get a Pap test every three years or an HPV screening every five years, but they don’t need to do both.
Not only are health prices hidden, industry players are contractually obligated to keep them secret. That’s why answering a simple question — how much does it cost to have a baby in Mountain View, Calif.? — became a journalistic quest.
Following a KHN investigation, the Food and Drug Administration has moved to speed up approvals of “orphan drugs” while closing a loophole that allowed drugmakers to skip pediatric testing.
In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal discuss Democratic, Republican and bipartisan health proposals all being pursued in Congress, including the latest version of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) “Medicare-for-All” proposal. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.
The Senate health committee is putting aside partisan bickering this month to seek a legislative remedy to a possible spike in Obamacare premiums this fall.
Census Bureau reports that 28.1 million people in the country were without insurance in 2016, down from 29 million the year before.
Insurers can reduce benefits or change cost sharing, but they are generally supposed to tell enrollees about the change beforehand. And although plans must tell patients when they are denied coverage, sometimes treatment is affected for other reasons.
To strengthen your core knowledge of health care policy, it helps to be a regular reader of Kaiser Health News. Here’s a pop quiz to gauge what you have learned.
A Washington state man inherited the mutated gene that stole his mother’s mind. He doesn’t have the disease, and doctors don’t know why.
In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News discuss the return of Congress and bipartisan efforts to shore up the individual health insurance market for 2018, as well as renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Gobbling up doctors’ independent practices is lucrative for hospital systems — but not necessarily a good deal for the physicians or consumers, critics say. Northern California is a case in point.
This immunization may mark a shift among some vaccine makers to higher-priced, “niche” preventives that protect against very specific and sometimes rare illnesses.
Under a five-year agreement with the federal government, California is using Medicaid dollars to expand drug treatment, including more inpatient care and a broader range of medications.
State leaders tell senators that federal dollars are needed this fall to keep insurers participating in Obamacare next year and prevent big hikes in premiums.
The federal health law includes a provision that allows states to alter some of its rules if they can think of a better way to provide health care to their residents, but it’s not clear how far outside the box states can go.
The Senate Finance Committee begins hearings Thursday on the program, which provides coverage to more than 9 million children and is up for renewal on Sept. 30.
Hospice care often prompts fear and misunderstanding, but the services provided can lead to less pain and trauma at the end of life.
Making needed fixes to Obamacare before next year may be more difficult — and expensive — than Senate leaders think, state insurance commissioners suggested at a Senate hearing Wednesday.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program made it possible for young adults who came into the country illegally as children to get jobs with insurance and, in some states including California, Medicaid. Now that coverage is in peril.
After weathering the catastrophe in New Orleans 12 years ago, Dr. Ruth Berggren moved to Texas, where she again finds herself in the center of a hurricane crisis. In a Q&A, she draws parallels between the harrowing events and pinpoints risks in Harvey’s aftermath.
