Latest KFF Health News Stories
Older Americans Are Hooked On Vitamins Despite Scarce Evidence They Work
Sixty-eight percent of those 65 and older take vitamin supplements. Much of what we once believed about the benefits is wrong.
Medicare Advantage Plans Cleared To Go Beyond Medical Coverage — Even Groceries
Under new federal rules unveiled this week, these privately run alternatives to traditional Medicare might provide air conditioners, rides to medical appointments and home-delivered meals.
‘Nightmare Bacteria’ Stalk U.S. Hospitals
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found antibiotic-resistant bacteria whose spread has “outpaced” efforts to contain them.
Planes de Medicare Advantage pronto servirán hasta para hacer las compras
Los Centros para Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid ampliaron la forma en que definen los beneficios “relacionados directamente con la salud”, que las aseguradoras pueden incluir en sus pólizas.
Psiquiatra se queda cerca de casa, fiel a su promesa de la infancia
La doctora Yamanda Edwards es la única psiquiatra en el Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital. Ella decidió ejercer en el vecindario en donde creció, que tiene una necesidad acuciante de servicios de salud mental.
Psychiatrist Stays Close To Home And True To Her Childhood Promise
Yamanda Edwards is the only psychiatrist at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, caring for residents in South Los Angeles, a community with a shortage of mental health care.
Don’t Get Tripped Up By The IRS Tweak To Health Savings Accounts
A new federal calculation reduces by $50 the amount a family can put aside in 2018 in these accounts to pay medical bills. Anyone who has already funded the account at a higher level will need to adjust or deal with the tax consequences next year.
Americans Have Mixed Feelings About The ACA’s Future — But Like Their Plans
Most people who buy insurance on the individual market say they are motivated by concerns about high medical bills and a desire for peace of mind — not the law’s requirement that they have coverage, according to a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Manteniéndose vivo: cómo combatir la adicción a los opioides
Más de 42.200 estadounidenses murieron por sobredosis de opioides en 2016. Expertos dicen que una combinación de medicamentos y apoyo terapéutico puede combatir la adicción.
Medicaid Minus Stigma: In Indian Country, It’s Part Of The Fabric Of Life
McKinley County, N.M., has the nation’s highest rate of Medicaid enrollment, and people there say it is vital to battle daunting economic and public health challenges.
Staying Alive: How To Fight An Opioid Addiction
First of all, make sure you have an overdose reversal drug handy. Then prepare for years of vigilance and long-term medication.
California Takes On Health Giant Over High Costs
The lawsuit is a bold move against Northern California’s dominant hospital chain, whose prices have drawn complaints for years. It has disputed such allegations in the past.
Los más frágiles en Puerto Rico enfrentan el final de la ayuda por el huracán
Como Ausberto Maldonado, miles en la isla que sufren condiciones crónicas, y casi no tienen alimentos y medicinas, sienten que la crisis económica es tanto o más amenazante que el huracán María.
Time’s Running Out: The Frail In Puerto Rico Face End Of Hurricane Relief Programs
Some of the safety-net programs set up after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico are being disbanded.
‘Aggressive’ New Advance Directive Would Let Dementia Patients Refuse Food
Supporters call it the strongest move yet to document a patient’s advance wishes in cases of severe dementia. Critics say it would deny basic care to society’s most vulnerable.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ VA Secretary Out, Privatization In?
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo discuss President Donald Trump’s firing of David Shulkin, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Shulkin’s claim that he was forced out by those who want to privatize VA health care.
Scrutinizing Medicare Coverage For Physical, Occupational And Speech Therapy
Treatment has been terminated for some seniors because therapists told them they weren’t making enough progress or that they had reached their annual limit. We examine the treatment benefits and the barriers under Medicare’s coverage rules for therapy.
Omissions On Death Certificates Lead To Undercounting Of Opioid Overdoses
Standards for how to investigate and report on overdoses vary widely across states and counties. As a result, opioid overdose deaths often go overlooked in the data reported to the federal government.
Calif. Bill Targets Profiteering In Addiction Treatment, Dialysis Industries
The legislation is intended to curb schemes in which some treatment providers sign patients up for private plans, pay their premiums and then rake in profits from inflated claims.
Thousands Mistakenly Enrolled During California’s Medicaid Expansion, Feds Find
California health officials do not dispute most of the findings, saying they have already made improvements in determining eligibility.