The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
A malware attack against two Prime Healthcare hospitals in South California, which federal authorities are investigating, comes soon after a case in which hackers demanded ransom from a Los Angeles hospital.
The current guidelines, last updated in 1987, require patients to specify exactly who gets information about their care. But advocates of change say the new rule will fit in better in the era of sharing patient data through electronic medical records.
For many years, most people with sickle cell died in childhood or adolescence, and the condition remained in the province of pediatrics. During the past two decades, advances in routine care have allowed many people to live into middle age and beyond, but barriers to care remain.
Providers and insurers are balking at a Covered California proposal to eject hospitals with inordinately high costs and low quality from its networks.
More Medicare Part D drug plans are requiring coinsurance rather than copayments for more types of medications, making beneficiaries’ costs less predictable.
The proposal that Medicare made this month to better control prescription drug costs involves testing strategies used with some success in the private sector.
Girshman launched KHN in 2009 and was a leader at news and professional organizations such as NPR, NBC News and the National Association of Science Writers.
Seniors slammed with big premium increases face tough choices.
Physicians can now bill Medicare $86 for up to 30 minutes of counseling given to patients about end-of-life planning, but many doctors may need training to have those talks.
The Department of Health and Human Services issues new rules designed to simplify health coverage consumers buy through Healthcare.gov.
Even after the gas leak in Porter Ranch has been sealed, worries persist about the long-term health risks for residents.
When people retire from federal government jobs, they can keep their federal plan as primary coverage but may face penalties for late Medicare sign-ups later on.
New research indicates that patients who leave the hospital for post-acute care facilities carry superbugs with them.
Terminal patients and doctors prepare themselves for California’s new assisted suicide law, which takes effect June 9.
It took eight years for Amanda Lipp to get adequate care for her mental illness. Now, she and her mom, Pam, are sharing their story to fight stigma around mental illness so others don’t have to go it alone.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says there is not enough evidence to know whether vision screening given by primary care doctors benefits patients.
One family’s tragedy inspired a radical change at a struggling rural hospital in Texas.
A new policy preserves Cigna’s access to bonuses while the insurer fixes “widespread” failures in its Medicare plans.
More than 50 shuttered rural hospitals mean a loss of jobs and other commerce for municipalities and uncertain care for residents.
A consumer’s guide to the tax penalties for not having insurance.
