Latest KFF Health News Stories
Doctors, Hospitals Prepare For Difficult Talks Surrounding Medical Mistakes
MedStar Health is among the hospital systems nationwide that are setting up support systems to help doctors talk openly to patients and their families when treatments go awry.
‘More At Peace’: Interpreters Key To Easing Patients’ Final Days
But more training is needed for such translators to do their jobs well, without miscommunications and misunderstandings.
Puberty Blockers May Improve The Mental Health Of Transgender Adolescents
Putting sexual development on hold gives children a breather as they consider transitioning to the opposite gender. But when to begin?
Insurance Doesn’t Ensure Children Get Needed Visual Exams, Study Says
Researchers estimate thousands of children suffer two debilitating eye conditions because they don’t get proper exams while young.
Survey: Millions More Californians Insured After Obamacare Launch, Medicaid Expansion
But the remaining uninsured are tough to reach.
Obamacare Marketplace Shakeout Rocks Arizona, Southeast
Fewer choices in 2017 health care plans await consumers in dozens of markets where Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Humana are pulling out, but withdrawals may hit Arizona, the Carolinas, Georgia and parts of Florida hardest.
California Lawmaker Pulls Plug On Drug Price Transparency Bill
The legislation would have required drug companies to notify the state and insurers about expensive new treatments or price hikes.
Genetic Insights About Health Risks Limited By Lack Of Diversity, Study Finds
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine detailed how the diagnoses of risk for a common hereditary heart disease may have been skewed because studies have traditionally had low numbers of black participants.
People With Obamacare Plans Filled More Prescriptions, But Had Lower Costs
A study explores how coverage gains resulting from the federal health law may have changed people’s health care habits and spending.
Licensing Logjam For California Nurses
A big backlog of applications at the state’s licensing board is holding up hiring by hospitals and making it difficult for recent nurse graduates — and experienced nurses from out of state — to work.
Medical Providers Try Uber, Lyft For Patients With Few Transportation Options
Some hospitals and other medical providers are experimenting with ride-hailing services to help patients without access to cars get to their appointments.
Elderly Patients In The Hospital Need To Keep Moving
Spending too much time in their hospital beds can leave older patients sicker than when they were first admitted.
Hidden Plan Exclusions May Leave Gaps In Women’s Care, Study Finds
The research finds that many plans don’t make details about what services are not covered readily apparent.
As States OK Medical Marijuana Laws, Doctors Struggle With Knowledge Gap
State health departments are beginning to require physicians to complete continuing medical education courses to learn how and when this therapy might work for patients.
Race, Ethnicity Affect Kids’ Access To Mental Health Care, Study Finds
An analysis in the International Journal of Health Services finds disparities between white young people and their black and Hispanic counterparts in how often they receive mental health treatment.
More Small, Midsized Firms Choose To Pay Workers’ Medical Costs Directly
Many expected that the federal health law would push these employers in this direction. An analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds evidence that these predictions are coming to fruition.
Administration Paints Rosy Future For Obamacare Marketplaces
Report portrays Affordable Care Act’s individual market as improving with rising enrollments of healthier, lower-risk consumers, a performance that clashes with recent complaints from some large insurers.
Los niños de menos ingresos pierden exámenes de visión cruciales, aunque tengan seguro
Investigadores estiman que miles de niños sufren dos afecciones oculares debilitantes porque no tienen los examenes apropiados cuando son más chicos.
Researchers Identify A Key Weapon of Zika Virus
University of Southern California scientists determined the virus uses certain types of protein to interrupt the brain development of fetuses. The finding is a step toward the possible development of an intervention that could prevent the infection from leading to microcephaly.
Should Big Insurance Become Like Walmart To Lower Health Costs?
Evidence shows dominant insurers hold down hospital prices. Big insurers seeking to get bigger want to take that idea to the extreme.