Latest KFF Health News Stories
Few Health Savings Accounts Owners Choose To Invest That Money, Study Finds
Many people who have high-deductible insurance plans and own health savings accounts to help pay for their medical expenses opt to keep the money in low-return savings accounts instead of investing in the financial markets, according to new research.
Private Money Saves Colorado IUD Program As Fight Continues For Public Funding
A dozen foundations contributed a total of $2 million to help more low-income teens and women obtain IUDs and other long-acting contraceptives.
Why Don’t We Have Mental Health Parity?
The law says insurance companies must pay for mental health benefits the same as they do everything else. Addiction as much as diabetes. Depression as much as cancer. But around the country, consumers are taking their insurers to court saying the companies are refusing to pay up. The insurance providers say mental health is complicated, […]
When Prisons Need To Be More Like Nursing Homes
By 2030, nearly one-third of all inmates will be over 55, the ACLU says, and caring for aged prisoners often costs twice as much as caring for younger ones. Some states – New York, California and Connecticut — are confronting the problem, however, with innovative programs meant to improve care and save money.
Rest Assured, Surgeons’ Late-Night Work Doesn’t Cause Patients Harm, Study Says
Findings from Canada challenge earlier research on sleep deprivation’s effects on physicians.
Katrina Shut Down Charity Hospital But Led To More Primary Care
When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, many health facilities were destroyed or shut down, including urgent care centers, nursing homes, pharmacies and hospitals. But a new network of renovated and newly built primary care health clinics has opened, which many hope will bring stability to the health care of the city’s low-income residents.
As Legal Marijuana Expands, States Struggle With Drugged Driving
As more states make medical and recreational marijuana use legal, they increasingly are grappling with what constitutes DUID, or driving under the influence of drugs, and how to detect and prosecute it. And they’re finding it is more difficult than identifying and convicting drunken drivers.
States Looking For More Effective Ways To Encourage Vaccinations
A new study finds that state policies that require officials to sign off on nonmedical exemptions or impose punishments for students or parents reduce efforts to evade vaccinations.
A Racial Gap In Attitudes Toward Hospice Care
Hospice use has been growing fast in the United States as more people choose to avoid futile, often painful medical treatments in favor of palliative care and dying at home surrounded by loved ones. But some African-Americans have long resisted the concept, and their suspicions remain deep-seated.
Why Your Doctor Won’t Friend You On Facebook
Facebook is a part of everyday life – both professionally and personally – and doctors and patients are wondering how it best works between them.
NIH analysis quantifies who is in pain and when, including more than 25 million people who say they have pain every day.
Study: 2 Million Exchange Enrollees Miss Out On Cost-Sharing Assistance
Consumers must enroll in a silver-level plan in order to be eligible for reductions in out-of-pocket spending.
Can Health Care Be Cured Of Racial Bias?
Even as the health of Americans has improved, the disparities in treatment and outcomes between white patients and black and Latino patients are almost as big as they were 50 years ago. A growing body of research suggests that doctors’ unconscious behavior plays a role in these statistics.
Poll: Americans Favor Government Action On Drug Prices
A majority of Americans would allow Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies and consumers to buy drugs from Canada.
Survey Confirms Significant Drop In California’s Uninsured
The California Health Interview Survey shows significant gains in insurance coverage but also points to disparities among ethnic groups.
Rural Hospitals Team Up To Survive
Dozens of rural hospitals have closed in recent years, prompting others to form alliances.
The Hospital Is In Network, But Not The Doctor: N.Y. Tries New Balance Billing Law
Consumers in New York are getting new protections against “balance billing,” where insurers bill patients for the difference between what insurers pay and what providers want, and states considering similar laws are watching closely.
Medicare Says Doctors Should Get Paid To Discuss End-Of-Life Issues
The topic is complex and sometimes requires multiple visits, but right now doctors are paid for it only if they discuss end-of-life planning in their initial visit with a new Medicare patient.
Cost Of Diabetes Drugs Often Overlooked, But It Shouldn’t Be
Much of the recent debate about drug costs has centered on high-priced specialty drugs, such as those to cure hepatitis C. But millions more people have diabetes and their drugs are also expensive.
Bad Health Outcomes For Adults Who Don’t Get Help As Teens
Study reports adolescents’ unmet health care needs foreshadow problems later in life.