Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicine’s Power Couples: A Challenge In Recruiting Physicians To Rural Areas
A research letter published in JAMA suggests that physicians increasingly marry people who match them in terms of educational levels and career pursuits, making it more difficult to attract them to small-town practices.
EHRs In The ER: As Doctors Adapt, Concerns Emerge About Medical Errors
As hospitals adopt electronic health record systems, some emergency rooms are experiencing new patterns of medical errors.
R2D2’s Next Assignment: Hospital Orderly
A gleaming new hospital in San Francisco has a fleet of robots dropping off meals, picking up trash and saving some money in a very 21st century way.
Aetna CEO Answers Burwell’s Call, Vows Support For Exchanges Amid Losses
But Mark Bertolini wants the country’s marketplaces to better serve young people, who define
healthy as “looking good in their underwear.”
Study Links Kindergartners’ Stumbles With Rocky Home Lives
Researchers say children are more likely to have trouble learning and behaving in kindergarten if they’ve had adverse childhood experiences at home before age 5.
Will Healthcare.gov Get A California Makeover?
Feds propose taking a page out of Covered California’s book and moving to a simplified health insurance marketplace.
Majority Of Young Men Don’t Know About Emergency Contraception, Study Finds
The survey of 93 men, most of whom were sexually active, finds that 42 percent had heard of emergency contraception, or the morning-after pill.
The Agonizing Limbo Of Abandoned Nursing Home Residents
Even when the state orders nursing homes to readmit residents who have been in the hospital, its orders have no teeth.
Support For Sanders’ Single-Payer Plan Fades With Control, Cost Concerns
Although half of Americans favor the idea of a government health insurance system, the popularity drops significantly when negative arguments are presented, poll finds.
With Special Tax Suspended, Medical Device Firms Reap Big Savings
The medical device industry is enjoying a two-year moratorium on a tax that was created to support the Affordable Care Act. Are firms using their savings to create more jobs, as many claim?
Candidates’ Drug-Price Plans May Miss The Mark
There is more than one reason prices are rising, and no single solution.
For Fertility Treatment, Wounded Veterans Have To Pay The Bill
U.S. military health care covers the high cost of in vitro fertilization, but the Veterans Affairs health system doesn’t. The discrepancy is putting vets with combat injuries in a bind.
Latino Youth In California See Significant Rise In Psychiatric Hospitalizations
Some experts say the 86 percent increase in psychiatric hospitalizations since 2007 means preventive care is seriously lacking; others believe reduced stigma has led more kids to accept help.
Dueling Star Ratings May Confuse Some Home Health Patients
Medicare offers star ratings of agencies’ quality and of patients’ perceptions, but often they don’t match up.
As Rural Hospitals Struggle, Some Opt To Close Labor And Delivery Units
Facilities for delivering babies are costly to run and hard to staff, so some small, rural hospitals are closing them, forcing pregnant women to travel for care.
Women Increasingly Having Outpatient Mastectomies, New Federal Data Show
Agency For Healthcare Research and Quality data show that more women with breast cancer are opting for mastectomies over less-invasive options, and more are having the procedure in outpatient facilities where they don’t spend even one night in the hospital.
Urging Openness About Superbug Infections, Doctor Omits Cases In Own Hospital
In a respected medical journal, a specialist advises colleagues on protecting patients but doesn’t mention potential infections from a contaminated scope at his Philadelphia cancer center.
Military Health System’s Care For PTSD, Depression Falls Short, Report Finds
Experts cited stigma and a lack of doctors as potential obstacles for soldiers needing treatment.
Supreme Court Vacancy Creates Muddle For Future Of Reproductive Rights
Scalia’s death throws cases on abortion, contraception coverage into doubt.
Urban Medicare Beneficiaries May See More Drug Savings This Year
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says access to special, lower-cost pharmacies has improved for Medicare beneficiaries in urban areas.