Latest KFF Health News Stories
When Depression And Cultural Expectations Collide
A teen from a Taiwanese immigrant family struggles with depression as her mother worries and tries to understand. Asian American families like this one often have trouble seeking and finding appropriate treatment.
Wynne Lee, 17, struggled with depression and cultural expectations for several years. The teen from Diamond Bar, California, is like many kids from Asian American families who often have trouble finding appropriate treatment.
Tennessee, Kansas Also Get Warning: Expand Medicaid Or Risk Hospital Funds
Federal officials have warned several states that their reluctance to expand Medicaid could cost them special federal funding to treat the uninsured.
Obamacare Processing Center In Missouri Paid 13,000 Hours Of Overtime
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch filed Freedom of Information Act requests after whistleblowers alleged that workers at the Wentzville, Mo. center played games, read or worked very slowly because they had so little to do beginning in fall, 2013 after the facility opened. Serco Inc. said that it paid workers overtime in spring and summer of 2014 because of the large number of backlogged applications as a result of healthcare.gov’s computer problems.
Few Consumers Are Using Quality, Price Information To Make Health Decisions
Despite the federal government’s push to make more information available to consumers, two out of three people say it is still difficult to find out how much a doctor or hospital charges for a specific procedure or treatment, according to a new poll.
What’s At Stake In The Supreme Court Obamacare Case
Despite political opposition to the Affordable Care Act, more than 186,000 people in Louisiana signed up for health insurance through healthcare.gov. The vast majority of those received subsidies, which could be lost in the King v. Burwell case before the Supreme Court.
Advocates Push For Paid Medical, Family Leave
Two decades after passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act, Democrats and workers’ advocates seek paid leaves so more people can afford to take them.
Cash-And-Carry Health Insurance For Some In Los Angeles
With the help of their mobile phones, people will be able to pay their health insurance premiums for L.A. Care Covered in cash at convenience stores around the city.
Medicaid Expands In Other States, But Not Florida
Other states have overcome political opposition to Medicaid expansion and adopted plans to bring government-subsidized coverage to more of their low-income residents.
Relying On The Health Care Safety Net: Choosing Between Dinner And A Medical Test
Without Medicaid expansion, South Florida’s low-income residents have found out the hard way that the healthcare safety net designed to catch people before they hit bottom is no substitute for insurance.
Google Glass In The ER? Health Care Moves One Step Closer To Star Trek …
Researchers at a Rhode Island hospital studied how Google Glass technology could be used to beam the images of emergency-room patients to specialists in different locations.
850,000 Floridians Stuck In Health Care Limbo — And No Solution In Sight
With legislators seemingly deadlocked on Medicaid expansion in Florida, residents in the “coverage gap” are stitching together their medical care through personal ingenuity, half doses of medicines and low-cost clinics.
A Look Back As Congress Repeals Medicare ‘Doc Fix’ Law
KHN’s Julie Rovner reflects on the constant battle over what Medicare pays doctors — a fight that ended this week as President Obama signed into law an overhaul that repeals the old method and institutes new provisions to pay doctors based on the quality of care they give.
15 States Extend Health Law’s Higher Medicaid Payments To Doctors
The health law temporarily paid doctors more to handle the expected influx of patients when states expanded their Medicaid programs and some states are continuing that program because they find it has helped attract providers to the program.
There May Still Be Time To Save On Health Law’s Tax Penalties
Some consumers who face a 2014 tax bill can make adjustments to improve their liability.
EEOC Proposal On Wellness Program Earns Business Praise, Consumer Concerns
The announcement is an effort to give employers more guidance on how to implement the programs promoted by the federal health law without overstepping the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Only 251 Hospitals Score Five Stars In Medicare’s New Ratings
The ratings, posted on Medicare’s website Thursday, rank hospitals based on patient reviews.
Big Bills A Hidden Side Effect Of Cancer Treatment
High deductible health insurance plans and soaring drug costs make cancer a tremendous financial burden for many patients.
So You Have Dense Breasts. Now What?
Dense breasts make mammograms harder to read. As more states pass laws requiring that women be told of the risks, debate is growing about whether such warnings are helpful — or even harmful.
FAQ: Congress Passes A Bill To Fix Medicare’s Doctor Payments. What’s In It?
A rare bipartisan effort will scrap the troubled physician payment formula and transition to a system focused on new quality measures.