Latest KFF Health News Stories
Women In Combat Zones Can Face Difficulty Getting Some Contraceptives
Tricare, the military’s health plan for active and retired servicemembers, covers most contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration. But women who are deployed can have trouble refilling specific types of birth control.
Oscar Wants To ‘Revolutionize’ Health Care. But Will It Even Survive Covered California?
Covered California made it official last week: After two years in the wilderness, UnitedHealthcare will return to the state’s individual insurance market and begin selling health plans on California’s exchange later this year. Not much can overshadow news about the nation’s largest insurer — except maybe a story about one of the smallest. Hi, Oscar. […]
For Marginalized Patients, BOOM!Health Is ‘A Great Model’
Incentives advanced by state-based health reforms and the federal health law have created new opportunities for nonprofit organizations like Boom!Health, says Robert Cordero, the integrated clinic’s ougoing president.
Study Casts Doubt On Assumptions About Hospital ‘Frequent Fliers’
New research finds that patients who repeatedly use costly hospital and emergency room services, known often as super-utilizers or frequent fliers, generally don’t seek such intense care for a lifetime but instead for a short period of time.
Patients In Iowa Worry About Private Management Of Medicaid
Many in Iowa get Medicaid — the state-federal health program for poorer Americans — especially after the state expanded the program under the federal health law. But a plan to switch administration of the program to private health care companies has patients worried that their care will suffer.
Telephone Therapy Helps Older People In Underserved Rural Areas, Study Finds
Counseling by mental health professionals over the phone was effective in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms, according to researchers.
Pain Patients Say They Can’t Get Medicine After Crackdown On Illegal Rx Drug Trade
People who suffer from intense maladies and injuries say they can no longer get all the pain medicine their doctors prescribe from pharmacies.
Hospitals Seeking An Edge Turn To Unlikely Adviser: A Car Maker
Toyota, which bills itself as a model of efficiency in auto manufacturing, is sharing its strategies with public and nonprofit hospitals competing for newly insured patients.
Lack Of Cooperation Among Health Facilities Mars Antibiotic Resistance Fight, CDC Says
Infected patients often move from hospitals to nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and coordination could help keep those infections from spreading.
Competition Improves Obamacare Choices In Rural Northern California
Consumers will have a choice of some plans that allow them to cross state lines for care, and every county will have at least three insurance companies offering plans on Covered California.
Hospital Deductibles Are For Admitted Patients Only
KHN consumer columnist Michelle Andrews also answers reader questions about how insurance-provider networks function and parents’ responsibility to provide coverage for children who are not yet 26.
Pregnancy – A Touchy Subject In Employee Wellness Health Assessments
Pregnancy questions included in many wellness program questionnaires hit a nerve, and advocates are asking the Obama administration to ban these types of queries as part of a pending Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule.
Half Of Nation’s Hospitals Fail Again To Escape Medicare’s Readmission Penalties
The fines, in their fourth year, are assessed on hospitals that have patients frequently return and will cost nearly 2,600 hospitals $420 million in total.
Advocates Say Mental Health ‘Parity’ Law Is Not Fulfilling Its Promise
A landmark federal law requiring insurers to cover mental illness as they would any other disease is not being followed or enforced, say patient advocates and attorneys. Insurers say they have taken “tremendous steps.”
Fetal Tissue Attack Is Latest Tactic In Long GOP Fight Against Planned Parenthood
Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood date back to 1982, while fetal tissue research had bipartisan support until the release of secret camera videos.
Prevention Task Force Recommends Depression Screenings For Pregnant Women, New Moms
Less than 20 percent of those diagnosed with perinatal depression report their symptoms, research shows.
Meet The California Family That Has Made Health Policy Its Business
On Medicare’s 50th birthday, two brothers who helped get it off the ground tell their stories. A younger member of the Lee family is at the helm of Covered California, the state insurance exchange.
California Survey: Newly Insured Satisfied With Coverage, More Financially Secure
Formerly uninsured California residents no longer rank paying for health care as their primary financial concern. But some still see cost and access to care as a problem.
No Easy Feat: Promoting The PrEP Pill For HIV Prevention Among Latinos
The drug Truvada, used to halt HIV infection, has been shown to be more than 90 percent effective when used correctly. But many Latinos haven’t heard of it or are deterred by the cost and the stigma associated with being gay or bisexual.
Congress Overwhelmingly Approves Bill Bolstering Medicare Patients’ Hospital Rights
Medicare patients must be told when they’re in “observation” status but not admitted in a hospital, under legislation expected to be signed into law by the president.