The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
The wildly popular video game Minecraft teaches kids basic spatial reasoning concepts and helps them think critically. So, if you’re using it for educational purposes, does it count as screen time, and should parents limit it?
Advocates say that enrollees get turned down for coverage of some services that are tied to gender.
New data also break down billions in subsidy payments.
Despite the benefits to a company’s bottom line, and more choices for employees, John Henry Foster is one of relatively few businesses using a private health insurance exchange.
A recent study in JAMA Oncology examined trends in advance care planning and found that though the use of durable powers of attorney increased, the number of people who received “all care possible” at the end of life went up.
Many urgent care centers say they take your insurance. But that’s not the same thing as participating in the plan. It could mean you will get a big bill down the road.
According to a recent Health Affairs study, the price tag for low-risk births varies widely among hospitals and high-cost maternity care doesn’t necessarily lead to better outcomes.
Kaiser Health News lists the 239 home health agencies that received Medicare’s highest rating of five stars.
KHN also lists the six home health agencies that received Medicare’s lowest rating of one star and the 195 agencies rated one and a half stars. These ratings, released July 2015, are based on performance from fall 2013 through last year.
For the first time, the government is assigning one to five stars to the agencies that care for seniors in their homes. Nearly half of 9,000 agencies rated captured average scores.
Marilyn Tavenner, a former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will lead America’s Health Insurance Plans, becoming the most prominent insurance industry lobbyist in the nation.
The two states are the first in the country to allow pharmacists to directly prescribe “the pill” and similar contraceptives.
Under the comprehensive law, patients are generally protected from owing more than their in-network copayment, coinsurance or deductible on bills they receive for out-of-network emergency services or on surprise bills.
A number of doctors and professional organizations are calling for clear rules on whether and how health care professionals can use cell phones while in the operating room.
The proposed rules, released in advance of the White House Conference on Aging, cover wide-ranging topics, from meals to roommate selection to staff training.
The researchers found wide disparities in how hospitals handled young patients believed to have been abused. About half of those younger than 2 who were identified as abused were not checked out for other injuries.
Only 10,700 employers nationwide have enrolled their workers in coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP exchanges.
Requirements to prove infertility for two years and to use sperm from the husband have been eliminated for same-sex couples.
A third of adults say they have gone online to get help diagnosing symptoms, but a study shows the results are often inaccurate.
