Latest KFF Health News Stories
Study: Privately Insured Kids Get More Care In ED
Emergency departments are required to treat everyone who comes through the doors, but that doesn’t mean they treat everyone the same way. Insurance coverage may play a major role in the kind of care a young patient receives, according to a study published in the most recent edition of The Journal of Pediatrics. Children with […]
FDA Leans On Device Makers To Cut X-Ray Doses For Kids
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. The Food and Drug Administration has a proposition for the companies that make X-ray machines. Make sure your new equipment has settings and instructions that minimize radiation hazards for kids, or the agency will look to slap a label on the machines that recommends they not […]
Medicare Spotlights Hospitals With Especially Costly Patients
The new data, which include beneficiaries’ bills in the hospital and for 30 days afterward, are a first step toward using bonuses and penalties to encourage more efficient care.
Interactive Chart: Medicare Spending At Individual Hospitals
The Average Hospital Spending Per Patient measure in the chart below shows how much the federal program spends for the average patient admitted at a specific hospital, compared to how much Medicare spends per patient nationally. This measure includes all payments to doctors, hospitals or other facilities for services provided to a patient during the […]
Interactive Chart: Medicare Spending By State
The Average Hospital Spending Per Patient measure in the chart below shows how much Medicare spends per patient at hospitals in that state, compared to how much Medicare spends per patient nationally. This measure includes all payments to doctors, hospitals or other facilities for services provided to a patient during the three days before the […]
Lawsuit Challenges Medicaid Managed Care Decision In Missouri
Missouri’s efforts to winnow contracts for its Medicaid managed care business are being challenged by one of the companies left out in the cold: Molina Healthcare, which alleges the state changed the bidding rules in the middle of the process.
Today’s Headlines – May 9, 2012
Here are your morning headlines: Los Angeles Times: Senate Republicans Block Proposal To Keep Student Loan Rates Low Republicans also want to avoid raising the rate on college loans, but would pay for it by eliminating a public health fund in Obama’s new healthcare law. The stalemate comes as both parties turn routine legislative votes […]
Federal Budget: Health Care Politics Trump Policy
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Jackie Judd discuss the congressional wrangling over the federal budget and what’s ahead for the automatic cuts scheduled for January.
When Religious Rules And Women’s Health Collide
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. When you go to the hospital these days, chances are good that it will be affiliated with a religious organization. And while that may might just mean the chaplain will be of a specific denomination or some foods will be off limits, there may also be […]
These Health Law Bets Aren’t A Figure Of Speech
The stakes are high in the Supreme Court’s consideration of the 2010 health law, as countless commentators have observed. In some circles, however, the gambling metaphor has been pushed to its logical conclusion. Bernstein Research stock analyst Ana Gupte laid 50 percent odds recently on chances that the court will strike down the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate along with strict […]
Today’s Headlines – May 8, 2012
Good morning! Los Angeles Times: Congress Returns To Fight For The Presidency Democrats will seek to portray Republicans as protecting the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. Republicans will use the sluggish economy and Obama’s healthcare law as prime examples of big government failures. … The fight over student loan interest rates, which […]
Study: Residents In Tenn., Fla. And Ga. Saw Biggest Jump In Access Problems
Adults in nearly every state saw their access to health services worsen during over the past decade, with Tennessee, Florida and Georgia having the greatest increase in people reporting having an unmet medical need, according to a study released Tuesday. The three states had at least a 9 percentage point jump in the proportion of adults under 65 who […]
Grand-Aides Could Offer ‘Family-Style’ Health Care Help
Assuming the 2010 health law survives its Supreme Court challenge, about 32 million more people are expected to be eligible for coverage in 2014 through the law’s Medicaid expansion or new health insurance exchanges. If the law is struck down, the number of uninsured will continue to increase. With experts warning of physician shortages and […]
Patients Share Of Expensive Specialty Drugs Is Rising
Growth in spending on these prescriptions, used for complex conditions such as MS and Crohn’s disease, is far outpacing traditional drugs. Often they have no generic alternative.
Small Pharmacists Seek Big Clout In Negotiating With Benefit Managers
It’s highly unlikely that during a heated election season House Republicans would want to wade into a debate over antitrust law. But that isn’t stopping independent pharmacists from trying. Buoyed by the fact that more than two dozen House GOP members support legislation (HR 1946) that would allow independent pharmacists to band together in negotiating […]
Health Care Increasingly Out Of Reach For Millions Of Americans
More privately insured Americans are delaying treatment, while safety net programs cannot meet demand by those people who are under- and uninsured.
Even Small Reductions In Obesity Would Generate Major Savings, Report Finds
Cut the growth in rates of obesity by just 1 percent a year over the next two decades, and you’ll slice health care costs by $85 billion. Keep obesity rates at their current levels – which is well below a 33 percent increase being projected — and you’ll save nearly $550 billion during the same […]
Ain’t No Sunshine Yet For Docs
Under the new health law, the payments and freebies given to doctors by drug and medical device companies must be made public on the Web. But not quite yet. CMS has announced that the agency will not require companies to collect transparency data before January 1, 2013. The new timeline is a delay from the […]
Today’s Headlines – May 7, 2012
Happy day to you! It may be Monday, but let these headlines take your mind off it: The Washington Post: The Associated Press/Chicago Tribune: House GOP Plan Cuts Social Programs To Stave Off Pentagon Cuts Fully one-fourth of the House GOP spending cuts come from programs directly benefiting the poor, such as Medicaid, food stamps, […]
Obama On The Stump: Don’t Turn Back The Clock On Health Reform
In a pair of speeches on Saturday, President Obama fired up Democratic party faithful in Ohio and Virginia. He spoke about his plans for — and record on — Medicare, health insurance and birth control. And he vowed that the country “will not go back to the days when insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy.”