Latest KFF Health News Stories
Study: E-Health Records Don’t Deter Testing, Spending
Electronic health records have long been touted by Democrats and Republicans alike as a sure-fire way to lower health spending. When doctors have easy electronic access to a patient’s records, advocates argue, they are less likely to order the duplicative and unnecessary tests that drive up the cost of health care in America. But that […]
New Book Offers Checklists To Help Hospital Patients
Doctors and other care providers are increasing using checklists in their work, but one author has developed similar guides for consumers.
Atlanta’s Grady Hospital Chief Sees Major Threat In Medicaid Cuts
New CEO John Haupert says federal and state efforts to trim the health care program for low-income residents could harm his safety-net hospital.
Today’s Headlines – March 5, 2012
Good Monday morning! Here are your headlines: The Wall Street Journal: Romney Advances As Obama Gains The resurgence of Mr. Romney, who hadn’t led the Journal poll since November, lays the path for a potential matchup against a president whose own position is strengthening. President Barack Obama’s approval rate hit 50% in the poll, its […]
GOP Debate: Romney Attacks Federal Employee Benefits; Santorum Promotes HSAs
During a debate in the battleground state of Ohio, Mitt Romney contrasted proposed Tricare cuts to health benefits for other government employees, while Rick Santorum extolled the virtue of health savings accounts, saying, “We need to expand them greatly.”
Q&A: Why Did I Receive A Bill From An Out-Of-Network Radiologist?
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader who received a bill from an out-of-network radiologist after a routine mammogram at an in-network hospital. The reader asks: What can we citizens do to ensure our rights?
Today’s Headlines – March 2, 2012
Happy Friday! Here are your headlines to start your weekend off right: The New York Times: Senate Rejects Step Targeting Coverage Of Contraception The Senate on Thursday upheld President Obama’s birth control policy, voting to kill a Republican effort to let employers and health insurance companies deny coverage for contraceptives and other items they object […]
Texas Women’s Health Fund In Jeopardy Over Abortion Politics
Texas is in a stand-off with the federal government over a program that provides contraception and reproductive check-ups for low-income Texas women. A new Texas rule would exclude Planned Parenthood clinics from participating, even though the program has nothing to do with abortion.
Romney’s Evolution On Abortion; The Birth Of The HIV Epidemic
This week’s selection of intriguing weekend reading includes articles from Slate, the Los Angeles Times, American Medical News, Salon, Columbia Journalism Review, The Washington Post, BBC and Medscape. Slate: The Conversion: How, When, And Why Mitt Romney Changed His Mind On Abortion (GOP presidential candidate Mitt) Romney began his political career as a pro-choicer. In the story […]
State GOP Pushes For ‘Abortion-Free’ Mississippi
Emboldened by the first Republican majorities in both chambers of the legislature since Reconstruction, anti-abortion advocates see a chance to limit abortion further and possibly ban it in Mississippi. Nearly two dozen anti-abortion bills have been introduced in the state legislature.
The Parent Trap: Adult Children Care For Elderly Parents
This story by Kaiser Health News’ Marilyn Werber Serafini features members of the sandwich generation: raising children, dealing with elderly parents and the care they need – and sometimes feeling like they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.
Handle With Care: Helping Seniors Move On
Robert Ray of Silver Spring is in the business of helping the elderly move. He’s president of Caring Transitions in Silver Spring, a company that manages everything from packing boxes to finding a real estate agent.
Today’s Headlines – March 1, 2012
Good morning! Here are your morning headlines: The New York Times: Political Memo: Candidates Scramble To Create Differences Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum both support the repeal of President Obama’s national health care law. Mr. Santorum has criticized Mr. Romney for creating the Massachusetts plan that served as the federal model. Mr. Romney, meanwhile, recently […]
The High Price Of Caring For A Loved One With Alzheimer’s
Nearly 15 million people fall into the role of unpaid caregiver for those sick with dementia. Add it all up, and it comes to about 17 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $202 billion in 2010 alone. New money from the Obama Administration in the 2013 budget is intended to help.
Poll: Most Americans Support Contraception Rule
Republicans may still take heat over Medicare proposals, survey also finds.
Wash. Senate Nears Vote To Require Abortion Coverage
While lawmakers in Washington clash over birth control, lawmakers in Washington state are close to passing a first-of-its-kind law that would require insurers to cover abortion services. If passed, the Reproductive Parity Act would make the Evergreen State the first in the country to require public and private insurers to cover abortion if the plan covers […]
Today’s Headlines – Feb. 29, 2012
Good morning! Half way through the week! Here are your morning headlines: Politico: Who’s Health Care’s Key SCOTUS Vote? Administration lawyers have peppered their briefs with citations to opinions written by Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia, they’ve seized on the arguments made by one of Scalia’s most beloved former clerks and their allies in legal […]
In Victory And Defeat, Romney And Santorum Bash Health Law
GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum struck out at the Democrats’ health law in speeches Tuesday night after Romney won both the Arizona and Michigan GOP primaries.
Maine’s Top Court Backs State Authority To Limit Health Plan’s Profits
In a case closely watched by the insurance industry, Maine’s top court Tuesday upheld state regulators’ authority to hold down rate increases sought by Anthem Health Plans of Maine. In its ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court said that Maine’s insurance superintendent had “properly balanced the competing interests” in arriving at an approved rate increase of […]
More Americans Head To The ER For Dental Emergencies
Americans who turn up in the emergency room to get dental care aren’t lost, they’re probably just running out of options. According to a new report from the Pew Center on the States, more than 800,000 visits to the ER in 2009 were for toothaches and other avoidable dental ailments. “People showing up at emergency […]