Latest KFF Health News Stories
Doctors Fear Reform Angst Is Tainting Medicare Payment ‘Fix’
Physicians’ lobby says fixing the 12-year-old formula that sets Medicare payments would prove lawmakers’ commitment to reform health care.
Fear of Flu: Shifting the Goalposts
Are fears about kids and the swine flu overblown?
Why A Little City In Wisconsin Is The Best Place To Die
Nearly all adults who die in La Crosse, Wisconsin, have filled out “advance directives” – explicit instructions on what treatments they do and don’t want at the end of life. The medical ethicist who started the program says “We believe it’s part of good patient care.”
New Technology Helps Elderly Stay Healthy At Home
Devices that measure blood pressure and other health information may help the elderly and people with chronic conditions stay in touch with doctors while remaining at home. The technology could cut health spending by catching problems before they escalate into crises.
Transcript: Health On The Hill – November 16
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and other experts discuss recent and upcoming activities on the Hill — part of a weekly series of video reports.
Video: Health On The Hill – November 16, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., may unveil his health care overhaul plan this week. A podcast is also available. Read Transcript.
Will People Buy Government Long-Term Care Insurance?
A key question about the CLASS Act remains: How many will buy the coverage even if it is broadly available?
Crusading Professor Challenges Dartmouth Atlas On Claims Of Wasteful Health Care Spending
Dr. Richard “Buz” Cooper doesn’t mince words as he challenges highly-respected research asserting that hospitals and doctors waste up to $700 billion a year on unnecessary testing and treatment. He says the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care doesn’t adequately account for the health care needs of poor people.
Reaction To Cooper’s Challenge Against Dartmouth Atlas
Some argue the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, which found wide geographic differences in how medicine is practiced, overstates the amount of potential waste because its methods don’t fully factor in the heavy medical needs of very poor people. Here are some views on the debate.
In Rural Kentucky, A Surprising Twist On The Health Debate
The people in Southeastern Kentucky have the poorest health in the country. Yet the area is rich with medical facilities. Health reform bills are unlikely to change much: One doctor says: “We have to transform the way we take care of people.”
Celebrating A Visionary On Healthy Aging
Dr. Gene Cohen, a geriatric psychiatrist who believed that old age can be a time of creativity, died this week.
NPR’s ‘Tell Me More’: Abortion Debate Critical To Health Care Overhaul
NPR host Michel Martin interviewed KHN’s Julie Appleby about what the abortion amendment would mean.
Health Care In Hazard: Annie Fox
Health care has to be looked at in context, according to Annie Fox and Teana Burns of “Harlan Countians for a Healthy Community” in Kentucky.
Health Care In Hazard: Beverly May
Family nurse practitioner Beverly May, of the Kentucky Mountain Health Alliance, treats many patients with chronic diseases.
Health Care In Hazard: Gerry Roll
Gerry Roll says people don’t understand the health problems in southeastern Kentucky: “You can get whatever you need as far as traditional medical care goes. Yet we have the highest levels of chronic disease in the nation. So when I hear people talking about access to health care being a problem, I am livid.”
Health Care In Hazard: Cathy Nance
Six years ago, Cathy Nance had to have open heart surgery. Later, she had kidney cancer. Because of poor health and inability to work, she became homeless, until she was helped by Harlan Countians for a Healthy Community.
Don’t Forget About The Other Determinants of Health
As we move to the endgame of what will at best be health care reform 1.0, it is also important to remember that if we want to improve health-presumably health care reform is a means to improving health-we need to focus on more than just health care and reform of the health care system.
Checking In With Dr. Donald Berwick,
KHN’s Phil Galewitz talks to Donald Berwick, M.D., M.P.P., President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and clinical professor of pediatrics and health care policy at the Harvard Medical School.
How The House Abortion Restrictions Would Work
Legislation approved by the House Saturday would bar insurers from selling policies that cover abortion if purchased with federal subsidies. There are already states that have similar policies.
On Hill, Bipartisan Support Emerging For Commission To Control Health Costs
The drive on Capitol Hill to create a bipartisan commission to help “bend the cost curve” of health spending is picking up momentum – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a handful of moderate Democrats and Republicans are supporting the effort.