Latest KFF Health News Stories
Hospitals Required To Keep Caregivers In The Loop
California is one of several states to pass laws intended to involve caregivers in discussions when patients are hospitalized or discharged.
Hands Off That Frozen Pizza! Docs Advise Customers As They Shop
An Orange County, California hospital system is posting doctors at supermarkets to help customers make healthier choices. It’s part of a larger national effort among hospitals to improve community health outcomes.
New Kaiser Permanente Med School Part Of A Growing Trend
Twenty new schools opened in the past decade; but some doubt whether so many new doctors are needed.
Kaiser Permanente To Open Medical School In Southern California
Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson says the new school is part of the HMO’s effort to transform the “health care ecosystem” in the 21st century.
Baby Boomers Set Another Trend: More Golden Years In Poorer Health
Medicare faces sharp cost increases as more baby boomers reach 65, and their life expectancies grow, as well as their chronic conditions, say researchers at the University of Southern California.
Advocates Allege Discrimination In California’s Medi-Cal Program
A civil rights complaint says low payment for doctors results in unequal care for Latinos.
California Exchange Targets ‘Hot Spots’ With High Rates Of Uninsured
Tuesday is the deadline to sign up for health coverage that begins in January, so Covered California is boosting enrollment efforts in certain underserved communities.
California To Revamp Addiction Treatment For Medicaid Recipients
Through what’s known as a drug waiver, state officials will have new spending flexibility as they try to improve outcomes and reduce social and financial costs of people with substance abuse disorders.
Add This To Challenges Of Old Age: Keeping Your Teeth
Many seniors either resist or can’t afford regular dental care, putting them at high risk of gum disease, tooth loss and other serious health complications.
Oakland Minister Stripping Away Church’s Knowledge-Gap On Mental Health
Rev. Donna Allen of the New Revelation Community Church sees a strong need among her congregants for help recognizing and dealing with mental health problems.
Aid-In-Dying Laws Only Accentuate Need For Palliative Care, Providers Say
Doctors who minister to seriously ill patients say the flurry of aid-in-dying laws show just how afraid people are of a painful death, and how important it is to ease their suffering.
Fight Over Medicaid Managed Care Tax Punches Hole in California Budget
Federal policy requires that California broaden taxes on insurers to fund Medicaid, but state insurers and many Republican legislators are opposed.
Small Coastal California Town Fights To Keep Hospital Afloat
Tourists love the Mendocino coast for its redwoods, surf and charm. But the battle to keep one town’s only hospital afloat is pitting hospital administrators and doctors against each other.
Deficiencies In End-Of-Life Care Extend Across Ethnicities
A small study in the San Francisco Bay area suggests that various ethnicities share some of the same goals when it comes to end-of-life care. Often, though, they don’t get what they want.
California Exchange Offers Dental Coverage To Adults For First Time
About 33,000 adults have signed up for dental insurance as an unsubsidized, optional benefit through Covered California.
Aid-In-Dying Advocacy Group Girds For Battles After California Victory
Compassion & Choices counts on human-interest stories to shape debate as 23 states weigh aid-in-dying bills this year.
New Brain Institute Plans To Refocus Third World’s Attention On Dementia As ‘Societal Issue’
The institute, which is being launched by the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Dublin, aims to help developing countries deal with rising numbers of cases.
Calif. Medicaid Patients With Cancer Fare Worse Than Those With Other Coverage
Researchers found Medi-Cal patients were diagnosed later, were less likely to receive recommended treatment and had lower survival rates.
California And Federal Officials Reach Deal On Medicaid Reforms
A “conceptual agreement” worth $6.2 billion comes as a relief to California public hospitals, just as an earlier Medicaid agreement was set to expire.
