Latest KFF Health News Stories
Video: Ex-Medicare Administrator Says Premium Support “Is Going To Have To Happen”
In an interview with KHN’s Marilyn Werber Serafini, former CMS administrator Thomas Scully urges both parties to take a second look at the premium support model for overhauling Medicare.
Some Patients Can Choose To Be Hospitalized At Home
These innovative programs — available in only a few areas — allow some chronically ill patients to skip the hospital and opt instead for similar care at home.
Can I Continue My Health Insurance After Quitting My Job?
Michelle Andrews answers a coverage question from a reader contemplating quitting his job to stay home with his wife who has breast cancer.
Health Insurance Cutbacks Squeeze The Insured
Even people with insurance are paying thousands of dollars out of pocket before their insurance kicks in. And even when it does, insurance picks up less then it used to — often a lot less.
Minnesota Seeks Bridge Across ‘Affordability Gap’
Under the 2010 health law, millions of Americans will gain access to affordable health insurance. But in Minnesota, many are concerned that an affordability gap will remain for about 100,000 low-income Minnesotans.
Higher Prices Charged By Hospitals, Other Providers, Drove Health Spending During Downturn
A new study finds prices rose at least five times faster than overall inflation for emergency room visits, outpatient surgery and facility-based mental health and substance abuse care from 2009 to 2010.
Second Guessing Medicare’s Star Rating System
Supporters say the bonus system is improving care for millions of seniors, but critics say it can be a clumsy measure of value and rewards mediocrity.
Innovation Grants: Adding Resources To Ideas To Improve Health Care Delivery
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently awarded 26 innovation grants to advance ideas that are designed to add efficiency and quality to the health system while generating savings. KHN takes a look at four of these projects.
Can I Pay Negotiated Rates When I Pay Out Of Pocket?
A reader asks Michelle Andrews how to get the negotiated rates insurers pay even when paying for a medical procedure directly.
Attention Health Care Shoppers: Colorado’s New Price List For Procedures
Colorado is one of 14 states that have or are setting up searchable databases designed to help people shop and compare health care options based on price and quality.
Some States Mandate Better Coverage Of Oral Cancer Drugs
Patients complain that they can spend tens of thousands of dollars because pills are considered a pharmacy benefit by many insurers while traditional IV chemo generally has a a flat copayment and out-of-pocket costs are capped.
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.
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.
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.
Insurers Embrace ‘Virtual’ Doctor Visits
The explosion of Web- and telephone-based medical services is transforming the delivery of primary health care, giving consumers access from home for inexpensive, round-the-clock care.
War On Smoking Offers Some Lessons For Obesity Fight
But the scope of the nation’s weight problem is much more extensive than tobacco ever was and public health campaigns must address issues as complex as food and beverage choices, television viewing, exercise routines and even the design of cities.
Massachusetts Lawmakers Unveil Ambitious Plan To Cut Health Care Costs
The proposal for state House lawmakers would control rising medical costs by capping a cap on health-care spending and could include a tax on hospitals.
More Doctors On The Way, But Higher Costs To Follow
More doctors are being trained, but some say the move could backfire since too many young doctors are going into high-paid specialties instead of primary care, which could exacerbate rising health care costs.
Analysis: ACOs Could Have The Medicare Muscle To Transform Health System
Accountable care organizations will confront questions, including whether this new model for delivering medical treatment has the muscle to overcome the system’s entrenched incentives.
Dr. Otis Brawley: ‘The System Really Is Not Failing … Failure Is The System’
The chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society has a powerful message for the country: We’re all responsible for overuse of the health care system.
