Latest KFF Health News Stories
In Massachusetts, Hope For Higher Salaries If Health Care Inflation Slows
As Massachusetts’ state legislators put the finishing touches on a major health care cost-control bill, there is still one big question: How much could it save employers and fatten employee paychecks?
$18 For A Baby Aspirin? Hospitals Hike Costs For Everyday Drugs For Some Patients
People who are not admitted to the hospital
Some Insurers Deny ER Coverage To People Who Have Been Drinking
Laws in about half the states allow plans to restrict payments for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. That can hamper hospital efforts to counsel patients on the dangers of their behavior.
Conflicts Arise As Health Insurers Diversify
When a health insurer buys a business that helps hospitals win billing battles with insurers, alarm bells should sound, experts say.
Sued Over An $1,800 Hospital Bill
Charity care at nonprofit hospitals is scrutinized by state and federal officials, as hospitals go to great lengths to collect unpaid debts from patients.
Quick Facts About High-Deductible Health Plans
Covering more than 11.4 million people, high-deductible health care plans are no longer a novelty-they are becoming mainstream. Here’s a brief guide to this popular type of health insurance.
Checks In The Mail: Millions Expected To Receive Insurance Rebates Totaling $1.3 Billion
Study projects refunds under the health care law will vary widely by state.
Travel Insurance Can Protect Your Health Or Wallet On Vacation
For a few dollars you can buy travel health insurance coverage that protects you if you have to cancel or shorten a trip if you, your traveling companions or even a family member not traveling with you becomes ill and requires care.
States Consider Limiting Patient Costs For Physical, Speech, Occupational Therapy
Advocates want curbs on what consumers pay toward physical, occupation and speech therapy visits. Insurers say that could raise premiums.
Community Health Centers Under Pressure to Improve Care
Quality is uneven at federally funded clinics that treat millions of poor people.
Rural Georgia Center Relies on Educators, Electronic Records To Boost Patients’ Health
But some patients still struggle to find specialists.
Health On The Hill: Medicare’s Payment Change For Physicians
KHN’s Jordan Rau and Mary Agnes Carey discuss Medicare’s transition to compensating doctors based on the quality of the medical care they provide.
Out-Of Network Care Is Expensive But A Couple Of New Options Help
Seeking care from hospitals and doctors who haven’t agreed to negotiated rates with your insurer is costly but consumers can get help from a new database on pricing. The health law is also easing some out-of-network emergency expenses.
Medicare To Tie Doctors’ Pay To Quality, Cost Of Care
A little-noticed provision of the health law calls for increasing reimbursements to doctors who provide quality care at lower cost and reducing payments to physicians who run up costs without better results.
Report: Mass. Health Law No ‘Budget Buster’
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation finds that the state spends $91 million more per year, or 1.4 percent of the state budget, for near-universal health insurance coverage. “That’s a very tiny additional cost to taxpayers for huge benefits,” says MTF President Michael Widmer.
Massachusetts Health Reform, From The Front Lines
Massachusetts Medical Society President Dr. Lynda Young offers her views on how the practice of medicine has changed in the six years since the state’s health reform law took effect and how issues of health care costs continue to be an everyday concern.
Massachusetts On Track To ‘Crack The Code’ For Health Care Cost Control
As his state’s health reforms mark their sixth anniversary, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick explains how he hopes to confront the next health reform challenges — controlling health care costs and overhauling the payment system.
The Next Health Reform Move: Overhauling Payment Practices
As Massachusetts policy makers and stakeholders focus on efforts to control health care costs through payment reform, Health Care for All’s Paul Williams outlines the considerations that are crucial to ensuring that patients experience a higher quality of care, and the most vulnerable are protected.
Massachusetts Health Reform: On The Right Path
Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, outlines how tackling health care cost, payment and quality issues is the next necessary step in order to make the state’s reform achievements sustainable.
Different Takes: How Massachusetts Can Control Health Care Costs
Kaiser Health News asked Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick, Massachusetts Hospital Association President Lynn Nichols, Health Care For All’s Paul Williams and Massachusetts Medical Society’s Lynda Young about how the state can reform the health care payment system to control costs.
