Cost and Quality

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Medi-Cal’s Reliance on Prisoners to Make Cheaper Eyeglasses Proves Shortsighted

KFF Health News Original

In California, where inmates manufacture glasses for Medi-Cal, enrollees and providers can wait months for their orders. Now, state lawmakers are considering allowing clinics to order from private labs as well.

In America, Cancer Patients Endure Debt on Top of Disease

KFF Health News Original

Medical breakthroughs mean cancer is less likely to kill, but survival can come at an extraordinary cost as patients drain savings, declare bankruptcy, or lose their homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The FDA Goes After Nicotine

KFF Health News Original

The FDA is using its power to regulate tobacco products — ordering the vaping device Juul off the market and announcing its intention to lower the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other products. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rules on Medicare and kidney dialysis, and Congress makes progress on legislation surrounding guns and mental health. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey about the new KHN-NPR project on the growing impact of medical debt.

Pesa el legado de Trump, mientras Colorado busca zanjar la brecha del seguro de salud hispano

KFF Health News Original

A nivel nacional y en Colorado, la proporción de personas sin seguro médico ha sido durante mucho tiempo significativamente más alta entre los hispanos que entre los residentes blancos, negros o asiáticos no hispanos.

Trump’s Legacy Looms Large as Colorado Aims to Close the Hispanic Insurance Gap

KFF Health News Original

Hispanic residents have long been among the least likely to have health insurance — in Colorado and across the country — in part because of unauthorized immigrants. The state is expanding coverage to some of them, although the change runs up against lingering fears about the use of public benefits.

Medi-Cal Will Cover Doulas at More Than Twice California’s Initial Proposed Rate

KFF Health News Original

Under a budget passed by California lawmakers, the state will pay nonmedical workers who assist in pregnancy and labor up to $1,154 per birth through Medi-Cal, which is up significantly from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial offer of $450. Though it’s more than what most other states pay, many doulas say it falls short of the $3,600 they sought.

Más de 100 millones de estadounidenses viven acosados por las deudas médicas

KFF Health News Original

La investigación revela un problema mucho más extendido de lo que se había informado anteriormente. Esto se debe a que gran parte de la deuda que acumulan los pacientes figura como saldos de tarjetas de crédito, préstamos familiares o planes de pago a hospitales y otros proveedores médicos.

Buy and Bust: When Private Equity Comes for Rural Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

Noble Health swept into two small Missouri towns promising to save their hospitals. Instead, workers and vendors say it stopped paying bills and government inspectors found it put patients at risk. Within two years — after taking millions in federal covid relief and big administrative fees — it locked the doors.

Covid Funding Pries Open a Door to Improving Air Quality in Schools

KFF Health News Original

Researchers say the billions in pandemic funding available for ventilation upgrades in U.S. schools provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combat covid-19, as well as making air more breathable for students living with allergies, asthma, and chronic wildfire smoke.

Miles de niños tienen problemas de vista que no se detectan a tiempo

KFF Health News Original

Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) estiman que más de 600,000 niños y adolescentes son ciegos o tienen un trastorno de la vista. Muchos no reciben tratamiento a tiempo.

Children’s Vision Problems Often Go Undetected, Despite Calls for Regular Screening

KFF Health News Original

Eye exams for children are required under federal law to be covered by most private health plans and Medicaid, and many states mandate school vision screenings. But a federal survey finds that a quarter of children and teens are still not getting the recommended tests.