Latest KFF Health News Stories
Check The Fine Print: Some Work-Based Health Plans Exclude Outpatient Surgeries
This new generation of so-called “skinny plans” can save employers money, but it’s not yet clear if they will meet regulatory scrutiny.
Consumer And Research Groups Release Cancer Guides For Patients
Families USA and the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review are collaborating on a series of patient guides on treatment and screenings.
Want Into A Clinical Trial? Read This First.
Experimental drugs might help desperate patients, but don’t count on an easy cure.
Even With ‘Skin In The Game,’ Health Care Shoppers Are Not More Savvy
High-deductible health plans don’t necessarily trigger comparison shopping or informed health care choices by consumers, according to a survey published in Tuesday’s JAMA Internal Medicine.
Study: Some Marketplace Customers Spend 25 Percent Of Income On Health Expenses
Urban Institute researchers found that premiums and out-of-pocket costs are still a major concern for people seeking coverage on the health care marketplaces.
Fueled By Health Law, ‘Concierge Medicine’ Reaches New Markets
Doctors, insurers and others are kick-starting experiments to broaden access to direct primary care, a service long associated with only wealthy Americans.
Making The Most Of Military Medics’ Field Experience
A new physician assistant training program at UNC-Chapel Hill recruits veterans and gives them credit for their years spent aiding injured troops.
Health Plan Watchdog Still Seeks Progress After 25 Years
Increased comparative information on health plans is helping consumers shop, says Margaret O’Kane, president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
Incentive Worth $550 Fails To Motivate Obese Workers To Lose Weight
Obese employees at the University of Pennsylvania were promised an insurance premium discount valued at $550 if they lost 5 percent of their weight, but the incentive failed.
Heavy Use Of CT Scans Raises Concerns About Patients’ Exposure To Radiation
CT scans, which are administered more than 85 million times a year, are an important diagnostic tool, but just one can be equivalent to 200 X-rays. Some doctors warn that health providers are not considering possible consequences when ordering the tests.
Gaps Remain Among States’ Medicaid Efforts To Help People Kick Smoking Habit
Even though Medicaid enrollees are more likely to be smokers than the general public, a study published Tuesday in Health Affairs examined state data from 2010 to 2013 and found wide differences in funding of cessation efforts.
Cleveland Pressures Hospitals To Keep ERs Open To All Ambulances
When you call an ambulance, you expect to go to the nearest hospital. But patients are often diverted to more distant emergency rooms. Cleveland wants hospitals to stop the practice.
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.
Medicare Penalizes 758 Hospitals For Safety Incidents
More than half of these hospitals were also punished last year as the government tries to leverage taxpayer money to improve the quality of care.
758 Hospitals Penalized For Patient Safety In 2016: Data Table
Medicare is lowering its 2016 payments by 1 percent for 758 hospitals with high rates of potentially avoidable infections and complications such as blood clots, bed sores and falls. This is the second year of the Hospital-Acquired Conditions Reduction Program, which was mandated by the federal health law to reduce patient injuries. Below are the […]
2016 PPO Plans Remove Out-Of-Network Cost Limits, A Costly Trap For Consumers
A trend among this year’s marketplace plans leaves some consumers responsible for potentially unlimited out-of-network health care bills, even though they chose plans in which they thought they had some financial protections.
After 3 Years Of Decline, Hospital Injury Rates Plateau, Report Finds
The federal report estimates that 12 of every 100 hospital stays included an infection or other avoidable complication in 2014, about the same rate as 2013. Still, that was 17 lower than 2010.
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.
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.
Fewer Medicare-Subsidized Drug Plans Means Less Choice For Low-Income Seniors
The number of Medicare plans that cover medications with a subsidy provided for low-income beneficiaries is declining in 2016 by 20 percent.
