Latest KFF Health News Stories
What Would a DeSantis Presidency Look Like for Health Care?
Ron DeSantis’ record as Florida governor provides some clues to how he would change the health care landscape if elected president. In his five years as governor, DeSantis has promoted stricter abortion rules and emphasized individual freedom over the benefits of public health.
From Hospital to Hospitality: Spin Doctors Brand Getting Sick as an Adventure. It’s Not.
At $1,000 a night for a private room, medical centers are offering fancy food and casting health care as a “journey.” Instead of creature comforts, how about helping us feel better?
Out for Blood? For Routine Lab Work, the Hospital Billed Her $2,400
Convenient as it may be, beware of getting your blood drawn at a hospital. The cost could be much higher than at an independent lab, and your insurance might not cover it all.
Extra Fees Drive Assisted Living Profits
The add-ons pile up: $93 for medications, $50 for cable TV. Prices soar as the industry leaves no service unbilled, out of reach for many families.
Beyond Insulin: Medi-Cal Expands Patient Access to Diabetes Supplies
California’s Medicaid program is making it easier for people with diabetes to obtain the supplies and equipment they need to manage their blood sugar, partly by relaxing preauthorization requirements that can cause life-threatening delays.
Compensation Is Key to Fixing Primary Care Shortage
Many proposals have been floated about how to address the nation’s primary care problem. They range from training slots to medical school debt forgiveness but often sidestep comprehensive payment reform.
Biden Administration’s Limit on Drug Industry Middlemen Backfires, Pharmacists Say
A rule taking effect Jan. 1 was intended to stop one set of abuses by pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, but some pharmacists say it’s enabling these price brokers to simply do new things unfairly.
The Unusual Way a Catholic Health System Is Wielding an Abortion Protest Law
Dignity Health is suing several patients and their advocates for “commercial blockade” for refusing discharge during the covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuits could set precedents for use of the California commercial blockade statute, conceived to constrain abortion protesters, and how hospitals handle discharges.
Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care
The United States has no coherent system of long-term care, leading many to struggle to stay independent or rely on a patchwork of solutions.
What Long-Term Care Looks Like Around the World
Most countries spend more than the United States on care, but middle-class and affluent people still bear a substantial portion of the costs.
Do Republican Spending Cuts Threaten Federal HIV Funding? For Some Programs, Yes.
Spending cuts proposed by a Republican-led House subcommittee would cut millions from HIV-related spending.
What One Expectant Mom’s Effort To Get an RSV Shot Says About Health Policy
Today we bring you the story of a patient seeking the RSV vaccine — and how her frustrating journey illustrates why it can be so hard in the United States to get an important medicine recommended by federal regulators. Hannah Fegley of Silver Spring, Md., says she spent seven hours on the phone last month […]
Why It’s So Tough to Reduce Unnecessary Medical Care
Treatments that don’t help patients, and may even harm them, are difficult to eliminate because they can be big sources of revenue.
Who Will Care for Older Adults? We’ve Plenty of Know-How but Too Few Specialists
The principles and practices of geriatrics are being widely disseminated. And we understand much more now about how to improve older adults’ care. Yet we don’t have enough geriatricians to meet the growing demand.
A New RSV Shot Could Help Protect Babies This Winter — If They Can Get It in Time
Supply problems, a high price tag, and bureaucratic obstacles are slowing the distribution of a therapy that can protect infants from the respiratory syncytial virus. That will leave them unnecessarily at risk of hospitalization this winter, pediatricians fear.
An Arm and a Leg: ‘Your Money or Your Life’: This Doctor Wrote the Book on Medical Debt
What happens when you can’t afford the health care you need? On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” hear from emergency medicine physician and historian Luke Messac about the history of medical debt collection in the United States.
Children Who Survive Shootings Endure Huge Health Obstacles and Costs
A new study finds that young people who have been injured by firearms are more prone to psychiatric diagnoses and developing a substance use disorder than kids who have not been shot — and their families also suffer long-term ill effects.
Medicare amplía su lista de profesionales de salud mental
Los prejuicios sobre las afecciones mentales y la discriminación por edad hacen que algunos profesionales no tomen en serio el sufrimiento de las personas mayores, profundizando las barreras de acceso a la atención.
Nursing Homes Say They Can’t Afford Higher Staffing. But Their Finances Are Often Opaque.
Perhaps the biggest mystery, as the Biden administration moves to force nursing homes to boost staffing, is this: how much extra money do the nation’s 15,000 homes actually have to hire and retain more nurses and aides? Public comments are due Monday on the most sweeping regulatory changes to hit the industry in decades. The […]
Medicare Expands the Roster of Available Mental Health Professionals
Medicare is expanding access to mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists come Jan. 1. But the belief that seniors who suffer from mental health problems should just grin and bear it remains a troubling barrier to care.
