Health Industry

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Of ‘Miracles’ And Money: Why Hemophilia Drugs Are So Expensive

KFF Health News Original

The market is flooded with 28 different medications for just 20,000 patients with the hereditary bleeding disorder. Yet intense competition hasn’t worked to bring costs down. Sales amount to $4.6 billion annually in the U.S.

From The ER To Inpatient Care — At Home

KFF Health News Original

Some health systems are encouraging selected ill emergency department patients who are stable and don’t need intensive, round-the-clock care to opt for hospital-level care at home.

User-Friendly Or Error-Ridden? Debate Swirls Around Website Comparing Nursing Homes

KFF Health News Original

State says its new site is easier to navigate, though it remains a work in progress. Advocates for nursing home patients call it “a huge step in the wrong direction” that could endanger people’s lives.

 

A medida que crecen los centros de cirugía, los pacientes están pagando con sus vidas

KFF Health News Original

Hay más de 5,600 centros de cirugía en todo el país, en donde se realizan procedimientos quirúrgicos menores. Pero una investigación reveló que a veces ocurren complicaciones que hubieran sido prevenibles en un hospital.

As Surgery Centers Boom, Patients Are Paying With Their Lives

KFF Health News Original

An investigation by Kaiser Health News and the USA TODAY Network discovers that more than 260 patients have died since 2013 after in-and-out procedures at surgery centers across the country. More than a dozen — some as young as 2 — have perished after routine operations, such as colonoscopies and tonsillectomies.

At Some California Hospitals, Fewer Than Half Of Workers Get The Flu Shot

KFF Health News Original

Vaccinations rates have climbed significantly among hospital workers in recent years, to 83 percent. But that rate masks wide variation among facilities and types of workers. Nationally, the rules are far from uniform or ironclad.

 

Matrimonio gana millones a costa de Medicaid

KFF Health News Original

Norma Díaz y su esposo, Joseph García, han dedicado sus carreras a administrar una aseguradora de salud sin fines de lucro que cubre a residentes carenciados de California. Y en el proceso, han ganado millones de dólares.

Couple Makes Millions Off Medicaid Managed Care As Oversight Lags

KFF Health News Original

How a California health plan’s CEO and her husband, an executive consultant, got rich off the taxpayer-funded program for the poor. Critics see a conflict of interest, the plan doesn’t, and the state has no rules either way.

Bad Bedside Manna: Bank Loans Signed In The Hospital Leave Patients Vulnerable

KFF Health News Original

Hospitals increasingly team up with lending institutions to offer low- or no-interest loans to patients to make sure their bills get paid. But critics say the complexity of hospital pricing means consumers should be cautious.

Listen: Got A Sky-High Bill? Don’t Write The Check.

KFF Health News Original

Have you gotten a medical bill that sounds way too expensive or is just downright confusing? Send it to us. KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal talks with NPR Morning Edition Host Steve Inskeep about the launch of “Bill Of The Month,” KHN and NPR’s new crowdsourced investigation.