Health Industry

Latest KFF Health News Stories

An Underused Strategy For Surge In STDs: Treat Patients’ Partners Without A Doctor Visit

KFF Health News Original

For over a decade, federal health officials have recommended the practice, known as expedited partner therapy. It is allowed in most states, but many doctors don’t do it — either because of legal or ethical concerns, or because they are unaware of it.

Measure To Cap Dialysis Profits Pummeled After Record Spending By Industry

KFF Health News Original

The dialysis industry raised nearly $111 million in a successful bid to defeat the measure, which also was opposed by hospitals and doctors. The union that sponsored the measure collected about one-sixth that amount.

Like Clockwork: How Daylight Saving Time Stumps Hospital Record-Keeping

KFF Health News Original

One of the most popular electronic health records software systems used by hospitals, Epic Systems, can delete records or require cumbersome workarounds when clocks are set back for an hour, prompting many hospitals to opt for paper records for part of the night shift.

The Election’s Impact On Health Care: Some Bellwether Races To Watch

KFF Health News Original

A number of health issues — from preexisting conditions to Medicaid expansion to changes to Medicare — could be at stake when voters head to the polls Tuesday.

Billions In ‘Questionable Payments’ Went To California’s Medicaid Insurers And Providers

KFF Health News Original

The money was paid on behalf of more than 400,000 people who may have been ineligible for the public program, a state audit found. One had been dead for four years before payments stopped.

Dialysis Giant DaVita Defends Itself In Court And At The Polls

KFF Health News Original

Although dialysis provider DaVita Inc. has taken major financial hits this year, including a $383.5 million jury award in response to wrongful death lawsuits, it still rakes in profits. The company faces its biggest threat next month, when California voters weigh in on a ballot initiative that could force it to leave the state.

In California, Novel Initiatives Test Cities’ Power — And Will — To Tame Health Costs

KFF Health News Original

Union-backed initiatives in Palo Alto and Livermore, Calif., aim to cap charges by hospitals and doctors, seeking to build on national furor over rising medical bills. The measures arise in health care markets that are among the most expensive in the nation.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Trump, GOP Fight Back On Health Care

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Ollstein of Politico discuss a flurry of proposals from the Trump administration on prices Medicare pays for drugs and the Affordable Care Act.

In Days Of Data Galore, Patients Have Trouble Getting Own Medical Records

KFF Health News Original

Federal law guarantees that people have the right to see and obtain a copy of their medical records. But, hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and insurance companies often erect obstacles.

Médicos de atención primaria “no hacen lo suficiente” para frenar infecciones sexuales

KFF Health News Original

Los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) han establecido pautas para la evaluación anual de las personas sexualmente activas. Pero no siempre se siguen.