Health Industry

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Drugmakers Play The Patent Game To Lock In Prices, Block Competitors

KFF Health News Original

Pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, often win patents for incremental changes with debatable value. Now there’s a twist involving an opioid treatment.

‘Contraception Deserts’ Likely To Widen Under New Trump Administration Policy

KFF Health News Original

Federal family planning funds, known as Title X, will soon fund for-profit women’s clinics that bar condoms, hormonal birth control and IUDs and offer only “natural family planning.”

KHN Conversation On Overtreatment

KFF Health News Original

Physicians estimate that 21 percent of medical care is unnecessary — a problem that costs the health care system at least $210 billion a year. KHN hosted a forum on how too much medicine can cause harm.

Medicare alivia sanciones por readmisiones en centros con pacientes de bajos ingresos

KFF Health News Original

Siguiendo órdenes del Congreso, Medicare está aliviando sus multas anuales por readmisión en cientos de hospitales que brindan servicios a residentes de bajos ingresos.

Taken For A Ride: After ATV Crash, Doctor Gets $56,603 Bill For Air Ambulance Trip

KFF Health News Original

After an accident in an all-terrain vehicle crushed a doctor’s left arm, he was whisked by air ambulance to the closest trauma center for specialized care. Soon he was fighting over the $56,603 bill.

Medicare Eases Readmission Penalties Against Safety-Net Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

Penalties will total $566 million for all hospitals. But many that serve a large share of low-income patients will lose less money than they did in previous years.

Putting Oversized Health Care Costs Upfront — On T-Shirts

KFF Health News Original

The Maryland Health Care Commission has created a consumer education campaign that puts the costs of common health care procedures on a place where people might see them – T-shirts.

‘Physicians Of The Mouth’? Dentists Absorb The Medical Billing Drill

KFF Health News Original

Health insurance generally pays more than dental insurance, and newly minted experts say it’s legitimate to bill medical plans for services extending beyond tooth care. Medical insurers caution against inappropriate billing and fraud.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health On The Hill

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico talk about a spate of health-related legislative action on Capitol Hill, including Senate passage of a bill to address the opioid epidemic. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week.