Latest KFF Health News Stories
Doctor’s Rx For A Stiff Knee: A Prescription For 90 Percocet Pills
Following minor surgery, KHN’s consumer columnist sees how easily doctors offer pain pills, fueling epidemic of opioid addiction.
Health Giant Sutter Destroys Evidence In Crucial Antitrust Case Over High Prices
“‘Fingers crossed’ that I haven’t authorized something the FTC will hunt me down for,” a staffer wrote after destroying the documents. Sutter, a huge Northern California Health system with 24 hospitals, said it destroyed them by mistake.
Gigante de salud Sutter en demanda crucial por monopolio de sobreprecios
De acuerdo con un juez estatal, Sutter Health, el gigante del sistema de salud que gerencia 24 hospitales en California, abusó de su poder para inflar precios y destruir documentación crítica de sus empleados.
How Older Patients Can Dodge Pitfalls Entrenched In Health Care System
What being old and sick in America can mean — and ways to navigate the often treacherous journey through the system.
California Fines Anthem $5 Million For Failing to Address Consumer Grievances
The Department of Managed Health Care cited one example in which consumers and advocates had to call the insurer 22 times to contest a decision. Still, the complaint still was not resolved until the department became involved.
California Firm Running Physician Practices Is Closing Down as Scrutiny Ramps Up
State regulators and insurers are looking into SynerMed, which medical groups depend upon to handle their finances and business operations. The groups, serving 1 million patients, fear a messy fallout.
Taking A Page From Pharma’s Playbook To Fight The Opioid Crisis
Doctors and pharmacists in Northern California are emulating drug company sales reps with a fresh purpose in mind: They visit medical offices in the hardest-hit counties to change their peers’ prescribing habits and curtail the use of painkillers.
Vaccine Shortage Complicates Efforts To Quell Hepatitis A Outbreaks
The two FDA-approved manufacturers of the vaccine, hit by an unexpected spike in demand, have had difficulty keeping pace. In San Diego County, home to the deadliest outbreak in the nation, officials are postponing a campaign to give at-risk residents the second of two doses.
Charlan sobre posponer la maternidad mientras toman vino en “fiestas de óvulos”
Muchas mujeres se están reuniendo para hablar sobre maternidad, sin prejuicios o estigmas, evaluando la posibilidad de congelar sus óvulos.
Sip Wine And Chat About Postponing Motherhood — At An ‘Egg Social’
Fertility doctors around the country are hosting soirees to pitch to mostly affluent women the benefits of preserving their eggs.
Red solidaria de médicos envía suministros a Puerto Rico
Casi de manera espontánea, se unieron gracias a las redes sociales y al “de boca en boca”. Hasta ahora han enviado 40 toneladas de suministros para ayudar a las víctimas del huracán María.
Grass-Roots Network Of Doctors Delivers Supplies To Puerto Rico
Borrowing a plane is part of these doctors’ duties.
Hospice Workers Who Care For The Dying Don’t Plan Ahead Themselves
Fewer than half of health care workers at a nonprofit Florida hospice had completed advance directives for end-of-life care.
Liquid Gold: Pain Doctors Soak Up Profits By Screening Urine For Drugs
With the nation’s opioid crisis, urine testing has become a booming business and is especially lucrative for doctors who operate their own labs, a Kaiser Health News investigation finds. And dozens of practitioners have earned “the lion’s share” of their Medicare income exclusively from urine drug screens.
Enriched By The Poor: California Health Insurers Make Billions Through Medicaid
Medicaid is rarely associated with getting rich. But some insurance companies are reaping spectacular profits off the taxpayer-funded program in California, even when the state finds their patient care is subpar.
Sickle Cell Patients Suffer Discrimination, Poor Care — And Shorter Lives
People with the genetic blood disorder that mainly afflicts African-Americans can live into their 60s with competent care. So why is life expectancy slipping down to around age 40?
Health Companies Race To Catch UnitedHealth As Amazon Laces Up
UnitedHealth, a health industry goliath, has its hand in doctors’ offices, surgery centers, technology services and prescription drugs. It is the industry model, and CVS and Aetna, says one expert, are ‘wannabes.’
House Tax Bill Would Scrap Deduction For Medical Expenses
About 9 million people claimed about $87 billion in medical deductions in 2015.
House Republicans Aim To Yank Tax Credits For Orphan Drugs
House Republicans want to repeal federal tax credits that have helped spur a boom in orphan drugs for rare diseases.
Timeline: Insulin Market Under Scrutiny
A flurry of federal and state probes have targeted insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers — middlemen in the prescription drug-pricing pipeline. Here, we connect the legal dots.
