Latest KFF Health News Stories
High On Drugs? Anthem Cites Soaring Drug Costs To Justify 35% Rate Hike in California
The company’s drug spending prediction, far above other insurers in the individual market, has experts scratching their heads. Anthem cites market volatility.
Abre la boca y di “ahhh”: los dentistas tratan cada vez a niños más pequeños
Asociaciones de odontólogos recomiendan que los niños pequeños vayan al dentista antes de cumplir el año, o cuando se asoma el primer diente, para evitar un futuro lleno de caries.
Open Your Mouth And Say Goo-Goo: Dentists Treating Ever-Younger Patients
A shift in dental guidelines encourages first dental visits for infants as young as 6 months, or when the first baby teeth emerge. That makes some dentists uncomfortable.
As Care Shifts From Hospital To Home, Guarding Against Infection Falls To Families
Despite a lack of medical training, relatives increasingly are assigned complex, risky medical tasks at home, such as maintaining catheters. If done incorrectly, blood clots, infections, even death can result.
El ultimátum de Trump a los “soñadores” impacta en la industria de la salud
Médicos y académicos consideran que el potencial final del programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA) impactaría negativamente en el campo de la salud.
Trump’s Deadline On ‘Dreamers’ Reverberates Through Health Industries
From medical students to home health aides, the loss of DACA could deal a blow to the health care workforce, industry leaders suggest.
Without Price Breaks, Rural Hospitals Struggle To Stock Costly, Lifesaving Drugs
A federal drug program blocks rural hospitals from getting discounts on rare-disease drugs, forcing staff to cut back on supplies of lifesaving medicines.
This Gift Voucher Might Just Get You A Kidney
A retired California judge came up with the idea of donating his kidney to a stranger now to maximize his grandson’s prospects for such a donation later. The idea caught on.
Reporter’s Notebook: In Health Care, A Good Price (Or Any Price) Is Hard To Find
Not only are health prices hidden, industry players are contractually obligated to keep them secret. That’s why answering a simple question — how much does it cost to have a baby in Mountain View, Calif.? — became a journalistic quest.
FDA Moves To Guard Against Abuse Of ‘Orphan Drug’ Program
Following a KHN investigation, the Food and Drug Administration has moved to speed up approvals of “orphan drugs” while closing a loophole that allowed drugmakers to skip pediatric testing.
Postcard From The Hill: Senators Shelve Histrionics In Search Of Obamacare Fix
The Senate health committee is putting aside partisan bickering this month to seek a legislative remedy to a possible spike in Obamacare premiums this fall.
Quiz: How Well Are You Paying Attention?
To strengthen your core knowledge of health care policy, it helps to be a regular reader of Kaiser Health News. Here’s a pop quiz to gauge what you have learned.
Cuestionan la necesidad de una vacuna contra la meningitis B para universitarios
Expertos dicen que farmacéuticas están apelando al miedo de los padres para promover dos vacunas contra le meningitis B entre estudiantes universitarios, luego de dos brotes en campus.
Guess Who Pays The Price When Hospital Giants Hire Your Private Practitioner?
Gobbling up doctors’ independent practices is lucrative for hospital systems — but not necessarily a good deal for the physicians or consumers, critics say. Northern California is a case in point.
Meningitis B Vaccine’s High Price Poses A Health Care Conundrum For College-Bound
This immunization may mark a shift among some vaccine makers to higher-priced, “niche” preventives that protect against very specific and sometimes rare illnesses.
5 Governors Press Congress For Fast Bucks To Secure Obamacare Market In 2018
State leaders tell senators that federal dollars are needed this fall to keep insurers participating in Obamacare next year and prevent big hikes in premiums.
Shedding New Light On Hospice Care: No Need To Wait For The ‘Brink Of Death’
Hospice care often prompts fear and misunderstanding, but the services provided can lead to less pain and trauma at the end of life.
Vital Health Officials You’ve Never Heard Of: Insurance Commissioners In The Hot Seat
The fate of the Affordable Care Act’s individual insurance marketplaces remains in play as state insurance commissioners take a central role in the debate.
How Below-The-Radar Mergers Fuel Health Care Monopolies
Most acquisitions by hospitals of physician practices are too small to trigger antitrust attention, study says. But a buying spree of “onesies and twosies” doctor practices has driven competition down and prices up.
Another Way For Anti-Vaxxers To Skip Shots For Schoolkids: A Doctor’s Note
No longer able to get exemptions for personal beliefs in California, parents opposed to inoculations seem to be obtaining medical exemptions for their children, according to a new study.
