Latest KFF Health News Stories
Pharmacists Slow To Dispense Lifesaving Overdose Drug
Laws in California and most other states allow pharmacists to provide naloxone to patients or their friends without a doctor’s prescription. But many don’t do so, citing lack of demand and awareness among patients, their own fears of insufficient compensation and the challenges of treating opioid users.
Terrifying Brush With Death Drives Doctor To Fight For Patients
Dr. Rana Awdish was completing a fellowship in critical care when she became critically ill herself. Now, she helps other doctors understand the patient’s perspective.
Care Suffers As More Nursing Homes Feed Money Into Corporate Webs
Increasingly, owners of nursing homes outsource services to companies in which they also have financial interest or control. That allows the nursing homes to claim to be in the red while owners reap hidden profits.
Trump Administration Relaxes Financial Penalties Against Nursing Homes
Medicare is discouraging regional offices from levying fines for “one-time mistakes” or from using daily fines that seek to put pressure on nursing homes to make changes.
Sickle Cell Patients, Families And Doctors Face A ‘Fight For Everything’
Premature death, a dearth of treatments, mistreatment in emergency rooms and a woeful lack of funding are just a few of the problems confronting people with sickle cell disease.
FDA Chief Says He’s Open To Rethinking Incentives On Orphan Drugs
The FDA’s Scott Gottlieb says the agency is focused on the big picture, and he wants to know why pharma churns out drugs for some rare diseases but not for others.
Arthritis Drugs Show How U.S. Drug Prices Defy Economics
Drugs that treat rheumatoid arthritis started out costing about $10,000 a year. Ten years later, they list for more than $40,000.
Biosimilars, Biologics And New Legal Challenges For RA Treatments
As biosimilar products reach the market and rival more established RA treatments, the players are exploring legal challenges involving antitrust and anti-competitive behavior.
751 Hospitals Hit With Safety Penalties For 2018: Data Table
The federal government has cut payments to hospitals with high rates of patient injuries this year. Those hospitals will lose 1 percent of Medicare payments over the federal fiscal year, which runs from October through September. Maryland hospitals are exempted from penalties because that state has a separate payment arrangement with Medicare. Below are the […]
Medicare Penalizes Group Of 751 Hospitals For Patient Injuries
Each hospital will have its payments reduced by 1 percent for the year.
Unregulated Herpes Experiments Expose ‘Black Hole’ Of Accountability
Controversial research methods by university researcher unlikely to prompt federal response or institutional change, experts say.
Doing More Harm Than Good? Epidemic of Screening Burdens Nation’s Older Patients
Patients are often aggressively screened for cancer, even if they won’t live long enough to benefit.
Drug Industry Spent Millions To Squelch Talk About High Drug Prices
Last year, the pharma industry’ biggest trade group raised millions to change the conversation about drug pricing.
No Sweeteners Added To Tax Bill To Spread Use Of Health Savings Accounts
These accounts are exempt from taxes and linked to high-deductible health plans. Republicans tried last summer in their unsuccessful efforts to replace the health law to make the accounts more enticing for consumers, but they didn’t make those changes in the current tax bill.
Canada’s Single-Payer Health System: What Is True? What Is False?
It’s a regular part of the politically charged debate over health care. But the lines sometimes blur between rhetoric and how Canada’s system actually works.
Mirando al norte: ¿puede un sistema de seguro universal funcionar en EE.UU.?
El senador independiente por Vermont, Bernie Sanders, es un promotor de este sistema de pagador único, que ha desarrollado Canadá.
Looking North: Can A Single-Payer Health System Work In The U.S.?
American single-payer advocates want to emulate Canada’s system. But many Canadian experts say the U.S. first needs to address some basic questions.
Medicare Fails To Recover Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Lab Overcharges
Genetic testing firms declare bankruptcy and wipe out debt to the federal government.
In Era Of Increased Competition, Hospitals Fret Over Ratings
Hospitals are jockeying for patients and view the many different quality and safety ratings as a keen way to distinguish their services. But when those ratings nosedive, a hospital may retaliate.
Opioids After Surgery Left Her Addicted. Is That A Medical Error?
Doctors prescribed powerful opioids for a patient after back surgery but gave her little guidance on how to take them safely. Then, she says, they misdiagnosed her withdrawal symptoms. Some experts say this situation is akin to a hospital-acquired condition.
