Latest KFF Health News Stories
In Pursuit Of Patient Satisfaction, Hospitals Update The Hated Hospital Gown
Redesigning and replacing hospital gowns is one example of efforts by hospitals and health systems to enhance the patient experience.
Hoping To Live, These Doctors Want A Choice In How They Die
In a California lawsuit seeking to allow doctors to prescribe lethal medications at patients’ request, two plaintiffs are physicians with serious illnesses. Both want the option of choosing to end their lives.
Policy Shift By Nation’s Largest Insurer Could Leave Some With Unexpected Bills
UnitedHealthcare is no longer routinely paying for out-of-network emergency room physicians and other specialists even when they work for hospitals in the insurer’s network.
Even In Female Dominated Nursing, Men Earn More
Nurses who are men make nearly $7,700 a year more than female nurses in outpatient settings and nearly $3,900 more annually in hospitals, a study finds.
Battle Over Dementia Drug Swap Has Big Stakes For Drugmakers, Consumers
A court ruling about Actavis’s strategy to switch consumers from its top-selling dementia drug, which will lose patent protection this summer, to a newer, patent-protected drug, may define how far drugmakers can go to protect profits from generic rivals.
Blue Shield of California Loses Its State Tax Exemption
The unheralded move by California tax authorities last August may leave the insurer on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in taxes dating back to 2013. Blue Shield of California is protesting the action.
Rural Hospitals, One Of The Cornerstones Of Small Town Life, Face Increasing Pressure
For people in Mount Vernon, Texas, the loss of their hospital means longer trips for treatment and uncertainty when a medical crisis hits.
PHOTOS: Shared Decision Making
Shared decision making programs encourage doctors and patients to work together in making tough choices about care at UC San Francisco.
Inviting Patients To Help Decide Their Own Treatment
At UC San Francisco and other hospitals and clinics around the nation, “shared decision making” programs encourage doctors and patients to work together in making tough choices about care.
In Texas Funding Fight, Cancer Care For Poor Women Could Be Collateral Damage
GOP lawmakers eager to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood are weighing changes to a cancer screening program for poor women. But private clinics unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood say they’d take a hit, too.
Efforts To Instill Empathy Among Doctors Are Paying Dividends
Often considered less important than technical skills, having a good bedside manner is important to helping patients and can lead to better outcomes.
Retail Health Care Spurs Innovation In South Florida
In September, Florida Blue will debut three “integrated care” facilities designed to cater to South and Central American populations by offering primary care, specialty services, labs and diagnostics under one roof — a model common in Latin America.
Mental Health Providers Look For Federal Incentives To Go Digital, Too
The federal government is spending $26 billion to get doctors and hospitals to move to digital records to help coordinate care, but the funding does not include mental health clinics, psychologists and psychiatric hospitals.
FDA Heads Into Uncharted Territory Of ‘Biosimiliar’ Drugs
Under a new process set out by the health law, the FDA approved the first so-called biosimilar drug for sale in the U.S. It’s a copy of the cancer medicine Neupogen that will be sold under the brand name Zarxio.
Hundreds Of Hospitals Struggle To Improve Patient Satisfaction
Pleasing patients has become more important to hospitals as Medicare takes consumers views into account when setting payments. Most hospitals are getting better, but others have not improved since the government started publishing ratings six years ago.
Obamacare, Private Medicare Plans Must Keep Updated Doctor Directories In 2016
New federal rules requiring current information apply to insurers selling plans on healthcare.gov and the private policies that are an alternative to Medicare.
Awake, And Safe, All Night Despite Dementia
A special “daycare at night” program in the Bronx cares for Alzheimer’s patients whose internal clocks mistake night for day.
Digital Dilemma For Medicine: How To Share Records
Most industries share complicated digital files to do business, but health care still leans hard on paper printouts and fax machines. Despite a $30 billion taxpayer investment in electronic health records since 2009, most of those systems are unable to talk to each other.
No Medicaid Expansion? No Problem For Many Safety-Net Hospital Profits
In some of the largest states that did not expand Medicaid, many safety-net hospitals turned in strong performances in 2014, according to financial documents.
HHS Shifts Money From Cancer, Global Health To Pay For Health Insurance Exchange
Some House Republicans question the transfer of funds, but HHS says the shifts are legal and necessary to operate a marketplace, which is relied upon by 37 states.
