Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicaid Expansion Could Be In Play In Georgia After Election Day
Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, opposes the program’s expansion and signed a law giving final say to the Republican-controlled Legislature. But Democratic challenger Jason Carter, a state senator, says that if he were elected governor, he would seek a “creative solution” with state lawmakers.
With Good Hospital Practices, Emory Rises To Ebola Challenge
The same Atlanta hospital that treated the first U.S. Ebola patient in August discharged its fourth patient Tuesday. All survived. Patients in isolation need extra emotional support, the team says.
Medicare Changes Could Limit Patient Access To ALS Communication Tools
Patient advocates say that, because of an official coverage reminder “the door is closing” for ALS patients who depend on Medicare to get speech-generation devices.
Family Doctors Push For A Bigger Piece Of The Health Care Pie
Eight physician groups have launched a multi-year campaign to win public and governmental support for a larger role.
The Latest In Public Health Funding: Tapping Investors
An asthma prevention program in California hopes to offer returns based on savings from reduced hospital visits.
Hospitals Struggle To Beat Back Serious Infections
KHN reporter Jordan Rau spoke on NPR about data that say about 75,000 patients per year die from infections they got in the hospital. Nearly 700 hospitals around the U.S. have higher than expected infection rates.
Hospitals’ Struggles To Beat Back Familiar Infections Began Before Ebola Arrived
Each year about 75,000 patients die from infections they caught in the hospital. A KHN analysis of federal data shows that nearly 700 hospitals have higher than expected rates of infection for at least one condition.
What CDC Can Do To Fight Ebola
The Ebola epidemic in Africa and fears of it spreading in the U.S. have turned the nation’s attention to the federal government’s front-line public health agency: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But as with Ebola itself, there is much confusion about the role of the CDC and what it can and cannot do to prevent and contain the spread of disease.
California Prop. 46, Inspired By Tragedy, Pits Doctors Against Lawyers
Opponents wage costly campaign, eroding public support.
Price Tags On Health Care? Only In Massachusetts
Under a new state law, Massachusetts insurers have to post how much tests and procedures cost at different providers in a consumer-friendly way.
How One U.S. Hospital Braces For Ebola
This story is part of a partnership that includes WNPR, NPR and Kaiser Health News. It can be republished for free. (details) Dr. Jack Ross is used to seeing potentially lethal viruses, and he is used to putting patients into isolation. Still, Ebola is different. “I think, for any hospital today, Ebola represents one step higher than anything […]
Many Medicare Outpatients Pay More At Rural Hospitals, Federal Report Says
An investigation by the HHS inspector general says beneficiaries getting the treatments at “critical access” hospitals pay between two and six times more than those at other hospitals.
Is Texas Prepared for a Public Health Emergency?
Experts says a series of recent threats, including the first Ebola patient to develop symptoms in the U.S., raise questions about the state’s capacity to deal with contagious diseases.
Medicare Fines 2,610 Hospitals In Third Round Of Readmission Penalties
Although fewer patients are now returning to the hospital within a month, the fines reached a record level this year.
Readmissions Penalties By State: Year 3
Medicare evaluated the readmission rates of the nation’s hospitals in determining the third year of penalties in the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. This table lists the average impact on hospitals in each state.
A Guide To Medicare’s Readmissions Penalties And Data
The methodology behind KHN’s analysis of the third year of the Medicare penalty program.
Hospitals React To Proton Therapy Questions
Three hospitals react to KHN’s story on proton therapy with the statements.
Proton Center Closure Doesn’t Slow New Construction
A proton beam therapy center in Indiana is closing, and insurers are reluctant to cover the expensive treatment for common cancers. But plans for three new proton therapy centers for the D.C. area are still moving forward.
As Payments Database Debuts, Doctors Urge Caution
Consumers can look up their doctors and see if they were paid in any way by the health industry.
‘The Health Care System Falls Apart When You’re A Complex Patient’
Jeffrey Brenner, a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and executive director of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, is betting that coordinated care for “super utilizer” patients will reduce health costs.
