Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicare Seeks To Limit Number Of Seniors Placed In Hospital Observation Care
The proposal, part of the annual payment update, would help ease confusion over when beneficiaries are admitted to the hospital
Advocates Head To Court To Overturn Medicare Rules For Observation Care
Some hospital stays are not considered in-patient care, but seniors often don’t know that until they find they don’t qualify for full Medicare coverage.
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We will edit for space, and we require full names.
Yes, Virginia, There Is A Medical Home
Obamacare aims to shift how doctors and hospitals are paid – they’ll be rewarded for taking care of the whole patient, not just for every test or visit. But this is an idea that some practices have already embraced, and they have seen costs decline and patient health improve.
Tip Sheet On Staying Safe In The Hospital
Here are some tips to ensure that you stay safe while you’re in the hospital.
Health Care’s ‘Dirty Little Secret’: No One May Be Coordinating Care
Breakdowns in hospital communications are common, with sometimes dire consequences for patients.
Oregon’s Dilemma: How To Measure Health
The federal government has allocated $2 billion to Oregon to test ideas for coordinating care given by doctors, nurses, and hospitals. Now, the state has to figure out how it will measure its success
Nurses Fighting State By State For Minimum Staffing Laws
Nurses say understaffing at hospitals should be illegal; hospitals say the laws tie their hands.
In recent weeks, readers have reacted to stories about climbing death rates at critical access hospitals, the readmissions penalties being imposed on some hospitals and Walgreens’ move to become the first retail chain to diagnose and treat chronic conditions. Other coverage that drew responses included a story about angry doctors as well as coverage of decisions made both by physicians and consumers that impact the cost of care.
As Refugees Settle In, Health Care Becomes A Hurdle
Dr. Ashenafi Waktola relies on his own experience as a refugee from Ethiopia to shape his practice in Silver Spring, Md. where almost 50 percent of his patients are refugees. The 76,000 new arrivals from troubled countries who come to the U.S. each year qualify for government health care for eight months, but they often face language barriers and a confounding system when that special status elapses.
Doctor-Owned Hospitals Prosper Under Health Law
Even though the 2010 health law stymies their growth, these hospitals are gaining under Medicare’s quality payments programs.
VA Drive To Hire 1,600 Mental Health Professionals Hits Community Clinics’ Supply
Some experts say the pool of psychologists, psychiatrists and others is too small and the federal effort could jeopardize understaffed local centers.
Immigrant Docs Help Ease California’s Primary Care Shortage
Jose Chavez Gonzalez was working construction but had eight years of medical training in El Salvador. A UCLA program finds its candidates working in warehouses, meat packing plants and behind the counter at McDonalds.
Walgreens Becomes 1st Retail Chain To Diagnose, Treat Chronic Conditions
Stores in 18 states to use nurse practitioners, physician assistants to expand services to include diagnosis and treatment for chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
In South Jersey, New Options For Primary Care Are Slow To Take Hold
A clinic in a Camden, N.J., apartment building makes slow progress persuading patients not to use hospital emergency rooms for primary care.
Death Rates Rise At Geographically Isolated Hospitals, Study Finds
These critical access hospitals, which are often in rural areas, get paid more generously by Medicare and are exempt from some federal reporting standards. But those exemptions may be hiding quality issues at the facilities.
New Med School Aims To Train Primary Care Docs
Quinnipiac University in Connecticut is recruiting its first class for the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, with an eye toward meeting the coming demand for more primary care physicians.
Maryland’s Tough New Hospital Spending Proposal Seen As ‘Nationally Significant’
State officials want to limit hospital spending to the growth rate of the state’s economy, a huge challenge for hospitals.
Economic Changes Hurt The Bottom Line For Rural Ga. Hospitals
To save money, some cut procedures, such as labor and delivery services, but a growing number are forced to close.
Slow Progress On Efforts To Pay Docs, Hospitals For ‘Value,’ Not Volume
Consortium of large employers says that only 10.9 percent of employers’ health spending is based on value-based payment.
