Latest KFF Health News Stories
Research Finds Link Between Poor Health And Seniors Switching Out Of Private Medicare Plans
Some advocates are concerned that the Medicare Advantage plans have incentives to skim off the lowest-maintenance customers and leave the expensive patients to the traditional program.
Post-Sandy, NYU Langone Has Reopened, But Can It Regain Market Share?
Some 500 NYU doctors found refuge at other hospitals while NYU was closed following Hurricane Sandy. Now, the question looms whether all of the patients and doctors will return.
Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital Is Back, But Changed After Sandy
Doctors, staff and administrators at the large urban institution have had to improvise as they restore partial service to the community and repair the historic hospital’s damaged infrastructure at the same time.
Kidney Donation Over Age 70? Desperate Patients Saying, ‘Yes, Please’
While most of the nation’s kidney transplant centers don’t have an upper age limit for recipients, more than three-quarters don’t accept the organs from people older than 70. Some doctors and patients are pushing to change that.
Despite Incentives, Doctors’ Offices Lag On Digital Records
A recent study found that the health care industry isn’t benefiting from computer networks that have transformed other fields. But the federal coordinator for health IT says there has been a lot of progress that will result in better care and cost savings in the future.
Insurers Prod Doctors, Hospitals To Stop Elective Early Deliveries
Medicaid and private insurers seek to reduce deliveries before 39 weeks to reduce complications and costs.
Hospices, Wary Of Costs, May Be Discouraging Patients With High Expenses
A survey finds that more than three-quarters of hospices have restrictive enrollment policies designed to keep away patients with high-cost medical needs.
Slowly Dying Patients, An Audit And A Hospice’s Undoing
For one San Diego Hospice, the trouble began with a federal audit.
Emergency Departments Are On The Frontline Of The Flu
More patients with the flu are seeking care at the emergency room this year, and despite the 112 million Americans who have gotten a flu shot, it remains to be seen if this year’s version will be just bad or historically bad.
As ‘Bodega Clinicas’ Fill Void, Officials Are Torn on Embracing Them
The storefront doctor’s offices serve a vast number of uninsured Latino residents, in a kind of parallel, cash-only health system. But officials have little information on the quality of health care the clinicas provide, and whether they might be able to help fill persistent and profound gaps in Los Angeles’ strained safety net.
‘The Matrix’ Meets Medicine: Surveillance Swoops Into Health Care
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society is testing how using technology to monitor seniors’ health can save money on medical costs and help seniors feel secure enough to “age in place.”
Behind The Fiscal Cliff Deal, A Prolonged Hospital Finance Fight
Hospitals complain they are bearing the brunt of sustaining payment levels for doctors but the changes in Medicare were a long time coming.
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection.
Health Law Seen Boosting Xerox, HP
Data companies are poised to profit from the expansion of Medicaid.
Medicare Discloses Hospitals’ Bonuses, Penalties Based On Quality
Under a program set up by the health law, payments to 1,557 hospitals will be increased, while 1,427 will drop.
How Hospitals’ Quality Bonuses And Penalties Were Determined And How To Use The Data
Payments to hospitals are adjusted to reflect how they follow standards of care and patients’ ratings of their experiences.
By State: Hospital Quality Bonuses and Penalties
This chart shows the average effect by state of the value-based purchasing program on hospitals’ Medicare reimbursements per hospital stay for the federal spending year that runs from last October through September 2013.
As Population Diversifies, Rethinking How We Care For Elderly
Gerontologist Peggye Dilworth-Anderson discusses why we need to rethink what we perceive of as “normal” aging.
Q&A: Options For Patients Who Get Out-Of-Network Care
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about handling an out-of-network bill from a provider the patient didn’t choose.
In Many Communties, Nurse Practitioners Fill An Important Void
Many states are trying to loosen decades-old licensing restrictions, known as “scope of practice laws,” that prevent nurse practitioners from playing the lead role in providing basic health services.
