Latest KFF Health News Stories
Retail Health Clinics Expanding
President of MinuteClinic, the nation’s largest chain, says his facilities help fill the void caused by a shortage of primary care doctors. But they also help patients find physicians and coordinate care.
Could Kaiser Permanente’s Low-Cost Health Care Be Even Cheaper?
Critics say the price gap between Kaiser Permanente and other companies has narrowed for unclear reasons.
Catholic Hospital Leader Defends Split With Obama Administration On Contraceptives
Catholic Health Association chief Sister Carol Keehan, a key ally of President Obama on the health law, said last week that the organization could not support a compromise on the free birth control provision of the law.
Workplace Clinics Are Expanding Focus Beyond Injuries, Preventive Care
Some big employers are beefing up their clinic offerings with a host of new services, including physical therapy, dental and vision exams, mental health counseling and even acupuncture and massage.
Uncertainty Over Law Casts Shadow Over Health Care Innovations
Under the 2010 health law, the government has invested in a decade’s worth of ideas on how to improve patient care and change the ways doctors and hospitals function — changes could be halted if the Supreme Court throws out all or part of the law.
For the first time, the U.S. Olympic Committee is digitizing health records for the athletes who will be competing in London. Some say this step is a sign that electronic medical records are finally catching up to the demands of specialized health care.
Biggest Mass. Insurer Tightens Rules On Some Painkillers
Blue Cross Blue Shield will require a review after 30 days to reduce addiction risks and keep the drugs from teenagers and others for whom they weren’t prescribed.
As Patients’ Records Go Digital, Theft And Hacking Problems Grow
Data breaches put HHS
Patients who had been asked to pay up while writhing in pain testify at a hearing called by Sen. Al Franken in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Psychiatric Patients Languish In Emergency Rooms
Competition to reduce ER wait times has spurred one Denver hospital chain to add a 40-bed psychiatric ward.
Oregon’s $2 Billion Medicaid Bet
Gov. John Kitzhaber, a former emergency room doctor, has convinced the federal government that he has a way to make Medicaid treatment better, and cheaper, by completely changing the way the sickest people in the state get health care.
Some Patients Can Choose To Be Hospitalized At Home
These innovative programs — available in only a few areas — allow some chronically ill patients to skip the hospital and opt instead for similar care at home.
Trained Interpreters For Patients With Limited English Can Help Avoid Medical Mishaps
Too often, however, hospitals and other providers are not reimbursed for such services and can’t afford to keep them.
Higher Prices Charged By Hospitals, Other Providers, Drove Health Spending During Downturn
A new study finds prices rose at least five times faster than overall inflation for emergency room visits, outpatient surgery and facility-based mental health and substance abuse care from 2009 to 2010.
Innovation Grants: Adding Resources To Ideas To Improve Health Care Delivery
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently awarded 26 innovation grants to advance ideas that are designed to add efficiency and quality to the health system while generating savings. KHN takes a look at four of these projects.
Some States Mandate Better Coverage Of Oral Cancer Drugs
Patients complain that they can spend tens of thousands of dollars because pills are considered a pharmacy benefit by many insurers while traditional IV chemo generally has a a flat copayment and out-of-pocket costs are capped.
Doctors And Insurers Are Key To Fighting Obesity
IOM report says physicians need to be more rigorous in dealing with patients’ weight, and insurers should reverse stingy reimbursement policies and help develop evidence-based programs that can help curb the epidemic.
Medicare Spotlights Hospitals With Especially Costly Patients
The new data, which include beneficiaries’ bills in the hospital and for 30 days afterward, are a first step toward using bonuses and penalties to encourage more efficient care.
Patients Share Of Expensive Specialty Drugs Is Rising
Growth in spending on these prescriptions, used for complex conditions such as MS and Crohn’s disease, is far outpacing traditional drugs. Often they have no generic alternative.
‘Virtual’ Consultations: A Physician’s View
Once a month, Dr. Ankush Bansal, an internist, travels to his home in Miami to see patients virtually via computer for three different health care companies. Bansal said he doesn’t think telemedicine will replace practicing traditional medicine.
