Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health Care Interests Push To Make ACOs Pay Off For Them
From medical device makers to pharmacists to labor unions, a host of organizations want to ensure that accountable care organizations expand their business and influence.
Nurses’ Push For Bigger Role Gets Powerful Ally
An Institute of Medicine report says nurses should take on a larger role in providing health care and calls for removal of government restrictions, which doctors have repeatedly opposed.
Health Care Providers, Insurers: Accountable Care Organizations Bring Legal Worries
The Obama administration has touted ACOs as a key way that the new health law will help providers work more closely together to lower health costs and improve patient care. But doctors and hospitals are worried about inadvertently violating antitrust and anti-fraud laws. Insurers fear the new doctor-hospital entities could boost health care prices. Industry and government officials are meeting Tuesday to deal with the concerns.
Cheap Pill May Save Lives When Given Before Surgery
Doctors could save lives by prescribing cheap beta blockers to surgery patients at risk of heart attacks.
States Cutting Medicaid Benefits As They Stagger Under Economic Downturn
The recession’s double whammy – less money and more need – is leaving states with reduced tax revenues and increasing numbers of people enrolling in the federal-state health care program for the poor.
New ‘Innovation’ Chief Comes From ‘Model’ Health Care System
Dr. Richard Gilfillan, the new acting director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, has quite a juggling act to perform.
Congress has promised almost everyone in the country access to a whole slew of preventive services with no copay or deductible. The result could have a dire impact on health care quality and access.
As They Consolidate, Hospitals Get Pricier
The health reform law is likely to spur more hospital mergers, fueling a trend that experts say has led to higher hospital prices and insurance premiums.
Competition On Access: A Role For Government In Health Care Markets
New reports indicate that some government-owned hospitals are closing while others are being sold to the private-sector. These developments may result from normal market competition. But something important could be lost as a result: access.
Coordinated Care System Helps Physicians Meet More Patient Needs
In medical home model, a primary-care doctor leads a team responsible for coordinating and managing all of your care, whether it’s making sure you’re on top of routine lab tests to keep your diabetes in check or being available in off hours to handle unexpected problems.
Keeping An Eye On The Health Care Prize
Many reformers undoubtedly believe that passage of the health overhaul law laid the issue to rest. But policy’s wheels continue to turn, and the process is anything but over.
Health Overhaul Brings Ban On Lifetime Benefit Caps
Among the new provisions of the health law that take effect later this month is a ban on something most people don’t even know they have – a lifetime limit on benefits covered by their health insurance.
For-Profit Hospitals Performing More C-Sections
Private medical centers in California are more likely to perform C-sections compared with nonprofit hospitals.
Researchers Say Access To Primary Care Doesn’t Always Guarantee Better Health
Dartmouth researchers examining records of Medicare patients found that having access to a primary care doctor didn’t always result in the best health outcomes.
Medical School Students Facing A New Reality
When today’s medical students graduate
In An Age Of Consolidation, Some Community Hospitals Struggle To Remain Independent
While financial pressures and health reform drive many hospitals to merge, some standalone nonprofit hospitals stubbornly refuse to link up with hospital systems. How long can they survive on their own?
What To Do If You’re In Observation Care
Although it is difficult to reverse that decision, there are steps you can take to help make your case.
Growing Number Of Patients Find A Hospital Stay Does Not Mean They’re Admitted
The use of observation care is rising as hospitals cope with increasing constraints from Medicare, which is under pressure to control costs. But the decision can mean more out-of-pocket expenses for patients.
What You Can Do About The High Cost Of Health Care: Fix It
A nonprofit group is offering a $1,000 prize for the best essay on solving the nation’s problem of high health care costs.
Midlevel Providers Fill Primary Care Doctors’ Shoes
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners can prescribe medicine, and many operate almost completely independently of physician supervision. And unlike physicians in primary care, the number of physician assistants and nurse practitioners is on the rise.
