Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Health Care Economy: New Questions About Costs, Quality And Care
The health care industry is bulletproof when it comes to increasing spending or creating jobs as growth rates often double the rest of the economy.
Patient Survey: More Health Care Is Better, Despite What Experts Say
A new survey finds that, when it comes to their own health care, most people say “more is better, newer is better, you get what you pay for.” That’s frustrating for experts who say these things are often not true.
What The New Health Law Means For You
The law will extend health insurance to 32 million currently uninsured Americans by 2019, and will also have an impact on how nearly every American buys insurance and what insurance must cover.
Experts Worry: Could Government Loans To Doctors Raise Health Costs?
More than $2.5 billion in government-backed loans to doctors, dentists and other health care providers is helping to stimulate the economy and help patients, but some health experts say the money could increase health costs.
Obama’s Health IT Leader Says Doctors Will Embrace Change
David Blumenthal is guiding the deployment of up to $27 billion in federal stimulus money to help doctors and hospitals implement health information technology. Proponents say the shift is critical to achieving goals of medical care quality and cost control.
For-Profit Cash Infusion May Help Detroit Medical Center Rebound
A deal to buy the beleaguered city’s largest health system would mean $850 million in improvements.
Two Tiered Medical Care for Haves and Have Nots
A growing number of physicians are leaving traditional insurance-based practices to offer VIP treatment.
Medical Spending Spiking In Once Thrifty Areas
Areas like Provo, Utah, that were once models of cost-efficient care are becoming more expensive
Hospital Tries ‘Speed Dating’ To Attract Doctors, Patients
Although some critics say marketing drives up costs, many in the hospital industry say it’s crucial in the face of increasing competition. One Dallas area hospital is trying a version of “speed dating” to bring in patients and doctors.
Health Law Guarantees Protections For Emergency Room Visits
The new health law mandates that insurers cannot pay less for emergency care in “out-of-network” hospitals and eases consumer worries about having to pre-authorize an emergency room visit.
Advocacy Group Details Treatment Needs For Older Patients
The Partnership for Health in Aging released a set of 23 skills that all health care professionals – doctors, dentists, nurses, social workers and others – should have by the time they receive their degrees.
New Law Could Help Hospice Patients Continue Aggressive Medical Treatments
People who are dying currently can’t get Medicare to pay for hospice care if they continue aggressive curative treatment. But the new health overhaul law could lead to a major change in olicy that allows both hospice and curative care.
Groups Vie For A Piece Of Health Law’s $15 Billion Prevention Fund
Public health officials and a host of prevention and wellness groups have sharply different ideas about how to spend a big pot of new federal prevention money
Medicare Doctor Pay ‘Fix’ Deadline Looming – Again
For the third time this year, Congress has just days to avert a scheduled 21 percent cut in pay to doctors who treat seniors and others on the Medicare program. And no one seems to be able to figure out how to solve the problem in anything except a stopgap way.
Hospitals Criticized For Keeping Quiet On Charity Care
Too many nonprofit hospitals fail to adequately publicize their charity-care programs, two advocacy groups say in a survey report released today.
Studies: When Doctors Take More Responsibility, Care Becomes Cheaper And Better
Medical homes – where primary care doctors are held responsible for coordinating care for individual patients
Primary Care Docs Earn Less Than Specialists, But More Than We Do
Specialists make a lot more than doctors who are generalists, so-called primary care doctors. But the size of the gap might surprise you: Try more than $100,000 a year.
Medical Students Learn First Hand About Health Costs
At the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, students get hands-on lessons about the impact of treatment costs on patients by volunteering Saturdays at the East Harlem Health Outreach Program, a student-run free clinic for uninsured residents of a low-income neighborhood nearby.
Teaching Doctors The Price Of Care
Doctors in training have traditionally been insulated from details about the cost of tests and treatments they prescribe. But concerns about rising health costs are slowly changing that.
Using High Tech To Lower Health Costs
Electronic medical records could help curb health costs by providing doctors with details on the price of tests and drugs, health policy experts say.
