Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
Cancer Patients’ Dilemma: Expensive Pills Vs. Invasive Chemo Treatment
Gaps in insurance policies make oral drugs too pricey for some cancer patients.
The Hidden Costs of Publicly Financed Private Health Insurance
There is a hidden cost how we fund health insurance in the U.S.: insurers have more information about health care than the taxpayers that help fund it. The system’s opacity gives insurers the upper hand in debates over government payment rates.
New Health Law Will Require Industry To Disclose Payments To Physicians
Doctors who accept speaking fees, five-star meals and other compensation from pharmaceutical or medical device companies will soon see their names — and the value of the gifts they accept — revealed on the Web.
State Efforts To Move People Out Of Nursing Homes Languish
Former physical education teacher Andrew Jones, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, spent five years in nursing homes in Georgia and Connecticut. The 56-year-old was able to move out of the nursing home system in 2009 with the help of a federally-funded state program, known as “Money Follows the Person.”
Lung Cancer Screening Often Raises Costly, Scary False Alarms
An analysis of lung cancer screening finds that 21 to 33 percent of the suspicious nodules found by CT scans are false alarms, resulting in extra scans and biopsies, which cost an average of an extra $1,100.
Florida Finds ‘Dramatic’ Difference In Medicaid HMOs Vs. Traditional Care
Medicaid patients in traditional fee-for-service care get some services at two to three times the frequency of those who are in managed care, a preliminary state report suggests. What it doesn’t say: Is that good or bad?
The President’s Orders On Same-Sex Partners’ Hospital Visitation Rights
The White House released a copy of the memo sent by President Barack Obama to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on hospital visitors’ rights, including those for same-sex partners of patients.
Should ‘DNR’ Mean ‘Do Not Resign’?
Folks who say, “When I get that sick, unplug me, don’t let me suffer” have never learned how the end of life can be done better.
Developing Nations: Laboratories For Health Care Innovation
Without big budgets, developing nations have to be creative and flexible when it comes to health care. As a result, some interesting new technologies and techniques have emerged that Westernized countries have adopted.
Savings From Computerizing Medical Records Are Hard To Measure
A study about the Veterans Administration takes a step towards putting a dollar value on the savings a health care system can get from electronic medical records.
Study: Back Pain Too Often Treated With Expensive Surgery
Too many people are getting complex back surgeries when more minimally-invasive procedures would work just as well. The number of these surgeries has increased by 15 times in five years. Overuse of medical care is one of the reasons the nation’s health bill is so high.
True or False: Seven Concerns About The New Health Law
The bill signed by President Obama is long and technical, so it’s no wonder that consumers are confused. KHN staff writers check out several key concerns.
Interview with NIH Director Francis Collins
Video interview with physician-geneticist Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.
Long-Term Care Program Debuts In New Health Law
The act will promote saving for long-term assistance and will especially benefit senior citizens. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
