Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicaid is front and center in the debate on overhauling the U.S health system and expanding coverage to the uninsured. With 60 million enrollees, Medicaid dwarfs other insurance programs, including its cousin, Medicare, which covers 44 million elderly and disabled people. Here’s a chance to test your knowledge of Medicaid.
Revolving-Door Patients Illustrate Health System Flaws
Patients who are readmitted to the hospital soon after they’re discharged cost the health care system billions of dollars a year in unnecessary spending. These “frequent fliers,” as doctors sometimes call them, illustrate the worst aspects of poorly coordinated care. Innovative programs may serve as models for fixing the problems.
Special Health IT Report: Electronic Prescribing Increasing Despite Glitches
Advocates say e-prescribing is a key advance toward health care’s digital future because of its potential to reduce medical errors, cut drug costs and save doctors and patients time and money. But kinks need to be worked out to spur more rapid acceptance.
Doctors Say Electronic Data-Sharing Is Saving Lives, Money
Memphis, Tenn., is one of a growing number of areas with a successful high-tech health information exchange, which proponents say saves lives and money. But the system now faces a crucial test: what happens when the initial funding runs out?
Bartering For Health Care Rises
When people in Floyd County, Va., visit Dr. Susan Osborne, they can pay for their medicals exam with vegetables, lessons, carpentry services as well as cash. Bartering is a way of life in the rural area, Dr. Osborne says: “It just gives people another avenue to have health care.”
Recession Drives More People to Barter For Health Care
With many people strapped for cash, barter “exchanges” for health care is providing a temporary safety net of sorts for some workers who have lost their jobs and health coverage. And in some cases, people who have inadequate insurance are using barter to get critical services, such as dental and vision benefits.
A Group of Health CEOs Wants To End Medicare Fee-For-Service Payments
Some CEOs of America’s largest health care providers called Friday for an end to fee-for-service payments under Medicare and incentives to create administrative efficiencies to lower costs to help pay for America’s try at health care reform.
Minority Women More Likely Than White Women To Have Major Health Problems
Women of color in America are 11 times more likely than their white counterparts to contract AIDS, according to a study released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
New Yorker Article Sparks Strong Reaction
Surgeon and author Atul Gawande’s recent article in The New Yorker is generating intense discussion about the cost of medicine and exerting a powerful influence over the health reform debate.
Baucus: Comp Effectiveness Will Be In Health Reform Bill
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus says the bill soon to come out of his committee will include comparative effectiveness requirements.
Washington State Takes a Hard Look at New Treatments and Tests
A Washington state program decides whether to cover new treatments and tests by comparing them with the standard alternatives. If there’s no real difference, a panel of medical professionals can pick the least expensive. Decisions are binding for employees insured by the state, workers’ compensation claimants and patients in Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor.
Some Doctors Cut Deals With Struggling Patients
Doctors across the country are reducing their charges and offering payment plans to patients who have lost health insurance or income. This helps people stay well, but it also helps doctors maintain their practices at a time when many financially struggling Americans are deferring care. Patients who don’t pay their bills still run the risk of hearing from bill collectors.
NJ Hospital Fight Foreshadows Health Reform Challenges
A battle over whether to build a new hospital in northeastern New Jersey illustrates the formidable obstacles confronting President Obama and Congress as they try to mine savings from the $2.5 trillion health care system.
Is Universal Coverage Comparatively Effective?
As congressional Democrats prepare to deliver on President Barack Obama’s goal of “expanding coverage to all Americans” an important question remains unanswered: is universal coverage worth the money? Not only is there “no evidence” to show that universal coverage is the most cost-effective use of our $2 trillion, the benefits may not exceed the costs at all.
Growing Immigrant Population Spurs Demand For Medical Interpreters
Language barriers complicate immigrants’ medical problems.
New Jersey Program Finds Alternatives for ER ‘Super Users’
Emergency room doctors noticed the difference. Many of their “super user” patients weren’t coming around much anymore.
