Latest KFF Health News Stories
An Air Force Career Held up Because of Debt Owed for Medical Bills
Emergency room care left Samaria Bradford with $5,000 in medical bills. Now she has to track down and pay that debt before she can hope to enlist in the military.
From Her View in Knoxville, the Health System Is ‘Not Designed for Poor People’
Monica Reed was the first in her family to own a home and has lived “a frugal kind of life.” Cancer treatment left her with almost $10,000 in debt, pushing her to the edge financially.
A Montana Addiction Clinic Wants to Motivate People With Rewards. Then Came a Medicaid Fraud Probe.
A complaint was filed with the state against an addiction treatment provider that wants to use rewards — an effective but largely unregulated tool — to help people stay in recovery.
Abrumados por los costos, hospitales crean sus propias agencias de enfermería
Cada vez más sistemas hospitalarios están creando equipos internos de personal para hacer frente a la escasez de enfermeras provocada por la pandemia, y para tratar de vencer a las agencias privadas de personal temporal con sus propias armas.
Squeezed by Temp Nurse Costs, Hospital Systems Create Their Own Staffing Agencies
Hospitals have depended on travel nurses to fill shifts, especially during covid surges. Now some larger systems, reeling from high contract labor costs, have created staffing units, aiming to lure nurses who want more work flexibility and better pay than staff RNs get.
What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt
Coal mining ended in Germany’s Saarland a decade ago, but the transition away from coal has been smoother than in West Virginia, which has more medical debt than any state in America.
KHN Investigation: The System Feds Rely On to Stop Repeat Health Fraud Is Broken
A months-long KHN examination of the system meant to bar fraudsters from Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health programs found gaping holes and expansive gray areas through which banned individuals slip to repeatedly bilk taxpayer-funded programs.
Los hospitales optimizan los ingresos tratando de mantener sus camas llenas al 100 %, y llenas de pacientes con condiciones que las aseguradoras reembolsan bien.
To Attract In-Home Caregivers, California Offers Paid Training — And Self-Care
Turnover ails a program that allows low-income people who are older or disabled to age in place. To attract new workers and improve retention, the state is paying caregivers to develop new skills.
Hospital Financial Decisions Play a Role in the Critical Shortage of Pediatric Beds for RSV Patients
Yes, the U.S. is experiencing an unusual spate of childhood RSV infections. But the critical shortage of hospital beds to treat ailing children stems from structural problems in pediatric care that have been brewing for years.
Paxlovid Has Been Free So Far. Next Year, Sticker Shock Awaits.
The government soon will stop paying for the covid drug that has proved to be the most effective at keeping patients alive and out of the hospital.
Employers Use Patient Assistance Programs to Offset Their Own Costs
Some insurers and employers are tapping into assistance programs meant for individual patients. The concern: Some costly drugs could be harder for patients to access.
Florida Leaders Misrepresented Research Before Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
The Florida policy backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis relies on one key statistic that many experts question.
Assisted Living Facilities Pressed to Address Growing Needs of Older, Sicker Residents
Assisted living was meant to be a home-like setting where older adults could interact with other residents while receiving help with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing. But as the concept has become more popular, residents are now older and sicker than in the past, and a panel of experts is calling for more focus on their medical and mental health needs.
Much of the CDC Is Working Remotely. That Could Make Changing the Agency Difficult.
Like many U.S. workplaces, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went remote during the pandemic. Most of the agency’s staff members haven’t returned to the office full time, raising concerns about the CDC’s ability to reform itself after recent stumbles.
Para lanzar un nuevo fármaco al mercado, la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos (FDA) exige a las farmacéuticas estudios exhaustivos para demostrar su seguridad y eficacia. Conseguir que un medicamento salga al mercado unos meses antes, y con menos gastos de lo habitual, puede traducirse en beneficios millonarios para el fabricante.
The Business of Clinical Trials Is Booming. Private Equity Has Taken Notice.
Private equity-backed Headlands Research heralded its covid-19 vaccine trials as a chance to boost participation among diverse populations, then it shuttered multiple sites that conducted them.
Addiction Treatment Proponents Urge Rural Clinicians to Pitch In by Prescribing Medication
The number of U.S. health care providers certified to prescribe buprenorphine more than doubled in the past four years, and treatment advocates hope to see that trend continue.
Rural Colorado Tries to Fill Health Worker Gaps With Apprenticeships
A Grand Junction program is training and retaining nurse and personal care aides in areas where the aging population is creating a need for them. But challenges remain for these workers.
Trickle of Covid Relief Funds Helps Fill Gaps in Rural Kids’ Mental Health Services
Only a sliver of the funding given to state, local, and tribal governments through the American Rescue Plan Act has been steered to mental health nationwide, but mental health advocates and clinicians hope the money it provides will help address gaps in care for children. In Appalachian Ohio, the funding is helping expand services.
