Health Industry

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Bruising Labor Battles Put Kaiser Permanente’s Reputation On The Line

KFF Health News Original

Kaiser Permanente just avoided a nationwide strike by thousands of workers, but now faces a new strike threat Monday. The labor battles are exposing the health care giant to scrutiny from lawmakers, health care advocates and others who accuse it of no longer living up to its nonprofit ideals.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Elections Matter

KFF Health News Original

Key Democratic wins in 2019 state elections in Virginia and (probably) Kentucky could have big implications for health care in general and Medicaid in particular. And in the Democratic presidential primary, Elizabeth Warren is catching flak from all sides over her “Medicare For All” plan. This week, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Caitlin Owens of Axios and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Laura Ungar, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month.” For “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.

Moved Overseas For School, Stayed For Insulin

KFF Health News Original

Katie West, an American health researcher who has lived in Germany the past three years, hasn’t mastered the language and misses her family. But not having to worry about the cost of her lifesaving medication makes it OK.

‘Fear Of Falling’: How Hospitals Do Even More Harm By Keeping Patients In Bed

KFF Health News Original

In what experts call an “epidemic of immobility,” older hospital patients remain stuck in bed, their movements tracked by loud and ineffective bed alarms, losing muscle mass that’s key to their health and daily functioning.

Think ‘Medicare For All’ Is The Only Democratic Health Plan? Think Again

KFF Health News Original

The Democratic presidential candidates have hit hard on health care, but generally the debates have centered on what kind of system candidates propose. The candidates’ ideas on many other issues, such as mental health and gun safety, have attracted much less attention.