Latest KFF Health News Stories
Opioid Prescriptions Drop Sharply Among State Workers
New data from the California agency that manages health benefits for 1.5 million public employees, retirees and their families shows that doctors are writing far fewer opioid prescriptions, reflecting a national trend of physicians cutting back on the addictive drugs.
Escalating Workplace Violence Rocks Hospitals
Incidents of serious workplace violence are four times more common in health care than in private industry, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Listen: After Its Hospital Closes, A Pioneer Kansas Town Searches For What Comes Next
Deep questions underlie what is happening in Fort Scott, Kan.: Do small communities like this one need a traditional hospital at all? And, if not, what health care do they need?
Walmart Charts New Course By Steering Workers To High-Quality Imaging Centers
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, is recommending that employees and dependents use one of 800 imaging centers identified as providing trustworthy care.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Listen: Trump’s Plan To End ‘Unpleasant Surprise’ Bills
President Donald Trump called for an end to the “unpleasant surprise” of certain medical bills on Thursday. NPR reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin covered the White House announcement, which featured two patients from the KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” series.
Surprise! Fixing Out-Of-Network Bills Means Someone Must Pay
Despite the broad agreement on the need to address surprise bills, insurers and health care providers oppose the other side’s preferred solutions.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Conscience’ Rules, Rx Prices and Still More Medicare
Joanne Kenen of Politico, Jen Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the latest news about the Trump administration’s effort to allow health care practitioners and organizations to refuse to provide care or refer patients for services that violate their conscience or religion. Also this week, the administration orders TV ads for prescription drugs to include list prices. And Tennessee wants free rein from the federal government to run its Medicaid program. Plus, Rovner interviews Joan Biskupic, author of a new book on Chief Justice John Roberts, about the behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to the 2012 ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Market Muscle: Study Uncovers Differences Between Medicare And Private Insurers
Findings released Thursday by the Rand Corp. highlight how reimbursement rates vary nationally and the impact the charges have on the nation’s high cost of health care.
Effects Of Surgery On A Warming Planet: Can Anesthesia Go Green?
Two of the most commonly used anesthesia gases are similar medically but worlds apart when it comes to their impact on the planet.
Drug Industry Patents Go Under Senate Judiciary Committee’s Microscope
During a hearing Tuesday, panel members focused on how drug companies have used patents to allegedly protect their competitive edge and profits.
Feds Want To Show Health Care Costs On Your Phone, But That Could Take Years
Giving consumers more knowledge about the costs of care has long been desired, but administration officials cautioned it could take two years or more for useful data to appear in a phone app.
Putting A Face To Surprise Bills: Among Specialists, Plastic Surgeons Most Often Out-Of-Network
Many plastic surgeons don’t participate in health plans, even when providing emergency care at a hospital. Too often that catches patients off guard.
Readers And Tweeters Parse Ideas — From Snakebites To Senior Suicide
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
FDA To End Program That Hid Millions Of Reports On Faulty Medical Devices
In the wake of a KHN investigation, the agency will no longer let device makers file reports of harm outside a widely used public database.
Short-Staffed Nursing Homes See Drop In Medicare Ratings
In its latest update to the Nursing Home Compare website, the government gave 1,638 homes its lowest star rating for staffing — one star on its five-star scale. Most were downgraded because payroll records reported no registered-nurse hours at all for at least four days.
Look-Up: How Nursing Home Staffing Fluctuates Nationwide
Use this tool to see staffing levels at skilled nursing homes in the U.S.
Even Doctors Can’t Navigate Our ‘Broken Health Care System’
A physician’s frustration navigating a medical emergency with his elderly father reveals a complex, dysfunctional system.
