Medicare

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

KFF Health News Original

Happy Friday! In news that is technically really good and exciting but is also kind of icky: yarn made from human skin could eventually be used to stitch up surgical wounds as a way to cut down on detrimental reactions from patients. As CNN reports, “The researchers say their ‘human textile,’ which they developed from […]

What To Do If Your Home Health Care Agency Ditches You

KFF Health News Original

If you’re told Medicare’s home health benefits have changed, don’t believe it: Coverage rules haven’t been altered and people are still entitled to the same types of services. All that has changed is how Medicare pays agencies.

Watch: Let’s Talk About Trump’s Health Care Policies

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Shefali Luthra examines the president’s talking points on a range of topics — from insurance coverage, access to care and affordability issues to preexisting condition protections and prescription drug costs.

Why Home Health Care Is Suddenly Harder To Come By For Medicare Patients

KFF Health News Original

Medicare has changed how it pays for services. In response, agencies across the country are firing therapists, limiting physical, occupational and speech therapy, and terminating services for some longtime, severely ill patients.

Preeminent Hospitals Penalized Over Rates Of Patients’ Injuries

KFF Health News Original

Medicare cut payments for 786 hospitals because of high infection and complication rates. They included a third of the hospitals proclaimed as the nation’s best in one prominent ranking.

Patients Want A ‘Good Death’ At Home, But Hospice Care Can Badly Strain Families

KFF Health News Original

Fewer Americans are dying in a hospital, under the close supervision of doctors and nurses. That trend has been boosted by an expanded Medicare benefit that helps people live out their final days at home in hospice care. But as home hospice grows, so has the burden on families left to provide much of the care.

Loopholes Limit New California Law To Guard Against Lofty Air Ambulance Bills

KFF Health News Original

A new state law limits what consumers owe if they’re transported by an air ambulance that’s not part of their insurance network to the amount that they’d be charged if they used an in-network provider. But the law won’t protect millions of consumers whose health plans aren’t regulated by the state.

One-On-One With Trump’s Medicare And Medicaid Chief: Seema Verma

KFF Health News Original

Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sat down for a rare interview with KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney. They discuss her views on President Donald Trump’s plan for sustaining public health insurance programs, how the administration would respond if Obamacare is struck down by the courts in the future and her thoughts on how the latest “Medicare for All” proposals would affect innovation and access to care.

Government-Funded Day Care Helps Keep Seniors Out Of Nursing Homes And Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

The aptly named Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly provides services funded by Medicaid and Medicare that range from medical and mental health care to hot lunches, recreation, transportation and haircuts. California’s newest PACE center opened recently in San Diego County.