Medicare

Latest KFF Health News Stories

As Surgery Centers Boom, Patients Are Paying With Their Lives

KFF Health News Original

An investigation by Kaiser Health News and the USA TODAY Network discovers that more than 260 patients have died since 2013 after in-and-out procedures at surgery centers across the country. More than a dozen — some as young as 2 — have perished after routine operations, such as colonoscopies and tonsillectomies.

KHN On NPR: The Uniquely American Problem Of High Prescription Drug Costs

KFF Health News Original

Kaiser Health News Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal discusses drug costs with Scott Simon, the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition. Listen to the broadcast and read a transcript of that conversation.

Bipartisan Senate Budget Deal Boosts Health Programs

KFF Health News Original

The agreement would add $2 billion to the National Institutes of Health and fund community health centers around the country. But it does not include provisions to help stabilize the federal health law’s marketplaces.

Stalled Health Programs Await A Green Light On The Hill

KFF Health News Original

With another piece of must-pass legislation set to move through Congress, there’s a push to attach provisions to keep afloat a number of health-related programs for which funding or specific federal direction has expired.

Infection Lapses Rampant In Nursing Homes But Punishment Is Rare

KFF Health News Original

A Kaiser Health News analysis of federal inspection records shows that nursing home inspectors labeled mistakes in infection control as serious for only 161 of the 12,056 homes they have cited since 2014.

751 Hospitals Hit With Safety Penalties For 2018: Data Table

KFF Health News Original

The federal government has cut payments to hospitals with high rates of patient injuries this year. Those hospitals will lose 1 percent of Medicare payments over the federal fiscal year, which runs from October through September. Maryland hospitals are exempted from penalties because that state has a separate payment arrangement with Medicare. Below are the […]