Latest KFF Health News Stories
Readers Ask About Concierge Medicine And Medicare; Insulin Costs And The Doughnut Hole
KHN consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers questions about Medicare beneficiaries’ costs associated with doctors who have concierge medicine practices, insulin pumps and respite care.
Medicare Says Doctors Should Get Paid To Discuss End-Of-Life Issues
The topic is complex and sometimes requires multiple visits, but right now doctors are paid for it only if they discuss end-of-life planning in their initial visit with a new Medicare patient.
Study Casts Doubt On Assumptions About Hospital ‘Frequent Fliers’
New research finds that patients who repeatedly use costly hospital and emergency room services, known often as super-utilizers or frequent fliers, generally don’t seek such intense care for a lifetime but instead for a short period of time.
Telephone Therapy Helps Older People In Underserved Rural Areas, Study Finds
Counseling by mental health professionals over the phone was effective in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms, according to researchers.
Half Of Nation’s Hospitals Fail Again To Escape Medicare’s Readmission Penalties
The fines, in their fourth year, are assessed on hospitals that have patients frequently return and will cost nearly 2,600 hospitals $420 million in total.
Meet The California Family That Has Made Health Policy Its Business
On Medicare’s 50th birthday, two brothers who helped get it off the ground tell their stories. A younger member of the Lee family is at the helm of Covered California, the state insurance exchange.
Congress Overwhelmingly Approves Bill Bolstering Medicare Patients’ Hospital Rights
Medicare patients must be told when they’re in “observation” status but not admitted in a hospital, under legislation expected to be signed into law by the president.
Medicare Turns 50 But Big Challenges Await
Medicare provides coverage to one in six Americans, and federal officials hope to trim the increasing cost and improve how the program operates.
Health Law Experiment Failed To Show Savings
An ambitious demonstration to transform clinics into “medical homes” treating patients in the community instead of the hospital didn’t save money. Some blame the test, not the idea.
Good News, Bad News In Medicare Trustees Report
Trust fund solvent until 2030, but some seniors may see a big spike in Part B premiums.
Home Health Agencies Get Medicare’s Star Treatment
For the first time, the government is assigning one to five stars to the agencies that care for seniors in their homes. Nearly half of 9,000 agencies rated captured average scores.
New Regulations Would Require Modernizing Nursing Home Care
The proposed rules, released in advance of the White House Conference on Aging, cover wide-ranging topics, from meals to roommate selection to staff training.
Want A Good Laugh? Head To The Hospital
Across the country, hospitals are offering seniors social activities and other benefits to help them stay healthy and out of the hospital, while also encouraging them to come back to visit.
When Turning 65, Consumers With Marketplace Plans Need To Be Vigilant In Choosing Health Coverage
Seniors can opt to stay in their marketplace plans when they become eligible for Medicare, but most lose their access to subsidies and failing to move into Medicare promptly results in premium penalties.
Medicare Slow To Adopt Telemedicine Due To Cost Concerns
Less than 1 percent of beneficiaries use the technology because Congress has put tight restrictions on it.
Medicare Drug Plans Favor Generic Opioids Over Those Designed To Avoid Abuse, Study Finds
The Part D plans have cut back coverage of a newer version of OxyContin that has been formulated to make it tougher for people to snort or inject it. That new version is 20 times more expensive than the generic.
Medicare Pays For Spouses To Get Grief Counseling Through Hospice
But a new study of Medicare beneficiaries finds that hospice services had little impact on depression suffered by individuals after the death of their spouses.
Study: Cataract Surgery Fast And Safe, But Many On Medicare Get Costly Pre-Testing
Having blood work and other tests before cataract surgery isn’t usually recommended, but a study finds that more than half of Medicare beneficiaries get them.
Medicare Itemizes Its $103 Billion Drug Bill
Federal officials release data showing prescription histories of hundreds of thousands of doctors and identifying the most common and costly drugs.
Officials Weigh Options To Hold Down Medicare Costs For Hospice
Under Medicare’s hospice benefit, patients agree to forgo curative treatment, but they can continue to receive coverage for health problems not related to their terminal illness. Federal officials suspect some of those expenses should be covered by hospice.
