Latest KFF Health News Stories
Supreme Court Battle Brewing Over Medicaid Fees
States say government should be able to set rates without courts stepping in. Patient advocates and providers say intervention is needed to improve access.
Appeals Court Hears Texas Abortion Case
Three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sharply questions both sides and focuses on the abortion clinics’ argument that the law would create a burden for women in El Paso and West Texas.
How California Can Improve Oversight of Home Caregivers
In California, hundreds of thousands of low-income elderly and disabled people receive daily care in their homes from their children, spouses, relatives and others. And, through a program called In-Home Supportive Services, the state pays many of those caregivers about $10 an hour to do the job.
Medicaid’s Western Push Hits Montana
After sitting out the first full year of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, lawmakers in Montana have moved on to arguing — not about whether — but about how much federal cash to pull down.
Lots Of Responsibility For In-Home Care Providers — But No Training Required
The lack of instruction even in CPR and first aid in California program puts clients at risk, according to experts, advocates and some caregivers.
As Caregiving Shifts To The Home, Scrutiny Is Lacking
California’s publicly funded in-home care program leaves elderly and disabled clients vulnerable to abuse and poor treatment, Kaiser Health News investigation finds.
When Home And Health Are Just Out Of Reach
Health insurance doesn’t pay for housing, but sometimes that is what a patient needs most. A Medicaid experiment, called Money Follows The Person, helps some elderly and disabled people move out of institutions into their own homes.
As Docs Face Big Cuts In Medicaid Pay, Patients May Pay The Price
The health law offered a two-year pay raise for primary care doctors who see Medicaid patients to entice them to participate, but that expires Dec. 31.
Medicaid Privatization May Pose Risk To Those With Complicated Health Needs
Florida’s decision to privatize government-subsidized healthcare for more than 3 million Medicaid recipients will lower costs and improve care, state leaders say. But the new managed care system is also exposing some Floridians in Medicaid, the state/federal insurance program for children, the poor and disabled, to the uncertainties of the private market for the first […]
Medicare Cuts Payments To 721 Hospitals With Highest Rates Of Infections, Injuries
The 1 percent penalty, mandated by the health law, will hit one of every seven hospitals in the country and fall particularly hard on academic medical centers.
Too Little, Too Late For Many New Yorkers Seeking Hospice
Evidence shows hospice care can extend life and save money, but only if patients and doctors dare ask for the help. One New Yorker said hospice gave her back a normal life — at peace, pain subdued.
Rx For Reform: NC Pharmacists Try To Boost Health And Cut Costs
The federal government has invested $15 million in a North Carolina experiment that gives community pharmacists a new role in patient care.
Alaska’s New Governor Sets Sights On Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Bill Walker, an Independent, campaigned on Medicaid expansion and now he has to pitch it to a reluctant Republican legislature.
Patients At Seven Miami-Dade Hospitals Are More Likely To Develop Infections
The data comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks six types of frequently occurring infections in hospitals as part of an effort to reduce them.
Missouri GOP Aims To Continue Fight Against Federal Health Law
It is one of 21 states that have enacted laws challenging or opting-out of provisions of the health law, says the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Making The Human Condition Computable
For centuries, the central challenge in health care was ignorance. Now, health care is being flooded with information. But commerce and medicine are still trying to figure out what do with all that data.
Pa. Man Hates The Law That Will Pay For His Health Insurance
Self-employed accountant is one of an estimated 600,000 low-income Pennsylvanians who will be eligible for expanded Medicaid beginning Jan. 1.
Obamacare Co-Ops Cut Prices, Turn Up Heat On Rival Insurers
For-profit carriers complain the upstarts have an unfair edge because of low-interest federal loans.
For North Carolina’s Working Poor, Fears Of Losing Coverage, Owing Uncle Sam
But for those who hover around the poverty line, a slump can put them into the “no help” category in the Carolinas and 21 other states that haven’t expanded Medicaid coverage.
Some Newly Covered Illinois Residents Still Struggle To Pay For Health Care
Even with insurance, high deductibles can put care out of reach.
