Latest KFF Health News Stories
Too Few Patients Follow The Adage: You Better Shop Around
Three-quarters of participants in a newly released study said they did not know of resources for comparing health care costs, while half said that if a website were available to provide such information, they would use it.
Medicare Unveils ‘Skeletal’ Site For Hospice Comparison Shopping
This is the first federal website designed to help families choose a hospice, but experts aren’t impressed.
Gun Sellers Join Forces To Curb Suicide-By-Firearm, Rampant In Rural Areas
New research suggests that efforts to address climbing rates of rural suicide must focus on safe access to firearms. State-based coalitions are attempting just that.
Often Missing In The Health Care Debate: Women’s Voices
When leaders in Washington discuss the future of American health care, women are not always in the room. Here, nine women share their personal stories, fears and hopes.
Doctors Warm To Single-Payer Health Care
Growing numbers of physicians say they support a single-payer health care system, a 180-degree turn in opinion over a decade.
CBO: Killing Cost-Sharing Subsidies Would Hike Silver Plan Premiums And Deficit
The change would not be expected to have much long-term effect on the number of uninsured people. But it could cause a shift in which plans are popular with marketplace customers.
Insurers Can Bend Out-Of-Network Rules For Patients Who Need Specific Doctors
Individuals who require very specialized care for their health are advised to make their case when a plan doesn’t cover their doctor.
End-Of-Life Advice: More Than 500,000 Chat On Medicare’s Dime
In the first year of payments for advance-care planning sessions, once decried as ”death panels,“ use is higher than expected, new data show.
Climbing Cost Of Decades-Old Drugs Threatens To Break Medicaid Bank
Medicaid spent billions more in 2016 than the year before on decades-old prescription drugs, including many generics, a Kaiser Health News data analysis shows.
A Long And Winding Road: Kicking Heroin In An Opioid ‘Treatment Desert’
Heather Menzel thought returning to her rural California hometown was the answer to her addiction problems. Then she discovered the town had no medical treatment options for her — but plenty of heroin.
Obesity And Depression Are Entwined, Yet Scientists Don’t Know Why
As the link between obesity and depression becomes increasingly clear, so do the challenges of treating these distinct chronic conditions together.
Americans Eager For Leaders To Cooperate To Make Health Law Work
Majorities of Democrats and Republicans — and people who say they are supporters of President Donald Trump — say they want the country to make the law successful.
Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ No Vacation For Insurers
In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times discuss the state of the individual health insurance markets in the wake of the failure (for now) of Congress’s efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Senate Democrats Delay HHS Nominee Over Women’s Health Funding
Sen. Patty Murray questions Dr. Brett Giroir’s willingness to stand up for women’s health programs such as family planning services and teenage pregnancy prevention.
Medi-Cal Sued For Pushing Patients Into Managed Care Despite Judges’ Orders
Advocates say California’s Medicaid program is violating its own rules by overturning decisions that would allow seriously ill patients to stay out of managed care and keep their doctors.
Asthma, More Deadly With Age, Takes Heavy Toll On Older Adults
Death rates for older adults with asthma run five times higher than younger people, and serious complications are far more common.
Hospitals Slashed Use Of Two Heart Drugs After Huge Price Hikes
Hospital use of two popular heart medicines, nitroprusside and isoproterenol, dramatically dropped after the prices for both soared.
Lag In Brain Donation Hampers Understanding Of Dementia In Blacks
A long history of racism and cruel experimentation in health care are among the reasons African-American families oppose donating patients’ brains for study.
Taking A U-Turn On Benefits, Big Employers Vow To Continue Offering Health Insurance
Three years ago, only about a quarter of the nation’s large employers were very confident they would have a health plan in 10 years. That number has now risen to 65 percent.
Colon Cancer Rates Rising Among Younger White Adults — And Falling Among Blacks
Although deaths from colorectal cancer are declining, researchers find rates of the disease among white men and women younger than 55 have spiked since the mid-1990s.
