Latest KFF Health News Stories
Latinos quedan fuera de estudios médicos… y posibles curas
Menos del 8% de los que pacientes en estudios médicos son hispanos. Esto significa que tienen menos acceso a tratamientos de avanzada, y los investigadores tienen menos información sobre cómo funciona una droga o terapia en esa población.
Has California Hit The Brakes In Regulating Breath-Robbing Big Rigs?
The state has made a huge dent in diesel pollution from freight trucks. But critics fear exemptions in a new law will stall progress, especially endangering the health of children and seniors near ports.
Postcard From Capitol Hill: When Health Care Takes a Breather
Sen. John McCain’s surgery impacted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s ambition to push health care bill forward this week.
Analysis: Senate’s Latest Health Blueprint Cuts Costs At The Expense Of Chronically Ill
The Senate draft bill released Thursday to replace the Affordable Care Act risks creating a high-cost ghetto for those with preexisting conditions or long-term sickness, experts say.
Calif. Hits Nerve By Singling Out Cardiac Surgeons With Higher Patient Death Rates
The controversial practice — done by just a few other states — recently cast a spotlight on some prominent doctors. Supporters say it improves performance; detractors warn it discourages taking on complex cases.
Millions More Uninsured Could Impact Health Of Those With Insurance, Too
The return to high rates of uninsurance expected under GOP plans to repeal and replace Obamacare would mean less access to health care for people with insurance too, researchers say.
Messages From Beyond: Using Technology To Seal Your Legacy
From slick videos to digital “time capsules,” folks have new ways to “stay alive” long after they die.
Opposition To GOP Repeal Bill Inches Up And Intensifies
Six in 10 Americans say they do not approve of the Senate Republicans’ plan to replace Obamacare, according to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Medical Transportation Provider Accused Of Disserving L.A.’s Frail Patients
LogistiCare often shows up late, if at all, and compromises patient safety, according to a public interest firm’s lawsuit. The company says the allegations are inaccurate.
GOP Seeks To Sweeten Health Savings Account Deals. Will Consumers Bite?
A new study found that fewer than half of people with health savings accounts deposited any money in them in 2016.
Medicare’s Financial Outlook Slightly Improved, Trustees Say
The assessment pushes back the date for the hospital insurance trust fund to go bankrupt by one year. It also says Part B premiums next year will be stable.
Senate Health Bill Still Short On ‘Yays’ But Leaders Vow Vote Next Week
At least two Republicans have already said they cannot support the new legislative draft, which means all other GOP senators would have to agree to the bill to pass it.
Transgender Health Care Targeted In Crusade To Undo ACA
HHS Secretary Tom Price and President Donald Trump have vowed to use administrative powers to mitigate the health law rules that created “burdens” or that don’t match up with their agenda.
California Sued For Allegedly Substandard Medi-Cal Care
The lawsuit is a civil rights case on behalf of Latinos, who comprise nearly half of the program’s enrollees. But the advocates who filed it also hope to get class action certification for all Medi-Cal enrollees.
In Texas, People With Mental Illness Find Work Helping Peers
Peer support, well-known in addiction treatment, is gaining ground for people with serious mental illness. Texas and 35 other states are training and paying peer support specialists to help bridge a gap in mental health treatment.
Nursing Homes Move Into The Insurance Business
Although proponents say the policies offered by nursing homes are more attuned to patients, some report frustrations when trying to dispute care decisions.
Senators Grill Top Indian Health Officials About Trump Budget
The administration officials could not answer some basic questions from senators, including how much money the agency has gained from the health law’s Medicaid expansion and whether President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 budget would help the agency hire more staff.
DNA Links Deadly Germs, Tainted Heart Surgery Devices To German Factory
LivaNova plant in Germany is the likely source behind outbreak that has sickened more than 100 people since 2013.
Whichever Way ‘Repeal And Replace’ Blows, Pharma Is Due For Windfall
A little-noticed provision in President Donald Trump’s executive order on drug prices may offer a clue to why Big Pharma hasn’t opposed a bill that could bleed their balance sheets of millions of patients.
GOP Health Bill Eases Rules For Some Small-Business Plans
Congressional Republicans are keen to loosen restrictions set by the federal health law on insurance sold by associations that small employers join.
