Latest KFF Health News Stories
Study Links Kindergartners’ Stumbles With Rocky Home Lives
Researchers say children are more likely to have trouble learning and behaving in kindergarten if they’ve had adverse childhood experiences at home before age 5.
Will Healthcare.gov Get A California Makeover?
Feds propose taking a page out of Covered California’s book and moving to a simplified health insurance marketplace.
Majority Of Young Men Don’t Know About Emergency Contraception, Study Finds
The survey of 93 men, most of whom were sexually active, finds that 42 percent had heard of emergency contraception, or the morning-after pill.
The Agonizing Limbo Of Abandoned Nursing Home Residents
Even when the state orders nursing homes to readmit residents who have been in the hospital, its orders have no teeth.
Support For Sanders’ Single-Payer Plan Fades With Control, Cost Concerns
Although half of Americans favor the idea of a government health insurance system, the popularity drops significantly when negative arguments are presented, poll finds.
With Special Tax Suspended, Medical Device Firms Reap Big Savings
The medical device industry is enjoying a two-year moratorium on a tax that was created to support the Affordable Care Act. Are firms using their savings to create more jobs, as many claim?
Candidates’ Drug-Price Plans May Miss The Mark
There is more than one reason prices are rising, and no single solution.
Latino Youth In California See Significant Rise In Psychiatric Hospitalizations
Some experts say the 86 percent increase in psychiatric hospitalizations since 2007 means preventive care is seriously lacking; others believe reduced stigma has led more kids to accept help.
Dueling Star Ratings May Confuse Some Home Health Patients
Medicare offers star ratings of agencies’ quality and of patients’ perceptions, but often they don’t match up.
As Rural Hospitals Struggle, Some Opt To Close Labor And Delivery Units
Facilities for delivering babies are costly to run and hard to staff, so some small, rural hospitals are closing them, forcing pregnant women to travel for care.
Women Increasingly Having Outpatient Mastectomies, New Federal Data Show
Agency For Healthcare Research and Quality data show that more women with breast cancer are opting for mastectomies over less-invasive options, and more are having the procedure in outpatient facilities where they don’t spend even one night in the hospital.
Urging Openness About Superbug Infections, Doctor Omits Cases In Own Hospital
In a respected medical journal, a specialist advises colleagues on protecting patients but doesn’t mention potential infections from a contaminated scope at his Philadelphia cancer center.
Military Health System’s Care For PTSD, Depression Falls Short, Report Finds
Experts cited stigma and a lack of doctors as potential obstacles for soldiers needing treatment.
Supreme Court Vacancy Creates Muddle For Future Of Reproductive Rights
Scalia’s death throws cases on abortion, contraception coverage into doubt.
Urban Medicare Beneficiaries May See More Drug Savings This Year
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says access to special, lower-cost pharmacies has improved for Medicare beneficiaries in urban areas.
Ark. Governor: Feds Back Plan To Preserve Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Asa Hutchinson says HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell “accepts the framework” of his proposals but negotiations are continuing.
California Marketplace May Require Insurers To Pay Agent Commissions
Covered California’s Executive Director Peter Lee said the measure is needed to keep insurers from slicing commissions to avoid enrolling the sickest patients.
Selling The Health Benefits Of Tap Water, In An Age Of Flint
Public health officials in Colorado are battling a stigma against drinking tap water, especially in some Latino communities.
Needle Exchanges Can Now Get Federal Funding
Proponents hail the change in policy but say it doesn’t go far enough because federal dollars cannot be used to buy syringes.
Health Reform Roils Downton Abbey
The hospital consolidation plot in the final season of the beloved British series is historically accurate — and has parallels in today’s U.S. health industry.
