Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
Pain Patients Say They Can’t Get Medicine After Crackdown On Illegal Rx Drug Trade
People who suffer from intense maladies and injuries say they can no longer get all the pain medicine their doctors prescribe from pharmacies.
Hospitals Seeking An Edge Turn To Unlikely Adviser: A Car Maker
Toyota, which bills itself as a model of efficiency in auto manufacturing, is sharing its strategies with public and nonprofit hospitals competing for newly insured patients.
Lack Of Cooperation Among Health Facilities Mars Antibiotic Resistance Fight, CDC Says
Infected patients often move from hospitals to nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and coordination could help keep those infections from spreading.
Competition Improves Obamacare Choices In Rural Northern California
Consumers will have a choice of some plans that allow them to cross state lines for care, and every county will have at least three insurance companies offering plans on Covered California.
Hospital Deductibles Are For Admitted Patients Only
KHN consumer columnist Michelle Andrews also answers reader questions about how insurance-provider networks function and parents’ responsibility to provide coverage for children who are not yet 26.
Pregnancy – A Touchy Subject In Employee Wellness Health Assessments
Pregnancy questions included in many wellness program questionnaires hit a nerve, and advocates are asking the Obama administration to ban these types of queries as part of a pending Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule.
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.
Advocates Say Mental Health ‘Parity’ Law Is Not Fulfilling Its Promise
A landmark federal law requiring insurers to cover mental illness as they would any other disease is not being followed or enforced, say patient advocates and attorneys. Insurers say they have taken “tremendous steps.”
Fetal Tissue Attack Is Latest Tactic In Long GOP Fight Against Planned Parenthood
Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood date back to 1982, while fetal tissue research had bipartisan support until the release of secret camera videos.
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.
California Survey: Newly Insured Satisfied With Coverage, More Financially Secure
Formerly uninsured California residents no longer rank paying for health care as their primary financial concern. But some still see cost and access to care as a problem.
No Easy Feat: Promoting The PrEP Pill For HIV Prevention Among Latinos
The drug Truvada, used to halt HIV infection, has been shown to be more than 90 percent effective when used correctly. But many Latinos haven’t heard of it or are deterred by the cost and the stigma associated with being gay or bisexual.
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.
Big Push: Hospitals Turn To ‘Laborists’ For Safer Deliveries
More hospitals are hiring OB-GYNs to help handle births and obstetrical and gynecological emergencies.
To Boost Patient Health, Rehab Sometimes Starts Before Cancer Treatment
“Prehabilitation” may help patients recover more quickly, early research suggests, but insurance coverage can be tricky.
5 Challenges Facing Medicaid At 50
The federal-state health care program covers nearly half of all births, one-third of children across the country and two-thirds of people in nursing homes.
California Judge Dismisses Aid-In-Dying Lawsuit
A California woman sued to allow her doctor to prescribe life-ending medication without fear of prosecution; a decision is expected Monday.
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.
