Latest KFF Health News Stories
Big Bills A Hidden Side Effect Of Cancer Treatment
High deductible health insurance plans and soaring drug costs make cancer a tremendous financial burden for many patients.
So You Have Dense Breasts. Now What?
Dense breasts make mammograms harder to read. As more states pass laws requiring that women be told of the risks, debate is growing about whether such warnings are helpful — or even harmful.
FAQ: Congress Passes A Bill To Fix Medicare’s Doctor Payments. What’s In It?
A rare bipartisan effort will scrap the troubled physician payment formula and transition to a system focused on new quality measures.
Boston Bombing Survivors Struggle With Medical And Emotional Recovery
Two years after the marathon bombing, Martha and Alvaro Galvis still suffer from physical wounds and emotional pain.
Patient Safety Advocate Sees ‘Hope And Hype’ In Digital Revolution
Dr. Robert Wachter says medicine’s move to a computer age can improve care but patients still face serious challenges in adapting to the new technology and the prospect of overcoming a fragmented health system.
Medicaid Expansion One Step Closer To Reality In Montana
The bill picked up two more Republican votes in the state House and has the support of the governor.
Federal Marketplace More Adept Than States At Enrolling Customers, Study Finds
The research by Avelere Health shows that the exchange the federal government runs in three dozen states had a higher percentage of new and returning enrollees than the other marketplaces run by individual states.
Coalition Hopes To Amp Up Push For Health Care Transparency
A new coalition of insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and provider and consumer advocacy groups launched an initiative to make more information available to consumers about the actual costs of health services.
Medical Schools Try To Reboot For 21st Century
The American Medical Association is funding experiments at universities around the country to try to change how we train physicians.
Tougher Vaccine Exemption Bill In Calif. Clears First Hurdle
The state Senate health committee passed the bill after a debate that drew several hundred protesters to Sacramento.
Montana Moderates Revive Medicaid Expansion
A crucial vote Thursday could make Montana the 29th state to opt into the health law’s Medicaid expansion.
Med Students Chip In To Help The Uninsured
Almost 1 million New York City residents are still uninsured. Rather than go to emergency rooms or city hospitals, some of them get free care from medical school students.
Houston Firefighters Bring Digital Doctors On Calls
The city is harnessing telemedicine to cut down on the overwhelming number of residents seeking primary care help by calling 911.
Dr. Donald Lindberg: Thirty Years At The Intersection Of Computers, Medicine And Information Sharing
Lindberg retired this month after 30 years at the National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine where he worked to put research online so that doctors could have the latest medical advancements at their fingertips, and patients could become increasingly engaged in their own care.
Shifts In Earnings For Consumers Near Medicaid Line Can Threaten Coverage
Marketplaces face challenges ensuring that low-income customers continue to get coverage if their incomes change to put them above or below the Medicaid eligibility line.
Battle For Mental Health Parity Produces Mixed Results
Some of the obvious problems, such as separate deductibles for mental health care, have been eliminated. But advocates are concerned about more subtle insurance processes, such as reviews of medical necessity, that could be hampering coverage.
Medicare Is Stingy In First Year Of Doctor Bonuses
More than 300 large medical groups are being penalized because they did not score well on quality measures or didn’t report their efforts to the government. The incentives will soon expand to all doctors who treat Medicare patients.
Consumers Contributing Less To Health Savings Accounts, Study Finds
The accounts are designed to provide a way for people with high-deductible insurance plans to save money tax free to use on health expenses.
Cleveland Clinic Reports 40% Drop In Charity Care After Medicaid Expansion
HHS says the improvement reflects what is happening to hospitals in states that increased the number of low-income people eligible for the health care program.
To Avoid Extra Payments, Notify Your Marketplace Plan When You Move
KHN’s consumer columnist answers readers’ questions about what happens to your plan when you move out of state, smoking cessation expenses and sending workers to the exchange to buy policies.
