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KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Coronavirus goes viral

This was the week the coronavirus hit the U.S. in general and Washington, D.C., in particular in a big way.

12 Mar 2020

The startling inequality gap that emerges after age 65

In an era when "deaths of despair" — from substance abuse and suicide — are on the rise among middle-aged Americans, those who reach age 65 are living longer than ever.

12 Mar 2020

Striking health inequities between dually enrolled and nondually enrolled older Medicare beneficiaries

In the United States, income inequality has steadily increased over the last several decades. Given widening inequities, health care leaders have been concerned about the health outcomes of older Americans who experience poverty, particularly because prior studies have shown a strong link between socioeconomic status and health.

11 Mar 2020

VCU Health halts 30-year campaign that seized patients’ wages, put liens on homes

In one of the most sweeping moves yet by a nonprofit hospital system to reduce aggressive bill collection, VCU Health is halting seizure of patients' wages and removing thousands of liens against patients' homes, some dating to the 1990s.

11 Mar 2020

Crushed by a hospital bill? Stand up for yourself

The cost of medical treatment depleted Frances Edwards' savings after she was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in October 2016 — even though she has insurance.

11 Mar 2020

Dental shock: Six pulled teeth and one unexpected bill

The ache in three of Kathy McCracken's teeth started almost four years ago. It was hard for her to chew and swallow. She was sensitive to both hot and cold food.

10 Mar 2020

FAIR Health launches website feature to aid shared decision making for palliative care

Today FAIR Health launched a groundbreaking website feature that combines clinical and cost information to support seriously and chronically ill patients and their caregivers in the process of shared decision making with clinicians for three palliative care scenarios.

10 Mar 2020

New federal rules will let patients put medical records on smartphones

Federal officials on Monday released groundbreaking rules that will let patients download their electronic health records and other health care data onto their smartphones.

9 Mar 2020

Focusing on healthcare quality as a business strategy

Despite two decades of effort - targeting care processes, outcomes, and most recently the value of care - progress has been slow in closing the gap between quality and cost in the US healthcare system.

7 Mar 2020

Pence leaves out key details about health coverage of coronavirus testing

Amid ongoing concern about the new coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence sought to assure Americans that their health insurance will cover the tests needed for diagnosis.

6 Mar 2020

With coronavirus lurking, conferences wrestle with whether to cancel

Nearly 100,000 pop culture fans flocked to Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle last year, including many dressed as superheroes, aliens and robots. But something scarier than a comic book villain is roiling the conference this year — the spread of the coronavirus.

6 Mar 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A ‘Super Tuesday’ for the health debate?

The Super Tuesday presidential primaries have left only two major Democratic candidates standing: former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Whoever prevails to face off against President Donald Trump in November will shape how the party confronts Republicans on health care.

5 Mar 2020

As coronavirus cases grow, so does scrutiny of nursing home infection plans

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is ordering health inspectors to focus on infection-control practices at nursing homes and hospitals, particularly those where coronavirus infections have been identified among patients or in the community, CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced Wednesday.

4 Mar 2020

Insurers sank Connecticut’s ‘public option.’ Would a national version survive?

Health care costs were rising. People couldn't afford coverage. So, in Connecticut, state lawmakers took action.

4 Mar 2020

A fierce national debate over the implementation of Affordable Care Act

The fierce national debate over health care reform includes deep divisions over the appropriate roles of the federal and state governments. For example, while Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) calls for expanding the federal Medicare program to cover all Americans, the Trump administration pushes for the states to have far greater authority.

3 Mar 2020

Drug prices beat inflation all the way even with discounts

A new study published in the journal JAMA in March 2020 shows how prescription drug prices are rising faster than the rate of inflation. The decade-long trend reflects a threefold higher rise in brand-name drug prices compared to inflation if all drugs are lumped together.

3 Mar 2020

A new report on health spending by Americans

There have been several studies showing that spending on health by Americans is on the rise, and around 18 percent of the US economy is individual spending on health. A study titled, “US Health Care Spending by Payer and Health Condition, 1996-2016,” was published in the latest issue of JAMA today.

3 Mar 2020