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Exploring the contributions of health care to longevity

A widely cited statistic suggests that health care services account for only a small percentage of the variation in American life expectancy. However, the methodology supporting the finding has been challenged.

15 May 2019

Study finds persistently high rate of long-term opioid prescribing for older cancer survivors

Using Medicare data, new findings from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston show for the first time that the rates of long term opiate therapy - a 90-day or more supply of opioids per year - for older cancer survivors remain high for at least five years in cancer survivors.

14 May 2019

Dealing with hospital closure, pioneer Kansas town asks: What comes next?

A slight drizzle had begun in the gray December sky outside Community Christian Church as Reta Baker, president of the local hospital, stepped through the doors to join a weekly morning coffee organized by Fort Scott's chamber of commerce.

14 May 2019

Same-day scheduling of upper and lower GI endoscopies yields higher-value care

If your car needs work on its front and rear axles, it's obviously more convenient, efficient and cost effective to have both repairs done at the same time.

14 May 2019

How Obamacare, Medicare and ‘Medicare for All’ muddy the campaign trail

The health care debate has Democrats on Capitol Hill and the presidential campaign trail facing renewed pressure to make clear where they stand: Are they for "Medicare for All"? Or will they take up the push to protect the Affordable Care Act?

13 May 2019

Surprise! Fixing out-of-network bills means someone must pay

President Donald Trump called on Republicans and Democrats to pass legislation this year to end surprise medical bills, in remarks made in the White House's Roosevelt Room on Thursday. "We're determined to end surprise medical billing for American patients," Trump said.

10 May 2019

Nurse care coordinators are key to the success of PCMH programs

Patient-Centered Medical Home programs include a team of primary care providers that manage patient care and oversee individual care plans.

10 May 2019

Market muscle: Study uncovers differences between Medicare and private insurers

Private health insurance plans in 2017 paid more than twice what Medicare would have for those same health care services, says a sweeping new study from Rand Corp., a respected research organization.

10 May 2019

Addiction medicine mostly prescribed to whites, even as opioid deaths rose among blacks

White drug users addicted to heroin, fentanyl and other opioids have had near-exclusive access to buprenorphine, a drug that curbs the craving for opioids and reduces the chance of a fatal overdose.

8 May 2019

The money and politics of prescription drugs: What you need to know

If there's one area of health care where Republicans and Democrats might strike a deal, it's prescription drugs.

8 May 2019

Patients of Medicare providers excluded for fraud and abuse more likely to be minorities, disabled

A new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health analyzed providers excluded from Medicare for fraud and abuse, and found that the patients they treated prior to being banned were more likely to be minorities, disabled and dually-enrolled in Medicaid to supplement financial assistance for health care.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 7 May 2019

Feds want to show health care costs on your phone, but that could take years

Federal officials are proposing new regulations that for the first time could allow patients to compare prices charged by various hospitals and other health care providers using data sent to their smartphones.

7 May 2019

Study: Few patients at high risk of opioid overdose receive naloxone prescriptions

A study based on a national database of private insurance claims suggests few patients at high risk of opioid overdose receive prescriptions for naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, during encounters with the health care system from hospitalizations and emergency department visits to physician visits.

3 May 2019

Elderly survivors of breast, lung, and skin cancers face risk of brain metastasis later in life

Elderly survivors of breast cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma face risk of brain metastasis later in life, and may require extra surveillance in the years following initial cancer treatment.

3 May 2019

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Bye-bye, ACA, and hello ‘Medicare-for-all’?

The Department of Justice on Wednesday submitted a brief to a federal appeals court making its case as to why the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down in the wake of the congressional repeal of the tax penalty for failing to have insurance.

2 May 2019

CBO’s report on single-payer health care holds more questions than answers

Progressive Democrats have rallied around "Medicare-for-all," a single-payer health plan popularized by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Now, some of Washington's official bean counters are trying to add a new framework around what it might look like. The picture they offer highlights just how complicated that shift might be.

1 May 2019

Low-income patients at increased risk of catastrophic amputation after knee joint replacement

Above-knee amputation is a rare but severe complication of deep infection after knee replacement surgery.

30 Apr 2019

Summer bummer: A young camper’s $142,938 snakebite

It was dusk as Oakley Yoder and the other summer camp kids hiked back to their tents at Illinois' Jackson Falls last July. As the group approached a mound of boulders blocking the path, Oakley, then 9, didn't see the lurking snake — until it bit a toe on her right foot.

30 Apr 2019

SLU study suggests a more equitable way for Medicare reimbursement

Those who were enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid were sicker, had more cognitive impairments and difficulty functioning, and needed more social support than those who were not enrolled in both government programs, Saint Louis University research found.

30 Apr 2019

Adoption of new rules drops readmission penalties against safety net hospitals

Readmission penalties against hospitals providing care to socioeconomically disadvantaged patients have dropped 14 percentage points under new rules adopted in 2019 that more equitably account for low-income populations being served, according to a new analysis led by UT Southwestern Medical Center and Harvard researchers.

30 Apr 2019