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Medicare Advantage riding high as new insurers flock to sell to seniors

Health care experts widely expected the Affordable Care Act to hobble Medicare Advantage, the government-funded private health plans that millions of seniors have chosen as an alternative to original Medicare.

15 Oct 2018

As U.S. suicides rates rise, Hispanics show relative immunity

The young man held the medication in his hand — and considered using it to end his life. But then he "put it down and said, ‘No. I need help,'" before heading to a Laredo, Texas, emergency room, said Kimberly Gallegos, who at the time earlier this year was a mobile crisis worker for a local mental health center.

15 Oct 2018

Obamacare premiums dip for first time. Some call it a correction

After two years of double-digit price hikes, the average premium for individual health coverage on the federal health law's insurance marketplace will drop by 1.5 percent for 2019, the Trump administration said Thursday.

11 Oct 2018

Fact-check: Who’s right on protections for preexisting conditions? It’s complicated

Ensuring that people with preexisting health conditions can get and keep health insurance is the most popular part of the Affordable Care Act. It has also become a flashpoint in this fall's campaigns across the country.

11 Oct 2018

Retention in HIV care declines following release from incarceration

Fewer than half of people with HIV are retained in care three years after release from incarceration, according to a study in the U.S. published October 9 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Kelsey Loeliger of Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues.

10 Oct 2018

Hispanic infants with congenital heart disease have worse outcomes, research finds

Hispanic infants with critical types of congenital heart disease have worse outcomes in their first year than do their non-Hispanic white counterparts, a difference largely driven by their mother's level of education and type of insurance coverage, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

10 Oct 2018

Advanced breast cancer patients experience significant financial hardships

A national survey of more than 1,000 women with metastatic breast cancer led by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers found that nearly one-third of women had no insurance, and many felt significant or catastrophic financial effects from cancer.

9 Oct 2018

CoreChoice and MINES partner to form PPO network to combat opioid and substance use

CoreChoice, the national specialty network for radiology, interventional pain management, and medical air transportation services is pleased to announce their partnership agreement with MINES & Associates to form the nation's first PPO network solution to combat the nationwide opioid and polysubstance use epidemic.

8 Oct 2018

Health insurers have inconsistent policy terms for non-drug pain treatments, study finds

Public and private health insurance policies in the U.S. are missing important opportunities to encourage the use of physical therapy, psychological counseling and other non-drug alternatives to opioid medication for treating lower back pain, a study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found.

6 Oct 2018

Top American hospitals make it unduly confusing for patients to access medical records

Many top hospitals in the United States are making it unduly confusing or expensive for patients to gain access to their own medical records, say researchers at Yale. Their study appeared on Oct. 5 in JAMA Network Open.

5 Oct 2018

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Some things old, some things new

Congress passed major health-related legislation in time for the fiscal year, which began Monday, including a broad bill to address the opioid epidemic and a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services.

4 Oct 2018

Yo-yo dieting increases risk of heart attack and stroke, finds study

In the study, sudden changes in metabolic health parameters were associated with a raised risk of heart attacks, strokes and even early deaths.

4 Oct 2018

Spero Health launched to tackle the rising opioid crisis

Spero Health, Inc., a newly formed healthcare organization specializing in local, affordable, outpatient care for individuals suffering from substance use disorder, announced that it has acquired investment growth capital to meet the demand in communities across the country for high-quality, comprehensive and integrated addiction treatment services.

3 Oct 2018

Immigrants’ health premiums far exceed what plans pay for their care

President Donald Trump has repeatedly condemned U.S. immigration policy, arguing that many immigrants pose a threat to the nation and drain U.S. resources. But a study released Monday about health insurance challenges the president's portrayal.

1 Oct 2018

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ (Almost) Live from Austin!

President Donald Trump's proposed rule that would make it more difficult for immigrants to gain permanent status if they use government aid programs could have a major impact in Texas, with its large immigrant population.

28 Sep 2018

‘Contraception deserts’ likely to widen under new Trump administration policy

When Nikia Jackson needed to be screened for a sexually transmitted disease, she wanted a clinic that was reputable, quick and inexpensive.

28 Sep 2018

Threat to the ACA turns up the heat on attorney general races

For years, congressional Republicans have vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, in a case sending shock waves through midterm election campaigns, Republican attorneys general across the country may be poised to make good on that promise.

28 Sep 2018

Workers overdose on the job, and employers struggle to respond

Jimmy Sullivan prepared for his job as a bricklayer the same way every morning for years: injecting a shot of heroin before leaving his car.

28 Sep 2018

Henry Ford Hospital cardiologists are first in the U.S. to implant device for hard-to-treat angina

Cardiologists at Henry Ford Hospital performed the first implantation in the United States of a device approved for use in Europe for hard-to-treat angina.

27 Sep 2018

Kenneth Wells wins NAM's 2018 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health

The National Academy of Medicine today announced Kenneth Wells is the recipient of the 2018 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health, for his work developing quality and outcomes approaches to psychiatry and mental health, fostering a generation of clinical investigators and mental health system leaders, and championing partnered, participatory research to advance equity for under-resourced populations.

26 Sep 2018