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In fight over Medicare payments, the hospital lobby shows its strength

In the battle to control health care costs, hospitals are deploying their political power to protect their bottom lines.

13 Feb 2024

Socioeconomic consideration in Medicare penalty calculation could ease financial strain on safety-net hospitals

The Affordable Care Act requires Medicare to issue penalties that reduce payment to hospitals if post-operative readmission rates within 30 days exceed the national average.

12 Feb 2024

States target health insurers’ ‘prior authorization’ red tape

Christopher Marks noticed an immediate improvement when his doctor prescribed him the Type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro last year.

12 Feb 2024

Report: Primary care doctor shortage threatens New Jersey residents

A shortage of primary-care doctors endangers United States residents in general and New Jerseyans in particular, according to a report co-authored by Alfred Tallia, chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

9 Feb 2024

Do we simply not care about old people?

The covid-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn't doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults.

9 Feb 2024

Cities know the way police respond to mental crisis calls needs to change. But how?

Philadelphia police officers Kenneth Harper and Jennifer Torres were in their patrol car sitting at a red light when a call came in over the 911 radio dispatch.

8 Feb 2024

RAND report: Insulin prices in the U.S. are substantially higher than in high-income nations

The gross price of insulin in the U.S. is more than nine times higher than in 33 high-income comparison nations, according to a new RAND report.

2 Feb 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The struggle over who gets the last word

The Supreme Court in March will hear oral arguments in two very different cases that boil down to the same question: How much power do "experts" in health and science deserve? At stake is the future accessibility of the abortion pill mifepristone, and the ability of government officials to advise social media companies about misinformation.

1 Feb 2024

Mechanically ventilated patients in intermediate care units of rural hospitals have higher death rates

A new National Institutes of Health-supported study finds that patients receiving ventilator life support in the intermediate care units – a potentially less costly alternative for people not sick enough for the intensive care units (ICUs) but too ill for the general ward – of rural hospitals had significantly higher death rates than patients in the same type of unit at urban hospitals.

31 Jan 2024

New AI tool hunts down Medicare fraud in the "vast sea" of big data

Medicare is sporadically compromised by fraudulent insurance claims. These illicit activities often go undetected, allowing full-time criminals and unscrupulous health providers to exploit weaknesses in the system.

31 Jan 2024

The FTC is attacking drugmakers’ ‘patent thickets’

The Federal Trade Commission has challenged the validity of over 100 drug product patents, focusing on devices used to deliver medicines, like inhalers and autoinjectors, in an effort to increase competition and potentially lower some prices.

31 Jan 2024

Study: Many older adults worry about costs, time off work and COVID-19 risk when considering surgery

When it comes to having surgery, older adults don't just base their decision on how much pain they'll feel and how quickly they'll recover, a new study finds.

30 Jan 2024

Ouch. That ‘free’ annual checkup might cost you. Here’s why.

When Kristy Uddin, 49, went in for her annual mammogram in Washington state last year, she assumed she would not incur a bill because the test is one of the many preventive measures guaranteed to be free to patients under the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

26 Jan 2024

Senate probes the cost of assisted living and its burden on American families

A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday launched an examination of assisted living, holding its first hearing in two decades on the industry as leaders of both parties expressed concern about the high cost and mixed quality of the long-term care facilities.

25 Jan 2024