Medicare News and Research

RSS

Opioid use disorder treatment lowers risk of overdose after surgery, study finds

Although people with opioid use disorder (OUD) are significantly more likely to overdose or have a complication after major surgery than those without the disorder, using medications for the treatment of OUD before surgery may eliminate that extra risk, suggests a large, first-of-its-kind study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2023 annual meeting.

15 Oct 2023

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Health funding in question in a speaker-less Congress

As House Republicans struggle — again — to decide who will lead them, the clock is ticking on a short-term spending bill that keeps the federal government running only until mid-November.

12 Oct 2023

Feds hope to cut sepsis deaths by hitching Medicare payments to treatment stats

Don Smith remembers the moment he awoke in an intensive care unit after 13 days in a medically induced coma. His wife and daughter were at his bedside, and he thought it had been only a day since he arrived at the emergency room with foot pain.

11 Oct 2023

Thousands got Exactech knee or hip replacements. Then, patients say, the parts began to fail.

Ron Irby expected the artificial knee implanted in his right leg in September 2018 would last two decades — perhaps longer.

10 Oct 2023

Cardiac rehabilitation after TAVR underutilized by majority of patients

The vast majority of people who have a minimally invasive heart valve replacement procedure do not participate in recommended cardiac rehabilitation, a Michigan Medicine-led study finds.

9 Oct 2023

NCCN survey shows cancer drug shortages continue despite efforts

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network- a non-profit alliance of leading cancer centers across the United States-;has released a follow-up survey on the ongoing chemotherapy shortages: 72% of the centers surveyed continue to experience a shortage of carboplatin and 59% are still seeing a shortage of cisplatin.

5 Oct 2023

Feds rein in use of predictive software that limits care for Medicare Advantage patients

Judith Sullivan was recovering from major surgery at a Connecticut nursing home in March when she got surprising news from her Medicare Advantage plan: It would no longer pay for her care because she was well enough to go home.

5 Oct 2023

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': An encore: 3 HHS secretaries reveal what the job is really like

This week, while KFF Health News' "What the Health?" takes a break, here’s an encore of a favorite episode this year: Host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner leads a rare conversation with the current and two former secretaries of Health and Human Services.

5 Oct 2023

Review of Oregon's assisted dying law finds significant data gaps

There are critical gaps in the data provided on doctor assisted deaths in Oregon, USA, amid rising numbers of participants, finds a review of the process over the past 25 years, published online in the journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.

4 Oct 2023

What mobile clinics in dollar general parking lots say about health care in rural America

On a hot July morning, customers at the Dollar General along a two-lane highway northwest of Nashville didn't seem to notice signs of the chain store’s foray into mobile health care, particularly in rural America.

4 Oct 2023

Genomic testing rates soar for Black patients with prostate cancer after introduction of precision medicine navigators

The presence of a clinical navigator to act as a liaison between people with prostate cancer and the health care system greatly increases the likelihood that patients, especially Black patients, will receive advanced testing that can help predict the severity of their disease and guide treatment, a new study suggests.

3 Oct 2023

These Appalachia hospitals made big promises to gain a monopoly. They’re failing to deliver.

Five years ago, rival hospital companies in this blue-collar corner of Appalachia made a deal. If state lawmakers let them merge, leaving no competitors, the hospitals promised not to gouge prices or cut corners.

29 Sep 2023

New Medicare Advantage plans tailor offerings to Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+

As Medicare Advantage continues to gain popularity among seniors, three Southern California companies are pioneering new types of plans that target cultural and ethnic communities with special offerings and native-language practitioners.

28 Sep 2023

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': More Medicaid messiness

Federal officials have instructed at least 30 states to reinstate Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program coverage for half a million people, including children, after an errant computer program wrongly determined they were no longer eligible.

27 Sep 2023

As covid infections rise, nursing homes are still waiting for vaccines

"Covid is not pretty in a nursing home," said Deb Wityk, a 70-year-old retired massage therapist who lives in one called Spurgeon Manor, in rural Iowa. She twice contracted the disease and is eager to get the newly approved vaccine because she has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which weakens her immune system.

27 Sep 2023

Medicare News and Research

Opioid use disorder treatment lowers risk of overdose after surgery, study finds

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Health funding in question in a speaker-less Congress

Feds hope to cut sepsis deaths by hitching Medicare payments to treatment stats

Thousands got Exactech knee or hip replacements. Then, patients say, the parts began to fail.

Cardiac rehabilitation after TAVR underutilized by majority of patients

NCCN survey shows cancer drug shortages continue despite efforts

Feds rein in use of predictive software that limits care for Medicare Advantage patients

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': An encore: 3 HHS secretaries reveal what the job is really like

Review of Oregon's assisted dying law finds significant data gaps

What mobile clinics in dollar general parking lots say about health care in rural America

Genomic testing rates soar for Black patients with prostate cancer after introduction of precision medicine navigators

These Appalachia hospitals made big promises to gain a monopoly. They’re failing to deliver.

New Medicare Advantage plans tailor offerings to Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': More Medicaid messiness

As covid infections rise, nursing homes are still waiting for vaccines

What happens to health programs if the federal government shuts down?

Food is Medicine strategies could save billions in healthcare costs

American College of Cardiology releases workbook on home-based cardiac care

UCSF Health named as Vizient Top Performer for high-quality patient care

UC San Diego Health recognized as top performer for delivering high-quality patient care

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News