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Doctors and patients try to shame insurers online to reverse prior authorization denials

Sally Nix was furious when her health insurance company refused to pay for the infusions she needs to ease her chronic pain and fatigue.

23 Aug 2023

Many older adults show interest in getting vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus

The first Americans over age 60 just started rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, now that brand-new vaccines have started to arrive at pharmacies and clinics.

22 Aug 2023

Insurance coverage for implantable penile prostheses varies by type of insurance

Implantable penile prostheses (IPPs) are an established treatment option for erectile dysfunction (ED), and are covered by insurance in about 80% of cases, reports a paper in the September issue of Urology Practice®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA).

21 Aug 2023

Tribal health workers aren’t paid like their peers. See why Nevada changed that.

Linda Noneo turned up the heat in her van to ward off the early-morning chill that persists in northern Nevada's high desert even in late June.

21 Aug 2023

The CDC works to overhaul lab operations after covid test flop

In early February 2020, Kirsten St. George and her team at New York state's public health lab received a test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to diagnose people infected with the new, rapidly spreading coronavirus.

21 Aug 2023

Dementia patients living alone at risk for medical problems, self-neglect

An estimated 1 in 4 older Americans with dementia or mild cognitive impairment lives alone and is at risk of practices like unsafe driving, wandering outside the home, mixing up medications and failing to attend medical appointments.

18 Aug 2023

A peek at Big Pharma’s playbook that leaves many Americans unable to afford their drugs

America's pharmaceutical giants are suing this summer to block the federal government's first effort at drug price regulation.

18 Aug 2023

A new Medicare proposal would cover training for family caregivers

Even with extensive caregiving experience, Patti LaFleur was unprepared for the crisis that hit in April 2021, when her mother, Linda LaTurner, fell out of a chair and broke her hip.

18 Aug 2023

FDA approved Rexulti to be the first antipsychotic for treating agitation in elderly patients with dementia

In trials, the antipsychotic drug brexpiprazole (Rexulti) failed to provide a clinically meaningful benefit and increased the risk of death. Yet the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fast tracked its approval, making Rexulti the first antipsychotic for treating agitation in elderly patients with dementia.

18 Aug 2023

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion pill’s legal limbo continues

A divided three-judge federal appeals court panel has ruled that a lower court was wrong to try to reverse entirely the FDA's approval of the abortion drug mifepristone.

17 Aug 2023

Community with high medical debt questions its hospitals’ charity spending

As 41% of American adults face medical debt, residents of this southern Colorado city contend their local nonprofit hospitals aren't providing enough charity care to justify the millions in tax breaks they receive.

17 Aug 2023

Feds say hospitals that redistribute Medicaid money violate law

The Biden administration wants to crack down on private arrangements among some hospitals to reimburse themselves for taxes that help fund coverage for low-income people. It contends the practice violates federal law.

16 Aug 2023

Expert consensus on how to help patients with chronic pain get adequate care and coverage

The pendulum of opioid prescribing for pain has swung sharply in the last decade, as the epidemic of opioid overuse, addiction and overdose led policymakers and health care providers to ratchet back on the prescriptions patients receive.

14 Aug 2023

Proposed rule would make hospital prices even more transparent

"How much is the ice cream?" A simple enough question, featured on a new TV and online advertisement, posed by a man who just wants something cold. A woman behind the counter responds with a smile: "Prices? No, we don't have those anymore. We have estimates."

14 Aug 2023

CORRECTION: Air pollution linked to increased risk of non-lung cancers in older adults

Chronic exposure to fine particulate air pollutants (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) may increase non-lung cancer risk in older adults, according to a study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

11 Aug 2023

Your exorbitant medical bill, brought to you by the latest hospital merger

When Mark Finney moved to southwestern Virginia with his young family a decade ago, there were different hospital systems and a range of independent doctors to choose from.

11 Aug 2023

New Alzheimer’s drug raises hopes — along with questions

The FDA has approved Leqembi, the first disease-modifying treatment for early-stage Alzheimer's and a precursor condition, mild cognitive impairment.

11 Aug 2023

A blood test that screens for cancer: Does it do more harm than good?

By summer 2021, Gilbert Milam Jr. was living a good life. A nationally renowned rapper who performs under the name Berner, Milam was also enjoying the global expansion of Cookies, a brand of cannabis products and clothing that he co-founded and was running as CEO.

11 Aug 2023

Study analyzes the risk of death after hospital discharge with COVID-19 among older adults

As of June 2023, more than 1.1 million Americans have died of COVID-19. Adults older than 65 -;who make up just 16 percent of the population-;account for more than 75 percent of U.S. COVID-19 deaths and were hospitalized at three times the rate of younger people, highlighting the heightened vulnerability of this population.

11 Aug 2023

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On abortion rights, Ohio is the new Kansas

Ohio voters — in a rare August election — turned out in unexpectedly high numbers to defeat a ballot measure that would have made it harder to pass an abortion-rights constitutional amendment on the ballot in November.

10 Aug 2023

Medicare News and Research

Doctors and patients try to shame insurers online to reverse prior authorization denials

Many older adults show interest in getting vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus

Insurance coverage for implantable penile prostheses varies by type of insurance

Tribal health workers aren’t paid like their peers. See why Nevada changed that.

The CDC works to overhaul lab operations after covid test flop

Dementia patients living alone at risk for medical problems, self-neglect

A peek at Big Pharma’s playbook that leaves many Americans unable to afford their drugs

A new Medicare proposal would cover training for family caregivers

FDA approved Rexulti to be the first antipsychotic for treating agitation in elderly patients with dementia

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion pill’s legal limbo continues

Community with high medical debt questions its hospitals’ charity spending

Feds say hospitals that redistribute Medicaid money violate law

Expert consensus on how to help patients with chronic pain get adequate care and coverage

Proposed rule would make hospital prices even more transparent

CORRECTION: Air pollution linked to increased risk of non-lung cancers in older adults

Your exorbitant medical bill, brought to you by the latest hospital merger

New Alzheimer’s drug raises hopes — along with questions

A blood test that screens for cancer: Does it do more harm than good?

Study analyzes the risk of death after hospital discharge with COVID-19 among older adults

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On abortion rights, Ohio is the new Kansas

One Health, One Mission: The World Organisation for Animal Health on the AMR Frontline

Uniting Against Resistance: The World Health Organization for World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2023

Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: A Conversation with Dr. Beverley Isherwood

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