The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Most hospitals must offer free or reduced-cost care to certain patients, based on income, even if they have insurance. But some hospitals erect barriers to charity care, so it鈥檚 up to patients to advocate for themselves.
The bold move by the giant hospital system will help thousands of patients in the wake of a Kaiser Health News investigation last year.
After Kaiser Health News鈥 questions, the association tells the aspirin maker to take down display bins at Walmart pharmacies that gave a false impression that the over-the-counter drug is recommended for everyone to prevent heart attacks.
One woman’s experience with the high cost of dental care and confusing Medicare coverage offers a teachable moment for other consumers. Her small church took up a collection, but the surprise bill 鈥 four times what she expected to pay 鈥 was sent to collections.
The suicide rate for children ages 10 to 14 almost tripled in a decade and is still rising. As parents grapple with loss, some turn to activism.
Patients would have far more control over their health care with complete medical histories stored on their phones, proponents say.
The number of U.S. health care workers who have been ordered to self-quarantine because of potential exposure to the new coronavirus is rising at an exponential pace. Many experts say something has to change.
As homelessness among older adults increases, a movement is afoot to use a powerful 3D printer to construct affordable and durable housing.
The vice president’s remarks are more proof that health care is complicated.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
A Colorado lawmaker giving birth near the start of the state鈥檚 four-month legislative session highlighted the lack of comprehensive paid family leave. Yet a bill to add a statewide system that once seemed a sure thing is getting bogged down.
Concerns over Comic Con in Seattle mount as HIMSS and other huge conferences halt their plans.
Cancellations and no-shows for blood drives in states where the virus is spreading 鈥 and in ones where it鈥檚 not 鈥 pose risks for the nation鈥檚 inventories.
Emergency medical technicians, ambulance crews and some firefighters are facing new threats from the coronavirus, which could put their normal contingency plans to the test.
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony spoke with 鈥淭he 21st鈥 host Jenna Dooley about an Illinois tattoo artist who is changing lives by inking nails on finger amputees, mocking up belly buttons after tummy tucks and fleshing out lips after dog attacks.
The wide field of Democrats vying to face President Donald Trump in the fall has been reduced to two major candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, each with a different prescription for the health system. Meanwhile, Congress and the Trump administration scramble to address the spread of the novel coronavirus. And the Supreme Court agrees to consider the latest case against the Affordable Care Act. Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner, Tami Luhby of CNN and Emmarie Huetteman of Kaiser Health News join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.
If a coronavirus pandemic were to hit the U.S., only 36 states have blueprints for 鈥渃risis standards of care鈥 to sort out who gets what kind of medical care amid scarce resources. And not all the plans are of high quality. That means health care providers in some states will be better prepared for a crisis than others 鈥 but all could face tough decisions.
Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, calls on state and federal health inspectors to focus on how facilities keep infections from spreading, especially in areas that have reported coronavirus cases.
Since the beginning of 2017, inspectors have cited more nursing homes for failing to ensure that all workers follow federal prevention and control protocols than for any other type of violation, according to federal records.
Even in a solidly blue state where voters were demanding relief from high health care costs, the idea of a government-run public option for health insurance faced a 鈥渟team train of opposition.鈥
