Health Care Giants Battling For Control Of Pittsburgh’s Market
As the line between insurance companies and health care providers blurs, these onetime allies are venturing into each other’s business and becoming competitors.
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‘Pastoral Counselors’ Help Fill Mental Health Gap In Rural States
Six states allow these counselors
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Wrestling With A Texas County’s Mental Health System
Strong leadership and common-sense budgeting created a model mental health care system in San Antonio.
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Some States Bristle At Lack Of Authority Over Medicare Advantage Plans
When Congress created the option for beneficiaries to join the private Medicare Advantage plans, it gave oversight to federal officials, preempting state insurance laws and procedures.
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San Antonio Police Have Radical Approach To Mental Illness: Treat It
With specialized training and a redirection of resources, San Antonio’s police force is taking better care of mentally ill people, keeping them out of jail and saving $10 million a year.
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HMO, PPO, EPO: How’s A Consumer To Know What Health Plan Is Best?
The alphabet soup that distinguishes different types of insurance plans is supposed to help guide consumers, but instead the choices are becoming very confusing.
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Missouri Lags Behind In Insurance Pricing Transparency
Consumers in most other states have more information about, and control over, health insurance prices and plans.
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Hospitals Reconsider Charity For Patients Who Decline Health Coverage
Some fear helping some people with their bills might keep them from getting government-subsidized insurance plans.
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In Study, Questions About Who Should Perform In-Office Surgeries
A study of Medicare billing found that many dermatology procedures were done by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
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Letters To The Editor: Searching For ‘Big Ideas’; Patients Soliciting Bids For Care Online; Training Doctors; More
Letters to the Editor is a regular feature in which readers comment on KHN original stories.
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With Health Law, ERs Still Packed
Emergency-room visits have increased at many hospitals. A shortage of primary-care doctors is one reason.
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Government Streamlining Medicare Coverage For Cancer Test
FDA and Medicare officials conduct a parallel review of a new screening test for colorectal cancer and that could bring the test to beneficiaries six months faster.
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Analysis: California’s Enrollment Success Is Its Greatest Challenge
After signing up hundreds of thousands of Medi-Cal enrollees, the state now needs to figure out how to care for them.
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Hospitals Seek To Help Consumers With Obamacare Premiums
But insurers oppose many of the premium assistance efforts, saying they would lead to sicker enrollees who will raise costs for everyone.
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16% Of Large Employers Plan To Offer Low-Benefit ‘Skinny’ Plans Despite ACA: Survey
The National Business Group on Health also found, based on 136 large employers’ responses, a continued move toward high-deductible, “consumer-directed” plans.
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More Employers Limit Health Plan Networks But Seek To Preserve Quality, Says Adviser
Dr. Robert Galvin, who helps executives at 50 companies purchase health care for employees, tells KHN that workers must become savvier consumers.
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For Aging Inmates, Care Outside Prison Walls
As the number of elderly inmates needing long-term care rises, some states are looking for alternatives beyond prison walls.
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Must A Divorced Dad Cover Adult Kids; Will Medicare Pay For Infusion Therapy
KHN’s consumer columnist Michelle Andrews explores a divorced mother’s efforts to get her ex-husband to keep their sons on his plan, one senior’s problems getting Medicare to cover his antibiotic infusion at home and what earnings one reader will have to count when applying for premium subsidies.
