Letters to the Editor
Readers Have Their Say … On Pain And Who Stands To Gain In Drug Market
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to respond, react and comment on our stories.
Cost and Quality
1,121 - 1,140 of 3,361 Results
-
-
Hospitals Slashed Use Of Two Heart Drugs After Huge Price Hikes
Hospital use of two popular heart medicines, nitroprusside and isoproterenol, dramatically dropped after the prices for both soared.
-
Taking A U-Turn On Benefits, Big Employers Vow To Continue Offering Health Insurance
Three years ago, only about a quarter of the nation’s large employers were very confident they would have a health plan in 10 years. That number has now risen to 65 percent.
By Jay Hancock -
Why One Insurer’s Collapse Could Whack Insurers, Policyholders Across the Country
Little-known rules require all health insurance companies to help pay claims when any one of them fails. Penn Treaty failed big — and insurers around the country are likely to pass those costs onto policyholders.
By Chad Terhune -
Congress Revamps Housing Program To Benefit Areas Where HIV Is Spreading
The small federal program once based funding on an area’s cumulative number of cases. It will now be more responsive to places where new outbreaks are occurring.
-
EMS Delays In Rural Areas Leave First-Aid Gap For Bystanders To Fill
Response times for emergency medical service units are about twice as long in rural areas as in urban areas, researchers say, underscoring the need for trained lay people to provide first aid until professional help arrives.
-
When Wounds Won’t Heal, Therapies Spread — To The Tune Of $5 Billion
The market for wound care products booms among a growing older and diabetic patient pool, but many treatments are untested and funding for research falls short.
-
Despite Insurers’ Tactical Win On ACA’s Cost-Sharing Payments, Uncertainty Lingers
Court allows state attorneys general to join a pending legal challenge to keep billions in subsidies flowing to consumers and insurers, despite the Trump administration’s resistance.
By Jay Hancock -
Anthem’s Retreat Leaves Californians With Fewer Choices, More Worries
The nation’s second-largest insurer is shrinking its presence on Obamacare exchanges and in the broader individual market in response to prevailing uncertainty. California is just the latest — and the biggest — example.
-
Covered California Expects 12.5% Average Rate Rise In 2018
The figure could be higher if President Trump ends an important consumer subsidy, which he has threatened to do. The exchange also announced that Anthem Blue Cross will pull out of Covered California and the overall individual market in 16 of the 19 regions it currently serves.
By Emily Bazar and Anna Gorman -
Denial, Appeal, Approval … An Adult’s Thorny Path To Spinraza Coverage
The FDA granted approval for Spinraza in late December for use on children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy. Insurance coverage is mostly focused on infants and children.
-
Drug Puts A $750,000 ‘Price Tag On Life’
The high cost of Spinraza, a new and promising treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, highlights how the cost-benefit analysis insurers use to make drug coverage decisions plays out in human terms.
-
Even Without Congress, Trump Can Still Cut Medicaid Enrollment
The Trump administration is poised to grant states waivers that some critics say could change the shape of the program.
-
Ask Emily
Leap Of Faith: Will Health Care Ministries Cover Your Costs?
Sharing ministries are based on biblical principles and are not the same as commercial insurance. They are not legally binding and may not cover some common medical expenses.
By Emily Bazar -
Seema Verma Runs Medicaid. Her Husband’s Practice Won’t Accept It.
Dr. Sanjay Mishra, the husband of CMS Administrator Seema Verma, is part of a group practice in Indiana that does not accept Medicaid payments.
-
How To Get Long-Term Care At Home Without Busting The Bank
The majority of older adults receive long-term care at home and need help covering these services with affordable insurance policies. The long-term insurance industry needs to focus on home care.
-
Repeal & Replace Watch
Rural Californians Want Price Relief From GOP Health Bill, But Unlikely To Get It
In far northern Lassen and Modoc counties, residents say Obamacare premiums are unaffordable. But under the proposed Senate bill, insurance premiums would increase even more.
-
Price Transparency In Medicine Faces Stiff Opposition — From Hospitals And Doctors
A coalition of health care providers are blocking Ohio’s law requiring health care providers to tell what non-emergency services will cost them.
By Rachel Bluth -
Follow The Money: Drugmakers Deploy Political Cash As Prices And Anger Mount
Embattled opioid seller Mallinckrodt is one of many pharmaceutical companies boosting political contributions and lobbying on Capitol Hill.
-
In Appalachia, Two Hospital Giants Seek State-Sanctioned Monopoly
Tennessee and Virginia regulators are considering approval of a merger between Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System under their state laws. If they allow it, the Federal Trade Commission would be powerless to stop it.