The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
3,541-3,560 of 4,014 results
Gov. John Kitzhaber, a former emergency room doctor, has convinced the federal government that he has a way to make Medicaid treatment better, and cheaper, by completely changing the way the sickest people in the state get health care.
These innovative programs -- available in only a few areas -- allow some chronically ill patients to skip the hospital and opt instead for similar care at home.
Too often, however, hospitals and other providers are not reimbursed for such services and can't afford to keep them.
A new study finds prices rose at least five times faster than overall inflation for emergency room visits, outpatient surgery and facility-based mental health and substance abuse care from 2009 to 2010.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently awarded 26 innovation grants to advance ideas that are designed to add efficiency and quality to the health system while generating savings. KHN takes a look at four of these projects.
Patients complain that they can spend tens of thousands of dollars because pills are considered a pharmacy benefit by many insurers while traditional IV chemo generally has a a flat copayment and out-of-pocket costs are capped.
IOM report says physicians need to be more rigorous in dealing with patients' weight, and insurers should reverse stingy reimbursement policies and help develop evidence-based programs that can help curb the epidemic.
The new data, which include beneficiaries' bills in the hospital and for 30 days afterward, are a first step toward using bonuses and penalties to encourage more efficient care.
Growth in spending on these prescriptions, used for complex conditions such as MS and Crohn's disease, is far outpacing traditional drugs. Often they have no generic alternative.
Once a month, Dr. Ankush Bansal, an internist, travels to his home in Miami to see patients virtually via computer for three different health care companies. Bansal said he doesn't think telemedicine will replace practicing traditional medicine.
The explosion of Web- and telephone-based medical services is transforming the delivery of primary health care, giving consumers access from home for inexpensive, round-the-clock care.
The proposal for state House lawmakers would control rising medical costs by capping a cap on health-care spending and could include a tax on hospitals.
More doctors are being trained, but some say the move could backfire since too many young doctors are going into high-paid specialties instead of primary care, which could exacerbate rising health care costs.
Accountable care organizations will confront questions, including whether this new model for delivering medical treatment has the muscle to overcome the system's entrenched incentives.
The chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society has a powerful message for the country: We're all responsible for overuse of the health care system.
People who are not admitted to the hospital
Laws in about half the states allow plans to restrict payments for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. That can hamper hospital efforts to counsel patients on the dangers of their behavior.
When a health insurer buys a business that helps hospitals win billing battles with insurers, alarm bells should sound, experts say.
Charity care at nonprofit hospitals is scrutinized by state and federal officials, as hospitals go to great lengths to collect unpaid debts from patients.
Janie Guice, a recruiter for University of Mississippi's medical school, is looking for a few dedicated souls who are willing to commit to practicing in rural parts of the state, even in places without a Walmart.
漏 2026 51视频