Days after publication of a KFF Health News article about Obamacare enrollees being switched to different plans without their knowledge or consent, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services took steps to tighten insurance agents’ access to private consumer information on the federal marketplace.
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
People in their prime working years living in rural America are 43% more likely to die of natural causes, like diseases, than their urban counterparts, a disparity that grew rapidly in recent decades, according to a new federal report.
Most of the doctors the FDA tapped to advise it on an Abbott medical device had financial ties to the company. The FDA didn’t disclose the payments.
TMJ disorders affect as many as 1 in 10 Americans and yet remain poorly understood and ineffectively treated. Many common treatments used by dentists lack scientific evidence.
Starting this year, federal employees can choose plans that cover a broad menu of fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for in vitro fertilization procedures. At the same time, politics around IVF and reproductive health have become a central issue in the current election-year debate.
Colorado is ahead of the curve on policies to prevent medical debt, but the gap between the debt load in places inhabited primarily by people of color versus non-Hispanic white residents is greater than the national average.
Under pressure from increased demand, consolidation, and changing patient expectations, the model of care no longer means visiting the same doctor for decades.
State institutions and community hospitals have closed inpatient mental health units, often citing staffing and financial challenges. Now, for-profit companies are opening psychiatric hospitals to fill the void.
Hospitals are increasingly stretching a velvet rope, offering “concierge service” to an affluent clientele. Critics say the practice exacerbates primary care shortages.
