Category: Health Industry

Readers Slam Hospital Monopolies and Blame the Feds for Understaffed Nursing Homes

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Patients Expected Profemur Artificial Hips to Last. Then They Snapped in Half.

The FDA and the manufacturer were alerted to Profemur titanium hips breaking inside U.S. patients as of 2005. It took 15 years to recall the devices. Many fractures could have been avoided.

Many People of Color Worry Good Health Care Is Tied to Their Appearance

Many people from racial and ethnic minority groups brace themselves for insults and judgments before medical appointments, according to a new survey of patients that reaffirms the prevalence of racial discrimination in the U.S. health system.

California’s Ambitious Medicaid Experiment Gets Tripped Up in Implementation

The health care insurers, nonprofit organizations, and other groups responsible for implementing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plan to infuse Medicaid with social services say their ability to serve vulnerable, low-income Californians is hamstrung.

What to Know About Home Care Services

Finding an aide to help an older person stay at home safely takes work. Here’s a guide.

Desperate Families Search for Affordable Home Care

Facing a severe shortage of aides and high costs, people trying to keep aging loved ones at home often cobble together a patchwork of family and friends to help.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Trump Puts Obamacare Repeal Back on Agenda

Although Republicans have never united behind a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, 2024 GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said this week he wants to put the issue back on the national agenda. That delights Democrats, who have won at least two elections partly by defending the now-popular health law. Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court takes up a case brought by women who say their pregnancy complications further endangered their health due to the vagueness of Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Victoria Knight of Axios News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Rachana Pradhan, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.

Uncle Sam Wants You … to Help Stop Insurers’ Bogus Medicare Advantage Sales Tactics

The Biden administration wants to crack down on deceptive or misleading Medicare Advantage and drug plan sales tactics. It’s counting on beneficiaries to help catch offenders.

Medicare Advantage Increasingly Popular With Seniors — But Not Hospitals and Doctors

Some hospitals and physician groups are rejecting Medicare Advantage plans over payment rates and coverage restrictions, causing turmoil for patients.

Back Pain? Bum Knee? Be Prepared to Wait for a Physical Therapist

Physical therapists left the field en masse during the covid-19 pandemic, even as demand from aging baby boomers skyrocketed. While universities try to boost their training programs to increase the number of graduates, patients seeking relief from often debilitating pain are left to wait.