Category: Health Industry

Employers Haven’t a Clue How Their Drug Benefits Are Managed

The Big Three pharmacy benefit managers say they return nearly all the rebates they get from drugmakers to the employers and insurers who hire them. But most employers seem to doubt that.

What’s New and What To Watch For in the Upcoming ACA Open Enrollment Period

This year’s start date in most states is Nov. 1, and consumers may encounter new scams as well as important rule changes.

Catholic Hospital Offered Bucket, Towels to Woman It Denied an Abortion, California AG Said

In California, where abortion rights are guaranteed, there’s a loophole. The growth of Catholic hospital systems, which restrict reproductive health care, has left patients with no other option for care. That will be the case for pregnant women in Northern California, with a hospital set to close its birth center.

Doctors Urging Conference Boycotts Over Abortion Bans Face Uphill Battle

A famed breast cancer surgeon has created a California alternative to a major Texas event. Yet many doctors believe boycotting medical conferences in states that criminalize abortion accomplishes nothing and can be harmful.

Setting the Record Straight on the FDA’s Authority Over Drug Ads

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

Benefit Trend: Employers Opt To Give Workers an Allowance for Coverage

Employers are showing interest in a type of health reimbursement account that gives workers a contribution to choose and buy their own plans, rather than participating in group plans.

The Medicare Advantage Influence Machine

New court filings and lobbying reports reveal an industry drive to tamp down critics — and retain billions of dollars in overcharges.

A Few Rural Towns Are Bucking the Trend and Building New Hospitals

A remote Wyoming community hoped for years to have more access to health care. Now, after receiving federal funding, it is bucking dismal closure trends throughout the rural U.S. and building its own hospital. And it’s not the only one.

Nursing Aides Plagued by PTSD After ‘Nightmare’ Covid Conditions, With Little Help

A KFF Health News investigation reveals that employers and the government have offered nursing aides little assistance for PTSD and other ongoing maladies triggered by hazardous work during the pandemic.

How North Carolina Made Its Hospitals Do Something About Medical Debt

State officials threatened to withhold public money from hospitals, pioneering a strategy that could become a national model.