Category: Kaiser Health News

When Needs Arise, These Older Women Have One Another’s Backs

Many women aging alone want to hold on to their independence. But, when illness or disability strikes, they often need assistance. A program in New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco offers numerous ways to help.

5 Ways Nixing The Affordable Care Act Could Upend The Entire Health System

There could be a long legal struggle ahead over the decision by a judge in Texas to invalidate the federal health law. But if his decision stands, it would have long-lasting effects on health care from insurance coverage to Medicare payments to privacy protections.

Why The U.S. Remains The World’s Most Expensive Market For ‘Biologic’ Drugs

Biologic drugs, made from living organisms, are big moneymakers partly because they have little competition from “biosimilars.” It’s a very different story in Europe.

Hep C And Drug Abuse Often Go Hand In Hand, But Screening For Infection Lags

As the number of people who inject drugs has soared, the rate of hepatitis C infection has climbed steeply, too, because the disease can be tied to sharing needles. Yet many drug patients are not checked for the virus that can damage the liver.

After Her Skiing Accident, An Uphill Battle Over Snowballing Bills

She took a bad fall on the slopes and her surgeon used a metal plate to put the splintered bones of her leg back together. When that device failed less than four months later, she and her insurer had to pay full price for the replacement plate.

Health Care Is Where The Jobs Are. But What Kind Of Jobs?

The health care industry adds thousands of jobs to the economy each month. While they aren’t all doctors and nurses, they aren’t all paper pushers either.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ What Just Happened To The ACA And What Happens Now? A Special Bonus Edition

A federal district judge in Texas ruled Friday that Congress’ 2017 elimination of the tax penalty for failing to have insurance rendered the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. What happens now? KHN’s Julie Rovner, along with panelists Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, discuss the bombshell decision and its potential fallout.

Assisted Living’s Breakneck Growth Leaves Patient Safety Behind

An analysis of inspection records in California, Florida and Texas shows significant numbers of violations related to assisted living residents with dementia.

Health Suffers Deep In The Troubled Heart Of Texas

The Lone Star State is an economic powerhouse, yet it fails to take care of its residents’ health and is home to some of the most extreme entrepreneurial medical practices.

Texas Judge Puts ACA in Legal Peril – Again

The case is not expected to have an immediate effect on coverage for people who buy plans on the federal health law marketplaces because the case is likely to go to the Supreme Court – the third time that the justices will decide the fate of the landmark health law.