Category: Kaiser Health News

Medicaid Expansion Making Diabetes Meds More Accessible To Poor, Study Shows

The number of diabetes drug prescriptions filled for low-income people enrolled in Medicaid rose sharply in states that expanded eligibility for the program under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study.

Stanford’s Chief Wellness Officer Aims To Prevent Physician Burnout

Tait Shanafelt focuses on helping doctors cope with such problems as long hours and copious record-keeping, seeking to prevent burnout and reduce the rate of physician suicide. As doctors’ well-being improves, he says, so does patient care.

Doctors Reckon With High Rate Of Suicide In Their Ranks

The devastating loss of a promising young doctor prompts soul-searching and action at one of the nation’s largest emergency room staffing companies.

Trying To Pinpoint Hurricane’s True Toll, Researchers Say 1,139 Died In Puerto Rico

The estimate, published in the journal JAMA, dwarfs the government’s toll of 64 but is far lower than another highly touted analysis.

How Rival Opioid Makers Sought To Cash In On Alarm Over OxyContin’s Dangers

Fentanyl and other painkillers marketed as safer than Purdue Pharma’s blockbuster drug left their own trail of overdose deaths.

Patients With Chronic Pain Feel Caught In An Opioid-Prescribing Debate

States are passing laws that limit a doctor’s ability to prescribe opioids. Doctors and patients alike are wrestling with what that means in cases of chronic pain.

To Tame Prescription Prices, HHS Dips A Toe Into Drug Importation Stream

The Trump administration signals it is willing to consider such a move if it is carefully tailored to focus solely on specific situations where a high-priced drug is made by one company.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Let’s Talk Politics

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call talk about health care’s emergence as a possible voting issue in the coming midterm elections. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Emmarie Huetteman about July’s “Bill of the Month”: a transgender woman’s “bait-and-switch” $92,000 surgical bill.

For Many College Students, Hunger Can ‘Make It Hard To Focus In Class’

With rising college costs, up to half of college students’ finances are stretched so tight they report that they were either not getting enough to eat or were worried about it, studies find.

Some Doctors, Patients Balk At Medicare’s ‘Flat Fee’ Payment Proposal

The Trump administration says its plan to overhaul the way Medicare pays doctors will save physicians time and paperwork. But critics worry the changes will hurt patients’ care and doctors’ income.