HEALTHCARE REFORM
Health Industry – KFF Health News
- Massage Therapists Ease the Pain of Hospice Patients — But Aren’t Easy to Find June 8, 2023The pandemic disrupted the massage industry. Now those who specialize in hospice massage therapy are in demand and redefining their roles.Kate Ruder
- Debt Deal Leaves Health Programs (Mostly) Intact June 7, 2023The bipartisan deal to extend the U.S. government’s borrowing authority includes future cuts to federal health agencies, but they are smaller than many expected and do not touch Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. becomes the first drugmaker to sue Medicare officials over the federal health insurance program’s new authority to negotiate drug prices. […]
- A Windfall in Health Insurance Rebates? It’s Not as Crazy as It Sounds June 7, 2023The billion-dollar amount cited by former Sen. Al Franken, while an estimate, is likely very close to what insurers will owe this year under a provision of the Affordable Care Act that compels rebates when insurers spend too little on actual medical care.Julie Appleby, KFF Health News
- Burnout Threatens Primary Care Workforce and Doctors’ Mental Health June 7, 2023Burnout is a widespread problem in the health care industry. Although the pandemic made things worse, burnout among doctors is a long-standing concern that health systems have become more focused on as they try to stop doctors from quitting or retiring early.Lauren Sausser
- A ‘Payday Loan’ From a Health Care Behemoth June 6, 2023UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurer in the United States. And it keeps growing. This has led some health care experts to call for antitrust regulation of this “behemoth” company.Dan Weissmann
- As Fewer MDs Practice Rural Primary Care, a Different Type of Doctor Helps Take Up the Slack June 6, 2023The number of DOs is surging, and more than half of them practice in primary care, including in rural areas hit hard by doctor shortages.Tony Leys
- Will a ‘National Patient Safety Board,’ Modeled After the NTSB, Actually Fly? June 5, 2023A push is underway to create a National Patient Safety Board modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates plane crashes and other transportation disasters. But unlike the NTSB, some patient safety advocates say, the current proposal is toothless and wouldn’t provide transparency about the nation’s hospitals.Mary Chris Jaklevic
- Our 300th Episode! June 1, 2023When KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” podcast launched in 2017, Republicans in Washington were engaged in an (ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. The next six years would see a pandemic, increasingly unaffordable care, and a health care workforce experiencing unprecedented burnout. In the podcast’s 300th episode, host and […]
- Watch: Payback for the Opioid Crisis: How Did the Sackler Family Skirt Liability? June 1, 2023KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani appeared on PBS NewsHour to discuss the ruling surrounding drugmaker Purdue Pharma's role in the opioid crisis and her reporting into the ongoing distribution of opioid settlement funds.
- How a Medical Recoding May Limit Cancer Patients’ Options for Breast Reconstruction May 31, 2023The federal government’s arcane process for medical coding is influencing which reconstructive surgery options are available, creating anxiety for breast cancer patients.Rachana Pradhan and Anna Werner, CBS News and Leigh Ann Winick, CBS News