Latest Kaiser Health News Stories
Despite Boost In Social Security, Rising Medicare Part B Costs Leave Seniors In Bind
With higher premiums on tap for many Medicare enrollees, here’s help figuring out the particulars of the Part B puzzle and how it affects you.
Heart Device Failure: Medicare Spent $1.5B Over 10 Years To Replace Defective Implants
The inspector general at Health and Human Services says defective pacemakers or defibrillators had to be replaced from 2005 through 2014, costing Medicare $1.5 billion.
Money-Saving Offer For Medicare’s Late Enrollees Is Expiring. Can They Buy Time?
Sept. 30 marks the end of Medicare’s temporary offer to waive penalties for certain late Medicare enrollees with Affordable Care Act insurance coverage.
Nursing Home Disaster Plans Often Faulted As ‘Paper Tigers’
Too often enforcement of rules for dealing with crisis is lax, advocates for nursing home residents say.
Quiz: How Well Are You Paying Attention?
To strengthen your core knowledge of health care policy, it helps to be a regular reader of Kaiser Health News. Here’s a pop quiz to gauge what you have learned.
Shedding New Light On Hospice Care: No Need To Wait For The ‘Brink Of Death’
Hospice care often prompts fear and misunderstanding, but the services provided can lead to less pain and trauma at the end of life.
5 Outside-The-Box Ideas For Fixing The Individual Insurance Market
As lawmakers look for ways to stabilize the health law marketplaces, a number of ideas — such as expanding who can “buy in” to Medicare and Medicaid or pushing young adults off their parents’ plans into the marketplaces — might come into play.
Medicare Unveils ‘Skeletal’ Site For Hospice Comparison Shopping
This is the first federal website designed to help families choose a hospice, but experts aren’t impressed.
End-Of-Life Advice: More Than 500,000 Chat On Medicare’s Dime
In the first year of payments for advance-care planning sessions, once decried as ”death panels,“ use is higher than expected, new data show.
Florida Law Will Let Patients Get All Their Drug Renewals At The Same Time
The new law will help people with chronic conditions that require multiple prescriptions cut down on their shuttles to the drug store and could improve adherence to their drugs.
Under Trump, Hospitals Face Same Penalties Embraced By Obama
Federal records show that 2,573 hospitals around the country will have their Medicare payments reduced because they have too many patients readmitted.
Depression Among Heart Attack Survivors Can Be Deadly, Yet Is Often Ignored
One in 5 heart attack patients suffers from severe depression, yet many get little or no treatment that could ease their suffering or save their lives.
Fraud And Billing Mistakes Cost Medicare — And Taxpayers — Tens Of Billions Last Year
At a hearing Wednesday, federal health officials pointed to billing errors, fraud and overcharges that led Medicare to overpay by staggering sums.
Congress Squares Off Over Drug Pricing And A Controversial Drug Discount Program
The controversial 340B drug discount program for hospitals came under fire at a congressional hearing.
Medicare’s Financial Outlook Slightly Improved, Trustees Say
The assessment pushes back the date for the hospital insurance trust fund to go bankrupt by one year. It also says Part B premiums next year will be stable.
Nursing Homes Move Into The Insurance Business
Although proponents say the policies offered by nursing homes are more attuned to patients, some report frustrations when trying to dispute care decisions.
Half The Time, Nursing Homes Scrutinized On Safety By Medicare Are Still Treacherous
Of the 528 nursing homes that graduated from special focus status before 2014 and are still operating, more than half — 52 percent — have harmed patients or operated in a way that put patients in serious jeopardy within the past three years, a KHN analysis finds.
As Seniors Get Sicker, They’re More Likely To Drop Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare Advantage plans offer good value and aim to keep patients healthy but sicker people are far more likely to quit because they can’t get the care they need.
Hospitals Ramp Up Hyperbaric Therapy For Diabetics, Despite Concerns
Medicare is trying to deter overuse of hyperbaric therapy, and some experts question its effectiveness for healing diabetic wounds, one of the treatment’s fastest-growing uses.
Take Our Quiz To Test Your Wits On Aging
As we get older, it helps to tickle the noggin with trivia. Here’s a pop quiz to see what you have learned as a regular reader of Kaiser Health News.
