Kaiser Health News

Biography: The editorially independent news organization delivers important coverage of health care policy and politics for older Americans.

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Study: Health Providers Often Rewarded for Volume Over Value

Posted on 03/26/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Russ Mitchell for Kaiser Health News. This story was produced in collaboration with USA Today For decades, reformers have sought to change how doctors and hospitals are paid to reward quality and efficiency — efforts that accelerated as a result of the health care overhaul. But surprisingly little progress has been made to date, a consortium of large employers reported today. Only 10.9 percent of health care spending last year by employer-sponsored plans was based on “value,” as opposed to …

29 States Get ‘F’ for Keeping Health Costs Hidden

Posted on 03/18/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Russ Mitchell for Kaiser Health News Wonder why you can’t get a straight answer on how much a health care procedure will cost you? One big reason: State laws which allow hospitals and other providers to keep costs hidden until they send you the bill. A report card on price transparency released today gives 29 states an “F” and seven states a “D” for policies that keep patients and their families in the dark on prices. The failing grade …

Why Are Hospital Ratings All Over the Map?

Posted on 03/18/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Jordan Rau, Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News How good a hospital is St. Mary Mercy Livonia Hospital? Depends on whom you ask. The Leapfrog Group, a respected nonprofit that promotes patient safety, gave an “A” to this Michigan hospital. The company Healthgrades named it one of America’s best 50 hospitals. But the Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that accredits hospitals, and U.S. News and World Report omitted St. Mary from their best hospital lists. Consumer Reports gave it an …

News Roundup: For Congress, Big Deadlines Loom

Posted on 03/18/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsFrom Kaiser Health News On the Sunday talk shows, members of Congress sparred over the upcoming budget votes and the ongoing dispute over the cost of ‘Obamacare’ and entitlement programs such as Medicare. More urgently, if Congress fails to pass an extension to keep the government funded by March 27, agencies and programs face a broad shutdown. Los Angeles Times: There’s No Immediate Debt Crisis, Boehner Says, Agreeing With Obama The country isn’t facing an immediate debt crisis, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Sunday, but …

A State Where Government-Run Health Care Really Works

Posted on 03/8/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Sarah Varney, Staff Writer, Kaiser Health News APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. – The hallways of the Apache Junction Health Center are still. Only half of the rooms are filled, and the men and women who live here seem surely in life’s final season. “These are folks that have chronic cognitive and physical disabilities that are not going to improve,” said George Jacobson, administrator of the nursing home. That this nursing home is sparsely filled with residents too disabled in mind or …

Medicare Doctor Pay: Why Is It So Hard To Fix?

Posted on 02/28/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Mary Agnes Carey, Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News While physicians have sidestepped drastic Medicare payment cuts for 2013, doctors’ groups and lawmakers are gearing up for yet another battle to scrap the formula that forces Congress to consider the “doc fix” on a yearly basis. For doctors, the nail-biter has become a familiar but frustrating rite. Lawmakers invariably defer the cuts prescribed by a 1997 reimbursement formula, which everyone agrees is broken beyond repair. But the deferrals are always temporary …