Aug 17 Watch 6:18 How the growing cost of drugs might affect your employer's health plan By PBS News Hour More than half of large U.S. employers will more tightly manage their employees' use of prescription drugs next year, according to a new survey. The increased expenses from costly drugs threaten to push some employer health care plans over a… Continue watching
Jul 29 Watch 10:25 After 50 years, how do we ensure Medicare and Medicaid longevity? By PBS News Hour Fifty years since Medicare and Medicaid were established, the programs cover the health care needs of more than 120 million Americans. But new projections underscore worries over long-term sustainability. Judy Woodruff speaks to two former secretaries of the Department of… Continue watching
Jul 29 Hospitals look to laborists to fill gaps left by on-call obstetricians By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News Despite concerns about turning obstetrics into “shift” work similar to emergency physicians, the trend of employing laborists, hospitalists who handle births and obstetrical and gynecological emergencies, is growing as hospitals seek to improve patient safety and physicians increasingly recognize they… Continue reading
Jul 23 HHS pushes states to negotiate lower Obamacare rates By Julie Rovner, KFF Health News Some analysts who have looked at health insurers’ proposed premiums for next year predict major increases for policies sold on state and federal health exchanges. Others say it’s too soon to tell. One thing is clear: There’s a battle brewing… Continue reading
Jul 20 Is urgent care always a lower-cost alternative to the emergency room? By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News Sallyann Johnson considers herself a pretty savvy health care consumer. When she fell and injured her hands and wrists, she didn’t head for an expensive emergency room, choosing an urgent care clinic near her Milwaukee home instead. Continue reading
Jul 19 Higher-than-expected Medicaid enrollment numbers prompt state budget worries By Daniel Costa-Roberts A dozen states that chose to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act have seen their enrollment numbers far outpace projections, raising budget concerns as the federal government gets set to reduce its funding for the expansions… Continue reading
Jul 13 Watch 8:36 Telemedicine puts a doctor virtually at your bedside By PBS News Hour Video conferencing technology can now connect patients and physicians almost instantaneously, offering convenience, efficiency and savings. But what happens to the doctor-patient relationship if you're never in the same room? Hari Sreenivasan reports. Continue watching
Jun 28 What's next for U.S. health policy? By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press There's no shortage of pressing issues, including prescription drug prices, high insurance deductibles and long-term care. Continue reading
Jun 21 Report: Vets on waiting lists for health care up 50 percent since last year By Associated Press The number of veterans seeking health care but ending up on waiting lists of one month or more is 50 percent higher now than it was a year ago when a scandal over false records and long wait times wracked… Continue reading
May 23 Democrats' next health care issue to tackle? 'Underinsurance' By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press A different health care issue has emerged for Democrats, in sync with the party's pitch to workers and middle-class voters ahead of next year's elections. It's not the uninsured, but rather the problem of high out-of-pocket costs for people already… Continue reading