Kaiser Health News
Thursday's announcement by Kaiser Permanente that it plans to open its own medical school in Southern California has attracted a lot of attention in the healthcare community.
Perched on an exam table at the doctor's office watching the clinician type details about their medical problems into their file, what patient hasn't wondered exactly what the doctor is writing? As many as 50 million patients may have a chance to find out in the next few years, following the announcement this week of $10 million in new grants to expand the OpenNotes project, which works with medical providers to expand patient access to clinician notes.
After the last of the baby boomers become fully eligible for Medicare, the federal health program can expect significantly higher costs in 2030 both because of the high number of beneficiaries and because many are expected to be significantly less healthy than previous generations.
Since just a few insurers, or sometimes just one, dominate the market for individuals and small businesses in some states, the law sought to increase competition in those areas by calling for "multi-state" health plans that would be offered by some insurers. The law required that at least two multi-state plans be available to consumers in 31 states by 2014 and in all states by 2017, but it doesn't require insurers to offer the plans and most so far have opted not to. Federal officials and insurance experts say it is unlikely that the 2017 goal will be met.
A coalition of civil rights advocates Tuesday called for a federal investigation of California's Medicaid program, alleging that it discriminates against millions of low-income Latinos by denying them equal access to health care.
Obesity is redrawing the common imagery of old age: The slight nursing home resident is giving way to the obese senior, hampered by diabetes, disability and other weight-related ailments. Facilities that have long cared for older adults are increasingly overwhelmed -- and unprepared -- to care for this new group of morbidly heavy patients.
There's a prescription drug abuse problem sweeping the United States, but fixing it will require a systematic change focused on how most health professionals prescribe drugs, rather than changing the practices of a few bad apples.
As anyone who needs insulin to treat diabetes can tell you, that usually means regular checkups at the doctor's office to fine-tune the dosage, monitor blood-sugar levels and check for complications. But here's a little known fact: Some forms of insulin can be bought without a prescription. One diabetes patient and several medical experts weigh in on whether it should be.
As the deadline for January health care coverage nears, California's insurance exchange is intensifying efforts to sign people up in pockets of the state with exceptionally high numbers of uninsured residents. Covered California is targeting such "hot spots" as San Francisco's Mission district, and Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood, officials said.
This week Connecticut's leaders had to close a $350 million hole in the state's budget. One place they cut is hospital funding, and that's making hospital executives furious.