Kaiser Health News

Dedicated funding is needed for research, the report says, and hospitals and doctors need to develop better ways to identify, reduce and learn from "near misses."

Forty-six percent of covered workers have a deductible of at least $1,000 this year for single coverage as employers shift to "consumer-directed" plans that give members incentives to seek less-costly care.

A new consumer website unveiled Monday by the California Department of Insurance hopes to help Californians better shop for health care based on both quality and price.

In North Carolina, Brookdale Home Health Charlotte was one of just two agencies out of more than 170 in the state to earn five stars.

A detailed analysis of anesthesiologists younger than 36 who worked in group practices found wage disparities existed in 2012, even when taking into account age, experience, hours worked and type of employer.

In 2013, nearly 750,000 Coloradans were uninsured. Obamacare cut those numbers in half, to a level that was once considered unreachable.

Even when accounting for factors such as experience, age and research, men are 15 percentage points more likely to have the rank of full professor - the senior-most position on a tenure track - than are women.

Payment initiatives and increasing patient expectations are slowly forcing changes, encouraging doctors to be better listeners and more sensitive.

Employers again are sharply focused on employee wellness, and some are raising the bar to qualify for program incentives.

One of the main ways the Affordable Care Act seeks to reduce health care costs is by encouraging doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to form networks that coordinate patient care and become eligible for bonuses when they deliver that care more efficiently.