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  • KFF’s Kaiser Health News Investigates Private Equity’s Stealth Takeover of Health Care in the United States

    News Release

    A new investigation by KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) lays bare the sizeable efforts by private equity investors to take over large and lucrative parts of the U.S health care system in recent years. KHN found that private equity firms have invested nearly $1 trillion through thousands of deals to acquire hospitals and specialized medical practices during the last decade alone. The deals, many of them unnoticed by federal regulators, typically result in a ratcheting…

  • Cost of COVID-19 Hospital Admissions among People with Private Health Coverage

    Issue Brief

    This analysis examines the cost of COVID-19 treatment for inpatient care among people with health coverage through large employers. It finds that in 2020, COVID-19 hospitalizations cost an average of $41,611, including an average out-of-pocket payment of $1,280 for people with large employer coverage.

  • Hospital Charity Care: How It Works and Why It Matters

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines the role that hospital charity care programs play in helping patients who are unable to afford their care. It describes how hospital charity care programs work, the amount of charity care that hospitals provide, relevant federal and state regulation, the role of Medicare and Medicaid in helping hospitals afford charity care expenses, and policy proposals related to charity care programs.

  • Half of All Hospitals Have Charity Care Costs That Represent 1.4% or Less of Their Operating Expenses

    News Release

    Half of hospitals reported that the cost of providing charity care to patients represented 1.4% or less of their operating expenses in 2020, though the rates vary widely from hospital to hospital, a new KFF analysis finds. Based on a review of hospital cost report data, the analysis finds some hospitals provide little or no charity care (0.1% or less of operating expenses at 8% of hospitals), while others provide far more charity care (at…

  • Ending COVID-19 Emergency Declarations Will Bring an End to Flexibilities that Aided Patients, Providers, Insurers, and Public Programs in Responding to the Pandemic

    News Release

    When the federal government ends COVID-19 emergency declarations that were declared in the early days of the pandemic, it will bring to a close several changes that were enacted temporarily to enable the U.S. health care system to better deal with the crisis. A new KFF resource details a number of those flexibilities and lays out what it will mean for people, providers and federal health programs when they go away. One of the key…

  • No Surprises Act Quiz

    Feature

    A new federal law provides new consumer protections against "surprise" medical bills beginning this year. Test your knowledge about its provisions with this 12-question quiz.

  • Telehealth Accounted for 8% of Outpatient Visits More Than a Year into COVID-19 Pandemic, Suggesting a More Permanent Shift in How Patients Receive Care

    News Release

    Telehealth use skyrocketed during the early months of the pandemic. While it has since decreased somewhat from that high, it still represents a much more substantial share of health care than before COVID, a new KFF-Epic Research analysis finds. From March through August 2021, 8% of all outpatient visits were conducted via telehealth – down from 13% in the first six months of the pandemic, but well above pre-pandemic levels, when telehealth accounted for a…

  • Network Adequacy Standards and Enforcement

    Issue Brief

    Health plan networks affect patient access to care. This brief reviews options for setting and enforcing network adequacy standards and tools for making differences in plan networks more transparent.

  • Surprise Medical Bills are Ending, But Controversy Continues

    Perspective

    In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt examines how the No Surprises Act that prohibits unexpected out-of-network charges for patients could lead to lower payment rates and revenues for some doctors and other care providers.