Kaiser Health News, Cost & Quality Blog

Unlike earlier in the year, most hospitals are not proactively canceling elective surgeries, even in some places seeing spikes in coronavirus patients.

The speech by the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee was delivered the same day the Trump administration reaffirmed its support of a lawsuit that would invalidate all of the Affordable Care Act, including the law's preexisting condition protections.

The United States is the only developed nation unable to balance cost, efficacy and social good in setting prices.

El sistema de salud pública de los Estados Unidos ha subsistido en la precariedad durante décadas y carece de los recursos necesarios para enfrentar la peor crisis de salud en un siglo.

The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources necessary to confront the worst health crisis in a century. An investigation by The Associated Press and KHN has found that since 2010, spending for state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and for local health departments by 18%. At least 38,000 public health jobs have disappeared, leaving a skeletal workforce for what was once viewed as one of the world’s top public health systems. That has left the nation unprepared to deal with a virus that has sickened at least 2.6 million people and killed more than 126,000.

Six months after agreeing to a $575 million settlement in a landmark antitrust case, Sutter Health has yet to pay a single dollar and now says the terms may be untenable, given the strain caused by the pandemic.

Public health officials are asking for more money in California’s state budget. But unlike some rich and powerful health care interests, they don’t have an army of lobbyists to curry favor with lawmakers.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the nation’s doctors and hospitals to reevaluate how they work. At least three major changes may have a lasting impact.

The COVID-19 pandemic is showcasing California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership style to a national audience. The first-term Democrat doesn’t shy away from making splashy announcements and lofty promises, but his plans often lack detail and, in some cases, follow-through.