The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Melissa Bailey was a correspondent for Թϲ until October 2019.
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The use of ECMO, the most aggressive form of life support in modern medicine, has skyrocketed — but along with miraculous rescues, it can leave patients in limbo, kept alive with machines but with no prospect of survival outside the ICU.
In a rare but growing practice, some hospitals offer parents the choice to transport their dying children out of the intensive care unit, with life support in tow, so that they can die at home.
For a generation of LGBTQ people who lived through unprecedented social change, getting older poses new challenges — lack of services, discrimination, neglect and even abuse.
In a nation where the suicide rate continues to climb, such deaths among older adults are often overlooked. A six-month investigation by KHN and PBS NewsHour finds that older Americans are quietly killing themselves in nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult care homes.
As the number of Americans with dementia rises, health professionals grapple with how to talk to patients about gun safety at home.
In the bipartisan opioid bill headed to the president’s desk, hospice workers would be allowed to destroy patients’ unneeded opioids, reducing the risk that families misuse them.
For families living with dementia, natural disasters can be particularly terrifying, heightening confusion, disorientation, anxiety and paranoia.
A new government watchdog report outlines vulnerabilities in Medicare's $17 billion hospice program, pointing to inadequate services, inappropriate billing and outright fraud.
As more Americans are diagnosed with dementia, families who have firearms struggle with ways to stay safe. A KHN investigation uncovered dozens of cases of deaths and injuries.
When a loved one gets dementia, many families get no guidance on what to do about that person's guns. Here are legal and practical steps to stay safe.
A proposed change in immigration policy from the Trump administration could make it more difficult for immigrants to obtain a green card if family members use Medicaid or other government benefits for medical care.
The former first lady’s announcement “not to seek additional medical treatment” and to focus on “comfort care” shone a light on end-of-life choices.
Suffering Americans seek medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids and other powerful pharmaceuticals. Though legal in 29 states, some doctors say the lack of strong data makes it hard to recommend.
Families and nursing homes say Trump administration policies threaten to drive immigrants away from caring for older and disabled patients, intensifying a shortage in these low-wage jobs.
Clinicians can be so focused on fixing problems and saving lives that they often avoid talking to patients about their prognosis.
Will efforts to expand the practice to Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Hawaii succeed this year?
Pastor Gloria White-Hammond wants to get all 600 congregants to write down their end-of-life wishes and discuss them with their families.
Seniors are living longer and defying predictions of cognitive and functional decline. Wellness coaches guide them in setting goals for the year — whether physical, social, intellectual or spiritual.
Public outrage over surprise medical bills prompted 21 states to pass consumer protection laws. But these laws largely ignore ambulance rides, which can leave patients stuck with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in bills.
What to do if you get hit by an exorbitant ambulance bill — and how to avoid them in the first place.
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