Latest KFF Health News Stories
Still No Plan B From White House If Supreme Court Strikes Down Obamacare Subsidies
With a decision expected in just a few days from the high court, many wonder why the Obama administration has not offered a backup plan, even as HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell warns that the number of uninsured could spike if the subsidies are struck down. Delaware joins Pennsylvania, however, in moving to save the health coverage subsidies if they are ruled out.
HHS Head: Final Obamacare Premium Increases Will Be Lower
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell says state regulators can lower the proposed increases. Insurers, in the meantime, are defending their requested premium cost increases in Minnesota, Ohio and New Hampshire. In Washington state, however, health coverage prices are dropping for some.
States Are The Audience For White House Analysis About Medicaid Expansion
While the new report provides individual state statistics about the benefits of expansion, politics is likely to keep many of those states from accepting the option.
White House Report Notes Financial Effects When States Don’t Expand Medicaid
The analysis by the Council of Economic Advisers finds that hospitals in states that have not expanded the program would have $4.5 billion less uncompensated care if they accepted the health law provision to offer coverage to more low-income residents. Also, federal officials release new figures about the growth in Medicaid and a related program for children.
Fla. House Appears Unlikely To Accept Medicaid Expansion In Vote Today
House members sharply questioned expansion supporters yesterday, and the speaker, who opposes the effort to provide coverage to low-income residents, said proponents have not made sufficient inroads in his caucus to get the measure through.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Anti-Abortion Activists See Mixed Results In Texas Legislature
Legislation tightening rules for minors seeking abortions passes in Texas and is expected to become law. Another bill favored by abortion opponents fails.
New Preventive Health Services Approved For No-Cost Coverage
Two new procedures have been added to the list of what should be covered by insurance without charge to consumers under provisions of the health law.
Growing Pains For State Obamacare Exchanges
Minnesota, Colorado and Connecticut are figuring out how to continue running their health insurance marketplaces as federal start-up funding runs out.
Florida To Review Proposed Obamacare Rate Hikes For First Time
After two years with its hands tied, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will be able to review proposed rate increases in a market seeing double digit hikes.
Viewpoints: Rep. Price’s Plan To Replace Subsidies; High Cost Cancer Drugs; Biolab Safety
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Each week, KHN’s Alana Pockros finds interesting reads from around the Web.
News outlets report on health issues from Connecticut, Colorado, Michigan, Texas, California, Rhode Island, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland and Louisiana.
Bills To Expand Birth Control Access Move Forward In Oregon, D.C.
Meanwhile, Texas lawmakers slow down their campaign to curb abortions, passing only one such measure in the 2015 session. In North Carolina, lawmakers passed an abortion bill mandating a 72-hour waiting period. The legislation will now go to the governor’s desk.
Panel: Mammograms Are Of Most Benefit To Women In Their 50s And 60s
A World Health Organization panel concludes that the evidence that screening helps women in their 40s is “limited” — similar to recent findings by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Diabetics Encounter Obstacles To Obtaining ‘Breakthrough’ Inhaled Insulin Option
Early sales of MannKind Corp.’s new insulin drug Afrezza, that is delivered through an inhalation device, are disappointing as patient adoption has been slow due to factors like doctor reluctance to prescribe and an FDA-mandated lung test. In other pharma news, a provision of the health law establishing a pathway for biosimilars may save patients as much as $800 a month in co-pays.
Hospitals Work To Manage Their Online Reputations
The Washington Post looks at how hospitals try to improve their reviews on Yelp and other websites. Meanwhile, USA Today reports on why big business supports telemedicine.
Bills To Clarify Medical Privacy Rules, Speed Medicare Appeals, Move Forward
Lawmakers are mulling an overhaul of medical privacy rules at a time when health data is increasingly shared, reports CQ Healthbeat. Meanwhile, bipartisan bills on speeding Medicare appeals, patent trolls and approval of new antibiotics advance. A Senate bill would give greater independence to nurse practitioners working in the VA health system.
New Medicare Payment Data Expose Doctors And Hospital Reimbursement Patterns
The Wall Street Journal digs into the trove of Medicare billing data just released by CMS and in a variety of stories reports on a California doctor’s heavy billing for an unusual procedure, a “self-referral” loophole, a Florida oncology group that submitted high bills for a discredited cancer drug, and a Virginia lab that pays doctors per blood test submitted. A Bloomberg report focuses on the high rate of bacterial infection billed by hospitals to Medicare.
Fla. Senate Approves Medicaid Expansion But Adds Provisions Seeking To Gain House Support
The measure, prompted by a cut in federal funding to hospitals that serve large numbers of poor and uninsured patients, would allow up to 800,000 people to gain coverage. The House and governor remain opposed.