Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: September 9, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how Time Warner and IBM are planning to move retirees to private health insurance exchanges to cut costs.
Nurse Practitioners Try New Tack To Expand Foothold In Primary Care
Advanced practice nurses say that despite growing need for primary care, they are stymied by insurers that won’t credential them.
Health Marketplaces Are Open To Nearly Everyone
But individuals who already have insurance through work, Medicare or Medicaid don’t need to shop there.
Minnesota Says Its Marketpace Rates Are Nation’s Lowest So Far
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota consumers will be able to buy a health plan for as little as $90.59 per month on MNsure, the new state health insurance marketplace, state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said Friday. Rothman said Minnesota has the lowest average rates for individuals and families compared to the other states that have revealed […]
Washington State Call Center Logs 900 Calls On 1st Day
This story was produced in partnership with The phones are already busy at the Washington State Exchange call center where customer service representatives are fielding hundreds of questions about the state’s new health insurance exchange, slated to open for enrollment Oct. 1. The call center, located in Spokane, opened on Tuesday and took 900 calls that day. […]
IRS Proposes Rules For Health Law’s Employer Mandate
On Thursday, the Internal Revenue Service published proposed rules for how companies with more than 50 employees must report health coverage for their workers. That provision was delayed a year until 2015.
HHS Readies $12M Ad Campaign To Promote Health Law In 13 States
The advertisements, which will begin airing Sept. 30, will encourage consumers in a group of predominantly red states to sign up for insurance available through the health law’s new online marketplaces.
Research Roundup: The Financial Burden Of Hospital Acquired Infections
This week’s studies come from JAMA Internal Medicine, The Kaiser Family Foundation, Preventing Chronic Disease, The Commonwealth Fund and news outlets.
Effort To Fix Doc’s Medicare Pay Formula Gains Momentum
A bill now pending in the House that has cleared the Energy and Commerce Committee would repeal the sustainable growth rate — SGR — formula and replace it with a more quality-based system.
State Highlights: N.M. High Court Rules Malpractice Law Covers Doc Businesses
A selection of health policy stories from Texas, New Mexico, California, South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Minnesota and Massachusetts.
‘Flurry’ Of New Reports Show Wide Variations On Insurance Rate Costs
News outlets continue to follow recent studies released by several health policy groups about the expected premiums for plans offered on the new online insurance marketplaces.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
In States Resistant To The Health Law, Poorest Residents Unlikely To Get Aid
USA Today reports on how, in states that opted not to pursue the health law’s Medicaid expansion, many of the poorest residents may fall through the cracks. Meanwhile, the San Jose Mercury News looks at some of the states that have been the most resistant to implementing the health law.
For Health Exchanges, Will Soft Launches Lead To Hard Landings?
CQ HealthBeat examines whether the new online insurance marketplaces will be ready to go on Oct. 1, and what possible delays might emerge and how those delays could impact the exchanges’ effectiveness. Also in the headlines, reports from Delaware, Kentucky, Washington, Pennsylvania and Arizona.
First Edition: September 6, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report on the White House’s proposal about how to gather information that would allow the government to enforce the employer mandate, which requires companies with 50 or more workers to provide affordable health insurance to their full-time employees.
How Will Immigrants Fare Under Obamacare? It’s Complicated
What benefits, if any, immigrants get under the health-care overhaul depends on several factors: their immigration status, income, length of stay in this country and – in limited cases – their country of origin.
A Reader Asks: When I Retire Can My Husband Get Coverage On The Marketplace?
Consumer columnist says he likely can, but the bigger question is whether he will qualify for subsidies to help defray costs.
Physician Recruitment Trends: Demand Continues For Primary Care Docs
Doctors are reacting to changes in the health care system — and their job placements are proof. Merritt Hawkins, a national health care consulting and recruitment firm, shed some light on the situation through the company’s annual look at physician recruitment trends. The 2013 review was based on a survey of 3,097 permanent doctor and […]
Bill Clinton Calls For Obamacare Opponents And Supporters To Work Together
This story comes from our partner Stateline, the daily news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Former President Bill Clinton Wednesday championed the new Affordable Care Act, but urged Congress and the states to fix its worst problems. Speaking to an invitation-only audience at his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., Clinton touted the law’s […]
Washington State Panel OKs 7 Insurers For Exchange
This story was produced in partnership with In the end, it was a calm affair. The Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board met in a special session Wednesday afternoon to vote on the certification of health plans for the state’s new online health insurance marketplace in 2014. In less than an hour, the board voted unanimously […]