Latest KFF Health News Stories
Bill Clinton Delivers Speech To Dispel Health Law Confusion
The former president — dubbed the “explainer in chief” — spoke from his presidential library in Arkansas to drum up support for the overhaul and scold Republicans for their repeal efforts.
Overhaul’s Premium Costs Won’t Be Cheap, But Consumers Will Have Options
A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation offered estimates of how much government tax credits would lower the price of the “silver” benchmark policy. A second study, this one by Avalere Health, examined sticker prices at a variety of levels.
Investors, Lawyers Among Those Getting Early Boosts From The Health Law
Also in the news, Bloomberg reports that some employers may change their minds about offering employees insurance when tax advantages go up next year.
GOP’s United Front On Obamacare Softens
The GOP’s once rock-solid stance on Obamacare has softened as some Republicans look to move on from waging all-out war on the three-year-old law. Tea Party activists, however, are urging conservative lawmakers to try to stop it. In the meantime, lawmakers from both sides look more united than ever in trying to reform how Medicare pays doctors.
Catholic Bishops Urge That Marketplace Insurance Benefits For Congress Not Include Abortion
Members of Congress and their staffs will switch from the federal health system to the health law’s new exchanges next year and the bishops are demanding that the current prohibitions on abortion funding continue.
Ohio Group Takes Steps To Advance Medicaid Expansion As Ballot Initiative
The coalition, which is made up of health care providers, unions, businesses, religious organizations and others, views this effort as its back up plan if state legislators block Gov. John Kasich’s push to expand the low income health insurance program.
Obama Administration To Provide Veterans’ Same-Sex Spouses Benefits
Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress in a letter that the recent Supreme Court decision clears the way for this change in policy.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
GOP Lawmakers’ Request For Info About Navigators May Slow Process
Meanwhile, in regard to a separate issue, West Virginia’s attorney general is criticizing the Department of Health and Human Services for not responding to questions about navigator privacy concerns.
State Highlights: Calif. Bill To Expand Abortion Providers Passes
A selection of health policy news from Texas, California, North Carolina, Missouri, Oregon and Colorado.
Longer Looks: The Bittersweet Decision To Donate Organs
This week’s articles come from Forbes, The Washington Post, Stanford Magazine, The New York Times and The New England Journal of Medicine.
First Edition: September 5, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about former President Bill Clinton — dubbed the “explainer in chief” — drumming up support for the health law and scolding Republicans for their efforts to repeal it.
‘A Calling’ To Care For The Poor At St. Louis’ Grace Hill Community Centers
Some of the funding for Grace Hill and smaller community health centers in St. Louis may be in jeopardy, even as the number of people seeking discounted care or free is increasing in a state that will not expand Medicaid under the health law.
Navigators Say GOP Lawmakers’ Information Requests Are ‘Shocking’
Organizations that received federal grants to hire and train workers to sign up consumers for health insurance say lawmakers are asking for too much too soon.
NFL’s Ravens To Aid Maryland’s Health Exchange Enrollment Push
The state’s online insurance marketplace, which is scheduled to begin operating in October, enlisted the help of the Super Bowl champs as part of an advertising campaign unveiled Tuesday.
Call Centers Open In Several States As Exchanges Ramp Up
Reports on developments regarding federal and state exchanges in Texas, Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin and California.
NIH, Other Agencies Feel Burden Of Budget Strife
The New York Times reports that agencies like the National Institutes of Health struggle in the uncertainty created by the federal fiscal battles.
The New Norm? Businesses Setting Up Private Exchanges For Insurance
The Wall Street Journal examines private health insurance marketplaces in which many employees of small and mid-size businesses can expect to receive health benefits from their employer.
The Washington Post Fact Checker assesses the Texas senator’s TV ads that seek to drum up support for defunding the health law, while in some southern campaigns, some Democrats hope to portray their opponents as ideologically opposed to progress on issues such as health care.
Michigan Gives Final Green Light To Medicaid Expansion
Meanwhile, the federal government approved a one-year waiver for the Healthy Indiana Plan as the state continues to negotiate an alternative plan for expanding Medicaid. Indiana rejected the federal government’s incentives to expand the Medicaid health program for the poor and declined to set up a health insurance exchange to allow consumers to shop for insurance.