Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including stories examining how the approaching implementation of some health law provisions is highlighting key policy questions.
Texas’ Struggling Rio Grande Valley Presses for Medicaid Expansion
Health providers and patients in Brownsville make do with one of the nation’s highest uninsured rates. With billions in federal funding on the line, Texas counties along the border with Mexico plead their case to Gov. Rick Perry.
Some Individual Policies Offer A Way To Shrink Deductibles
Under these plans, if a policyholder’s health costs don’t exceed the deductible, that deductible is trimmed the following year. But consumer advocates warn this may discriminate against sick people and run afoul of the health law.
How Will The ‘Unbanked’ Buy Insurance On The Exchanges?
One in five households in the United States has only a tenuous relationship with a traditional bank, and many of these people are also uninsured. It’s still an open question how the unbanked will buy insurance on the exchanges.
GOP Fears About IRS’ Access To Medical Records Disputed
Listening to recent statements from some congressional Republicans, you might think that the 2010 health law allows the Internal Revenue Service to have access to your medical records. Not so, says the Department of Health and Human Services. “The Affordable Care Act maintains strict privacy controls to safeguard personal information. The IRS will not have […]
IRS Scandal, HHS Fundraising Stir The Health Law Political Pot
The Obama administration’s efforts to raise money from private sources for the health law have led some likely donors to become “skittish.” Meanwhile, as GOP lawmakers seek to link the Internal Revenue Service issues to the health law, media outlets examine the IRS’s reach in this regard.
Employers Eye Limited Plans To Avoid Health Law Penalties
The Wall Street Journal reports that “bare-bones” health plans may help some employers avoid the law’s fines. Meanwhile, the Journal Sentinel explores how investors are assessing winning or losing stocks as a result of the law’s implementation.
State Roundup: Okla. Gov. Pushes Funding Fix To Cover 9,000 On Medicaid
A selection of health policy stories from Oklahoma, Texas, California and Massachusetts.
Pentagon Advisor’s Biotech Firm Reaps Millions For Anthrax Drug
The Los Angeles Times reports on this development.
Findings Examine Work-Hour Restrictions, Impact Of Hospitalists’ Workloads
A survey found surgeons-in-training often skirt limits on work hours. Meanwhile, a new study concluded that the length of inpatient hospital stays increased when hospitalists’ workload went up.
New Psychiatric Diagnostic Manual Released
Long-awaited update of “the psychiatrist’s bible” has stirred controversy.
Health Law’s Insurance Exchanges Are Not Mirror Image Of Mass. Version
Some of the state’s features that advocates say helped consumers make their insurance-purchasing decisions were not included in the the federal health law.
CBO: Obama’s Budget Would Reduce Medicare Spending By $364B
The Congressional Budget Office estimated Friday that President Obama’s budget would reduce Medicare spending by $364 billion over the next decade and would reduce future budget deficits. The White House and Congress will likely soon need to work on a long-term budget solution as the nation again hits its debt limit.
GOP Nominee For Va. Lt. Gov. Likened Planned Parenthood To KKK; Ark. Judge Halts Abortion Ban
A man nominated Saturday for lieutenant governor of Virginia made comments last year that likened Planned Parenthood to the KKK. In Arkansas, a judge delayed a law that would ban most abortions there after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
State Rejections Of Medicaid Expansion Likely To Widen Health Disparities
The Los Angeles Times reports that states opting against expanded eligibility — among them, some of the nation’s unhealthiest — could fall even further behind as the Affordable Care Act is implemented. News outlets also offer reports from Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Florida and Virginia.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the policy and political issues currently surrounding the health law’s implementation.
With High Deductible Health Plans, It Pays To Shop Around For Care
An increasing number of consumers have these plans with lower premiums, but they must cover the first $1,000, $5,000 or even $10,000 of care before insurance kicks in, providing an incentive to haggle with doctors and hospitals.
Feds Make It Easier For States To Enroll Poor Under Health Law
States will have the option to use data from food stamps, other programs, to enroll adults in Medicaid. Officials say the changes are geared to states that are expanding the program next year, but they may also be adopted by others.
Audio: 42 Percent Of Americans Unaware Health Law Exists
A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation says 42 percent of Americans don’t know that the Affordable Care Act actually still stands. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the Foundation.) Mary Agnes Carey joined NPR’s “Tell Me More” Friday afternoon to discuss the state of the health law and other health policy […]