Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Obamacare Presents Complex Choices For People With Disabilities

KFF Health News Original

Some categories of essential benefits under the health law, like maternity care and preventive care, are straightforward. But “habilitative services” — including treatments like physical and speech therapy — are much more subjective.

Talking The Health Law’s Impact On Hospitals Serving Medicare Patients

KFF Health News Original

KHN Reporter Jordan Rau was on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Monday where he talked about the latest round of readmissions penalties in Medicare. Read more: Armed With Bigger Fines, Medicare To Punish 2,225 Hospitals For Excess Readmissions KHN reporters will be returning to C-SPAN’s Washington Journal each Monday throughout the summer. Tune in each week to stay […]

Obama’s Health Law Promises Put To The Test

Morning Briefing

The Hill checks up on five health law promises from the president as implementation continues. Meanwhile, Kaiser Health News examines how some low-income people might gain insurance if their state doesn’t expand its Medicaid program, but the strategy will carry risks.

State Health Insurance Marketplaces Progress With Fits And Starts

Morning Briefing

The Washington Post reports on tools that will be available to residents in D.C., Maryland and Virginia to help them get up to speed on the health law, and The Associated Press details how some insurers are opening retail stores to help educate potential consumers about the health law. Other news outlets report on the latest developments in Georgia, Oregon, California, Idaho, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Minnesota.

Foreign Docs Face Challenging Transition To U.S. System

Morning Briefing

News outlets report on issues ranging from how foreign doctors are assimilated into the U.S. health care system to how nurse practitioners might help address the physician shortage and the job market nurses are facing.

More High-Deductible Plan Members Can’t Pay Hospital Bills

KFF Health News Original

As employers and insurance companies shift more health costs into workers’ pockets, hospitals are making a discovery. The pockets aren’t bottomless. “The number of accounts that we’re seeing that relate to these high-deductible plans has been building, and it has been putting pressure on our bad debt levels,” Tenet Healthcare financial chief Daniel Cancelmi told […]

Medtronic Adds Disease Management To Its Portfolio

Morning Briefing

Medtronic wades into the business of disease management in a bid to find business outside its medical device offerings. In the meantime, a popular calorie-counting app gets $18 million in new venture capital funding.

Abortion Fights In The States Turn To Digital World

Morning Briefing

Eleven states now ban abortion by telemedicine, the Guttmacher Institute says in a new study. In the meantime, the Government Accountability Office is investigating how Planned Parenthood and other related organizations spend public money.

First Edition: Aug. 12, 2013

Morning Briefing

Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about state action on the health law’s implementation and other news from the health insurance marketplace.