Latest KFF Health News Stories
Local news outlets report on developments at area hospitals.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the nation.
HHS Using Pharmacies To Sell Health Law Benefits To Seniors
The Department of Health and Human Services is touting a partnership with major retail pharmacies to tell seniors about health law benefits.
Study: Retail Clinic Popularity Spiking
Visits to retail clinics increased more than 400 percent from 2007-2009, when nearly 6 million visits were made to the clinics in drug stores, supermarkets or other stores, a new Rand study says.
Parsing Medicare Policy And Politics
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s promise to restore the Medicare provisions cut by the 2010 health law would move the insolvency date of the program closer, reports The Associated Press. Other news outlets examine the Medicare policy specifics that Rep. Paul Ryan, the likely GOP vice presidential pick, has advanced in his House budget proposals.
Longer Looks: A Jack-Of-All-Trades Surgeon Takes Care Of Nantucket
This week’s articles come from WBUR, The Washington Post Magazine and The New York Times.
First Edition: August 16, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how Medicare has taken center stage in the presidential campaign.
Q&A: Paying For Ambulance Services
Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about what you can do when insurance only covers a portion of an ambulance bill.
Today’s Headlines – August 15, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that Medicaid is joining Medicare in the presidential campaign’s issue spotlight. The Washington Post: Medicaid Shapes Up As Major Battleground Mitt Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his running mate has reignited a debate over the future of Medicare. But Ryan’s proposed […]
Ryan’s Medicaid Proposals Emerge As Campaign Issue
News outlets report that the changes to Medicaid proposed by likely GOP vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan would have immediate and far-reaching consequences for millions of people, including poor seniors.
Medicare Politics By The Numbers?
The budget plan authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., assumed the same amount of Medicare savings as President Obama’s health care law. News outlets report that both presidential campaigns are accusing the other of undermining the insurance program for the elderly and disabled, and they attempt to separate fact from fiction.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the nation.
State Roundup: Different Perks, Penalties For Hospitals Under New Mass. Law
A selection of health policy stories from Massachusetts, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina and California.
Florida Is Ground Zero In Battle For Seniors’ Votes
Florida’s 29 electoral votes appear to be among the most sought-after prizes as both campaigns craft their Medicare messages to woo the state’s older voters.
Report Prompts Close Scrutiny Of Charity Care At Calif. Nonprofit Hospitals
Nonprofit California hospitals will face a state Senate committee hearing Wednesday after an auditor’s report found variance and leeway in just how much charity care the tax-exempt hospitals give.
Reuters questions what happens if current projections for baby boomers’ lifetimes don’t come true.
HCA’s Profit Trail: Billing, Staffing And ER Care Changes
The New York Times reports on how the finanical performance of this hospital chain has become a model for the industry.
Medicare Debate Reverberates In House And Senate Races
The New York Times reports that with Mitt Romney’s selection of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan to be his running mate, the fight to control Congress may face a new twist.
Poor Families Fear They Are Forgotten In Medicaid Expansion Debate
The Associated Press looks at the dilemma for many poor people who had expected to get health coverage under the 2010 federal law.
Ohio Medicaid Readies New Nursing Home Reimbursement; New Nursing Home Database Launched
Ohio’s nursing home program in Medicaid — the federal-state health care program for the poor — is changing how nursing homes are paid to try to address their quality. In the meantime, ProPublica launches a nursing home inspection database.