Latest KFF Health News Stories
President Obama To Sign Veterans’ Suicide Prevention Measure
In other Capitol Hill legislative news, a lobbying push by the mobile health industry is finding traction; Senate Democrats are advancing efforts to stop e-cigarette marketing to children and two Senate Republicans are holdouts in co-sponsoring a measure by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to repeal the health law.
CBO Says Deficit Will Fall Again This Year, Then Start To Widen With Higher Medicare Spending
Meanwhile, a fight between the White House and GOP lawmakers is brewing over a budget issue related to spending on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program. Without congressional intervention, the program will run out of funds in late 2016.
Obama, Staples Quibble Over Health Law Employment Issue
In an interview with BuzzFeed, the president criticized the office supply company after a news article suggested some of its hiring is based on concerns about the health law’s mandates for insuring workers. But the company later said that the story was incorrect.
Conservative Lobbying Group Works To Block Medicaid Expansion In GOP-Controlled States
Modern Healthcare reports that, even as expansion in some of these red states is possible, an organization funded by the Koch brothers is stepping up its billion-dollar game to stop further expansions. Meanwhile, news outlets from Ohio and Kansas report on in-state dynamics related to expansion plans and debates.
Obamacare Sign-Ups For 2015 Expected To Top 10 Million
With the deadline Sunday, the pace of sign-ups accelerated across the country, with particularly strong interest in the South, and officials said they expected the final tally to surpass last year’s numbers.
Questions Continue About Plaintiffs In Pending Supreme Court Health Law Challenge
The questions have to do with whether plaintiffs in King. v. Burwell have standing in the lawsuit and have created a new level of uncertainty about the case.
First Edition: February 12, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: GOP Can’t Fight Moral Imperative For Health Law; The Absurd Battle Against E-Cigs
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
A selection of health policy stories Kansas, North Dakota, California, Virginia, Connecticut, Texas, Colorado, Iowa and North Carolina.
Ill. Hospitals Grow Larger Following National Merger Trend
Meanwhile, hospitals wrestle with paying charity care costs and other bottom line issues. Also, news outlets from California, Iowa and North Carolina report on hospital developments related to mental health care.
When Exemptions Are Few, Kids Get Immunized
The Associated Press reports that Mississippi and Tennessee, which refuse to exempt school children from mandatory vaccinations based on their parents’ religious or personal beliefs, have the nation’s highest vaccination rates. And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers offer bipartisan support for the use of vaccines to inoculate against preventable infectious diseases.
Doulas — With Growing Role In Maternity Care — Seek Insurance Company Recognition
In other medical-practice news, questions emerge about whether some pediatricians are comfortable offering and are adequately trained in handling IUDs for sexually active teenagers even as this long-acting contraception option is recommended by medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.
CVS 4Q Earnings Boosted By Medicaid Growth, Specialty Drugs
Those increases offset retail losses stemming from the company’s decision to stop selling cigarettes.
Health Law Co-Ops Seek Flexibility On Financing
The long-term prospects and sustainability of these plans has been under scrutiny since December when CoOportunity Health — which offered plans in Iowa and Nebraska — was liquidated. Other health law headlines include reports about the added layer of difficulty the health law introduces into this year’s tax season and Texas’ high stakes in King v. Burwell.
Complex Medicaid Expansion Politics Take Shape In Various States
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wyoming, Utah and Montana all offer evidence of the different ways these debates are playing out around the country.
A Push For Health Coverage Enrollment As Deadline Nears
For most people the opportunity to sign up for a 2015 health plan ends on Sunday. News outlets look at a variety of enrollment issues, including consumers’ increasing use of brokers to help choose plans and the abundance of high deductible insurance plans being offered.
First Edition: February 11, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Entitlement Debate Fades; GOP’s Va. Medicaid Fight Maligned; Fear Of Measles
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
A selection of health policy stories from Massachusetts, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Delaware and Kansas.
More Exemptions Granted In States With Looser Immunization Laws
Stateline reports that California, Oregon and other jurisdictions are working to tighten regulations so that fewer nonmedical exemptions are allowed. These steps are being taken as the case count in the California-centered measles outbreak continues to rise.
