Latest KFF Health News Stories
Scrutiny Given To Surgeries To Relieve Blockages In Arms, Legs
Some are questioning the necessity of these treatments, which can be done in doctors’ offices and are very lucrative. Meanwhile, federal regulators say they will ease up on an electronic health records program in response to complaints from doctors’ groups and medical homes show mixed results after one year.
Final Push Underway For Obamacare Sign-Ups
With two weeks until the deadline, the White House is joining forces with advocacy groups to boost enrollment of Asian-Americans. In California, Anthem leads in sign-ups, but Kaiser Permanente is gaining, while in Colorado, a glitch cancels 3,615 insurance plans that should have been renewed. And in Florida, some prefer using free clinics to getting coverage — even when they qualify for big subsidies.
Senate Panel Questions Whether Wellness Programs Clash With Disability Laws
In other Capitol Hill action, two Republican senators set out goals for overhauling federal policies regarding the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.
Obama To Unveil Biomedical Research Initiative
President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for $215 million for what is being called a “precision medicine initiative,” including plans to collect genetic data, so that scientists can learn how to target treatments.
Commission Urges Change In Military Health And Pension Plans
The congressionally mandated commission recommended doing away with the centerpiece of the military health system and instead giving military families and retirees a choice of private-sector plans.
GOP Lawmakers Won’t Preserve Health Subsidies If The High Court Strikes Them From Law
This signal from congressional Republicans ups the ante regarding the legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act that will be argued at the Supreme Court in March. Meanwhile, some GOP House members are also starting to work on a bill to replace the ACA.
First Edition: January 30, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Medicaid Grows More Complicated; Court May Send Health Law Back To Congress
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
California-Centered Measles Outbreak Tally Reaches 95 Cases
The outbreak has spread to eight states and Mexico.
A selection of health policy stories from Colorado, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, Idaho, Michigan and California.
Longer Looks: Behind The Measles Outbreak; The Political Repercussions Of Expanding Medicaid
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Senate Panel OKs Bill To Exempt Veterans From Health Law’s Employer Mandate Count
In a rare, bipartisan moment on the Affordable Care Act, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the measure to exclude veterans from the 50-worker threshold. Nonetheless, The New York Times anticipates many coming clashes, saying the divide between the two parties over fiscal policy may be as stark as at any time since the government shutdowns of 1995 and 1996.
Anthem’s Profits Boosted By Medicaid Expansion
The giant insurer reports that it exceeded enrollment expectations for 2014, mostly as a result of government programs, including the health law’s expansion of Medicaid in more than two dozen states.
Pharma, Insurers Fire Opening Shots In Medicare Part D Rebate Battle
Nearly 400 groups, including a coalition of drugmakers and insurers, sent an open letter to House lawmakers warning against forcing drugmakers to give Medicare rebates to low-income beneficiaries. The letter comes shortly before the Obama administration will release its annual budget proposal.
Battle For Market Share By Hep C Drugmakers Shifts To Medicaid
Missouri and Connecticut are among the states securing discounts on expensive new drugs in exchange for making them the preferred option for their Medicaid enrollees. Meanwhile, insurance giant UnitedHealth picks Gilead’s Harvoni as the preferred hepatitis C treatment for all its customers.
Wyoming Inches Toward Medicaid Expansion
The Republican governor and lawmakers in the GOP-controlled legislature are expected to seek a deal with the federal government that would allow an estimated 17,600 low-income residents to gain coverage. Meanwhile, advocates worry that nearly half the children in California are covered by the state’s Medicaid program, which is falling short in several key areas.
Health Law Opposition In GOP-Led States Doesn’t Stifle Insurance Enrollment
Elsewhere, a closer look at the health law battle at the Supreme Court, California’s Obamacare insurance rate tops 90 percent and updates on exchanges in Maryland, Minnesota and Colorado.
When It Comes To The Health Law And Taxes, Millions May Face Penalties
The Obama administration estimates that about 29 percent of taxpayers will have to take the health law into account as they file their 2014 taxes. Between 3 million and 6 million households may incur penalties because they didn’t get health insurance last year, but as many as one in five may claim an individual mandate exemption.
Insurers May Be Using Drug Prices To Keep The Sickest Patients From Their Plans, Study Finds
An analysis by Harvard researchers found that some plans offered through the health insurance marketplaces may be pricing HIV drugs out of reach in an effort to get around the health laws’s mandate against discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.
First Edition: January 29, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
