Latest KFF Health News Stories
California Nurses Association Calls Off Strike Against Kaiser Permanente
The nurses’ group announced Saturday that it had reached a tentative contract on behalf of 18,000 registered nurses in the northern and central part of the state.
Health Law Co-Ops Go Toe-To-Toe With Insurance Giants
The Baltimore Sun explores the trials of its new co-op, which is the first new commercial insurer in Maryland in 20 years. Other stories look at enrollment growth in Arizona and Colorado.
Consumers Find Wide Disparities In Health Marketplace Premiums
The New York Times examines the “price pandemonium.” Also in the news about the health overhaul are stories about the requirement for individuals to get coverage and the tax implications of the law this year.
GOP Lawmakers Continue To Contemplate Best Strategy To Undo Health Law
Senate Majority Leader MItch McConnell, R-Ky., urged President Barack Obama to “be realistic” in tonight’s State of the Union address, noting that there are areas, such as health care, where the White House and Congress are still very far apart. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Republicans continue to wrestle with how best to move forward in their efforts to dismantle the overhaul.
Tavenner’s Departure Comes As Health Law Faces Another High Court Challenge
Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced Friday that she will step down at the end of next month. Politico notes the landmines ahead for the health law, while others report that Tavenner oversaw the first botched rollout of healthcare.gov, though this year’s enrollment has gone more smoothly.
First Edition: January 20, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Drop The Employer Mandate; Unfunded Retiree Benefits; Using Blood Better
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Research Roundup: Experimental Drugs; Surgery Checklists; The High Court And Medicaid Rates
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
A selection of health policy stories from Minnesota, North Carolina, California, Texas and Kansas.
Branstad Proposes Closing Two Of Iowa’s Four Mental Institutes
The Des Moines Register reports that this plan would result in the elimination of more than half the inpatient psychiatric beds available in southern Iowa. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Assembly speaker predicts more mental health legislation in the upcoming session.
This Year’s Flu Vaccine Only 23 Percent Effective, According To CDC
As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has termed the season so far to be “moderately severe.” Infections have been widespread, with thousands of hospitalizations and at least 26 pediatric deaths.
Lawmakers Pledge Close Oversight Of Veterans Affairs
Top lawmakers of House and Senate veterans committees vowed to scrutinize how the VA spends money to alleviate long wait times and other problems at its facilities. Meanwhile, the agency probes reports of overmedication at a facility in Wisconsin.
More Hospitals, Doctors, Subscribing To Smartphone Services
Online services such as ZocDoc and InQuicker are enabling patients to schedule everything from doctor’s office visits to emergency room trips, reports The Associated Press. Meanwhile, new rules limit how nonprofit hospitals can go after patients who owe them money and calls to cut payments to inpatient rehab facilities stir controversy.
Obama To Push For Paid Sick Leave In State Of Union
The president wants Congress, states and cities to pass measures to let workers earn up to a week of paid sick time per year. He’ll also ask for more than $2 billion to encourage states to create paid family and medical leave programs and propose giving federal workers six weeks of paid parental leave.
GOP Debates Using Budget ‘Reconciliation’ To Repeal Health Law
Some inside the party view the move as useless since President Barack Obama would veto the measure. In the meantime, the GOP also readies a response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the legality of some health law insurance subsidies, and a Medicare adviser calls again for a permanent ‘doc fix.’
Ga. Republican Lawmakers Suggest They May Consider Medicaid Expansion
Two state senators tell a conference that the General Assembly may be interested in exploring the topic. Also in the news on Medicaid, a look at the challenges for states with a different demographic pool after expansion, and Florida’s hospitals fear financial problems because the state did not expand its program.
Calif. Marketplace Reports Mixed Results In Signing Up Latinos
Enrollment figures show that the state is ahead of last year’s pace but still many Latinos who are eligible haven’t signed up for coverage.
States Prepare No ‘Plan B’ Ahead Of High Court Subsidy Ruling
Meanwhile, California rejects UnitedHealth’s bid to sell exchange policies statewide and an estimated 76,000 Kansans sign up for health law policies.
Tavenner To Leave CMS; Burwell Lays Out ‘To Do’ List With GOP Lawmakers
Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced that she will resign at the end of February. Meanwhile, despite disagreements over the health law, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell lists possible areas of cooperation with the GOP, such as on opioid abuse, Ebola and medical research and innovation.
Health Law Headaches: Employers Not Ready, Technology, Taxes
The law’s complexity is causing many problems for people and employers trying to navigate what they need to do, and when.
