Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: October 17, 2014
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including coverage of the Ebola response by public health officials and President Barack Obama as well as the related policies being debated and discussed by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
What You Should Check Before Renewing Health Coverage
Several stories offer tips on renewing insurance policies for next year, including comparing your current policy to alternatives, which might offer better coverage at lower cost, and updating information about family size and income. The additional issues posed by language barriers are also explored.
D.C. Exchange And Favoritism To Congress; Sticker Shock For PreferredOne Customers
The conservative group, Judicial Watch, files a taxpayer lawsuit challenging what it describes as the District of Columbia’s special treatment of more than 12,000 members of Congress, staffers and families, who buy policies in the district’s small business exchange. Meanwhile, PreferredOne, the top seller on the MNsure exchange, announces average premium increases of 63 percent for next year.
California Agency Issues ‘Report Cards’ On Insurers, Medical Groups
The California Office of the Patient Advocate Wednesday released the report cards, which are based on 2013 claims data and patient surveys, a month ahead of Covered California’s 2015 open enrollment period.
Ebola Worries Focus Attention On Public Health Leaders; Administration Bolsters Its Response
With questions emerging about the handling of Ebola patients, a House subcommittee is holding a hearing that will feature testimony from CDC Director Tom Frieden and Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer and senior executive vice president at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Meanwhile, scrutiny continues regarding hospitals’ infection control capabilities, national containment plans and quarantine issues.
Some Texas abortion clinics resumed scheduling patients for abortions after the Supreme Court’s intervention. However, they did so knowing the legal challenges are not over.
Kentucky’s Health Exchange Plays Big In Senate Race
The state’s online insurance marketplace has proven popular, creating difficulties for the Republican incumbent, Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has vowed to repeal Obamacare, and giving a boost to Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes.
UnitedHealth Group, HCA Raise Outlook
Both the health insurance company and the hospital operator raised their 2014 outlooks after posting results in the third quarter that beat expectations.
State Highlights: Merck To Pay $31 Million To Settle States’ Medicaid Fraud Claims
A selection of health policy stories from California, Arkansas, Illinois and Colorado.
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: The Mystery Of Enterovirus; Mutating Ebola
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
First Edition: October 16, 2014
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about renewing health insurance on the federal health exchange as well as the latest news regarding the Ebola outbreak.
California To Cancel Health Coverage For 10,474 Because Of Citizenship Questions
The state’s insurance exchange will cancel coverage for these people because they failed to prove their citizenship or legal residency. Under the health law, people living in the United States illegally are not eligible for Obamacare plans.
Colorado’s New Health Exchange Running Late
The state’s “Kentucky-style” system won’t be ready until just days before open enrollment begins Nov. 15, while a third Colorado exchange official announces she’s leaving. In Oregon, meanwhile, a consultant writes a blistering critique of that exchange and the governor’s plan for its future.
State Highlights: Ariz. Agrees To Settlement On Health Care For Prisoners
A selection of health policy stories from California, Pennsylvania, Arizona, D.C., Texas and Missouri.
GOP Maverick Embraces Medicaid Expansion
The Washington Post examines the efforts by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, to redefine the GOP. While touting party orthodoxy on economic matters, he has embraced his own version of compassionate conservatism, among other things, implementing the health law’s Medicaid expansion. And he is sailing to re-election in a key battleground state.
FTC Cracks Down On Companies Selling Phony Health Insurance
The firms sold consumers a discount card but it offered no health insurance benefits. Also in the news, a government researcher says federal officials need to monitor billing errors and overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans.
Views On Ebola: Try To Keep ‘An Even Keel’; Who’s In Charge Of Fighting A Pandemic?
News outlets offer a variety of views about how the country responds to Ebola.
Viewpoints: Health Law Undercuts Labor Markets; The Surprising Foes On Calif. Prop 45
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Second Dallas Health Worker Has Ebola; CDC Announces ‘More Robust’ Response
Seventy-six health-care workers who helped treat Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan are being monitored for potential Ebola exposure. Forty-eight others are being watched because they had contact with Duncan.
