Latest KFF Health News Stories
Experts Urge Senate Panel To Increase Hospital Safety Measures
Consumer advocates and medical specialists tell the committee that patients are not much safer today than they were 15 years ago when a landmark study on medical errors spurred calls for reform.
New York Officials Take Steps In Response To Supreme Court Contraceptive Coverage Decision
Officials make a change in the state’s Medicaid program, and legislation is proposed in the state Senate.
U.S. Territories, Including Puerto Rico, Exempted From Obamacare
The administration waives the law’s requirements for insurers selling policies in the U.S. territories since it does not require residents there to get coverage or provide subsidies. Other stories look at pressure on the administration to issue guidance on the employer mandate and the need to educate newly insured consumers about their coverage.
VA Request This Week For $17.6B Stalls Congressional Effort To Reform Agency
Talks between the House and Senate over revamping care for veterans were already difficult, but the big spending request complicates the situation.
Viewpoints: Democrats’ Hypocrisy On Suing Presidents; What’s Slowing Health Care Costs?
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Research Roundup: ACA Lawsuit Primer; ACA Strategies In 4 States
This week’s studies come from the National Health Law Program, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, The Kaiser Family Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, the Annals of Internal Medicine and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Longer Looks: A Medical Student Takes On Dr. Oz; The Mystery of Blood Types
This week, articles come from The New York Times, The New Yorker, Modern Healthcare, Crain’s Detroit Business, Science-Based Medicine, Vox, Pacific Standard and Mosaic Science.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on UnitedHealthcare’s move toward the health law’s insurance marketplaces and the latest on the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into insider trading related to a health policy change.
Senate Democrats Fail To Reverse Hobby Lobby Decision
The bill, which would have restored employers’ mandate to provide birth control to women, did not garner the necessary 60 votes. Republicans argued Democrats were using the issue to gain advantages in the midterm campaign.
House Panel Begins Hearings On Suit Against Obama
The Rules Committee hearing highlighted bickering between Republican lawmakers and constitutional law experts. The committee is expected to vote next week on a resolution authorizing a lawsuit.
UnitedHealth, HCA See Profits From Obamacare
The giant insurer saw revenue growth from its Optum unit, which helped fix the federal health insurance website and has since been hired by several states. Meanwhile, the hospital company HCA Holdings Inc. said the health-care reform law contributed to sharply stronger results.
Acting VA Chief: Fixing Problems Will Cost Billions
Sloan Gibson, the acting secretary, told lawmakers that the agency needs $17.6 billion over the next three years to hire about 1,500 doctors and 8,500 other staff and to create more space in clinics and hospitals.
State Highlights: Georgia Hospitals Brace For Broader Gun-Carry Law
A selection of health policy stories from Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Florida.
Questions Surround How Insurers Are Disclosing — Or Not — Their 2015 Proposed Rates
News outlets from Florida and Iowa report on recent developments in these states.
N.C. Senate Plan To Overhaul State Medicaid Program Draws Fire From Doctors And Hospitals
The North Carolina plan was presented by state senators during a Wednesday meeting of the Senate Rules and Operations Committee. Also, Arkansas Medicaid officials have reportedly said they are restricting access to an expensive cystic fibrosis drug because data don’t support its use as a first-line option — highlighting a wave of drug-coverage questions playing out across the country.
Va. Gov. To Visit Free Medical Camp Set Up For Uninsured
Gov. Terry McAuliffe will fly to southwest Virginia to draw attention to the uninsured as he continues his campaign to expand Medicaid. In Wisconsin, officials release data showing that about one of three people who lost coverage when Gov. Scott Walker changed BadgerCare health insurance later bought plans on the federal health exchange.
Viewpoints: GOP’s ‘Cynical’ Lawsuit Against Obama; Debt Crisis Is Not Over
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Insurers Seek Rule Change That Would Boost Profits
The industry wants to exclude brokers’ fees from being factored into administrative costs, which would reduce consumer refunds under the health law’s medical loss ratio rule. Currently, the rule requires plans in the small group market to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical costs and no more than 20 percent on administrative costs. Other stories look at access to specialty care and predicted Obamacare disasters that never happened.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how Capitol Hill politics are impacting health care policy.
CBO: Slowed Federal Health Spending Yields Savings
Federal spending on health care has slowed sharply, partly as a result of the federal health care law, reports the Congressional Budget Office. But the changes are not sufficient to resolve the nation’s long-term debt, the report finds.
