Latest KFF Health News Stories
Mass. Fix To Insurance Website Passes Preliminary Test
New software for the health exchange has passed its initial testing and officials say they are cautiously optimistic that the state can run its own marketplace when enrollment begins in the fall. Also, Modern Healthcare examines where small business exchanges stand.
Michigan Surpasses Medicaid Enrollment Goal In 4 Months
Meanwhile, an ambitious Connecticut plan to overhaul how health care is delivered and paid for worries Medicaid advocates, who fear doctors will have financial incentives to withhold care.
Newly Covered Addicts Unable To Get Residential Care
Under an obscure, 50-year-old rule, Medicaid covers residential addiction treatment only if a center has 16 or fewer beds, severely limiting options for newly covered drug addicts and alcoholics, reports The New York Times. Meanwhile, some Californians whose doctors are not in their plans have been able to switch coverage after the deadline because of the law’s “qualifying life events” provision, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
State Highlights: UnitedHealth Sues Calif. To Stop Fine
A selection of health policy stories from California, Virginia, Missouri, Vermont, Maryland, Georgia and New York.
Viewpoints: Parsing Newest Reports Of Coverage Gains; ‘Scientific Fraudsters’
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Research Roundup: Young Adults Baffled By Exchange; Medicare Spending Slowdown
This week’s studies come from Health Affairs, the Annals of Internal Medicine, Plos One, the Urban Institute and The Kaiser Family Foundation.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including coverage of surveys that offer insight into how the health law is doing in terms of reducing the nation’s rate of uninsurance.
Survey: People With New Health Law Insurance Are Happy
About 9.5 million Americans gained coverage during the health law’s open enrollment period, and the uninsured rate for working-age adults fell from 20 percent to 15 percent, according to a survey by the Commonwealth Fund.
Va. Lawmakers To Take Up Medicaid Debate In September
State Republican legislative leaders who opposed expansion of the health care program for low-income residents announced that they will call the legislature into session to weigh the governor’s proposal.
Medicare Providers Say They Lose Millions Due To Excessive Audits
Health care providers say they’re losing millions that are tied up in appeals because of the increasing number of Medicare audits. Meanwhile, the trade group representing family physicians complains about Congress’ failure to fix Medicare’s outdated physician payment formula.
Those With Mental Illness Face 80% Unemployment
But, the report says that while 60 percent of those with mental illnesses want to work, only 2 percent of people in the public mental health system get help to find work.
Prisons Cut Health Care Costs, But Aging Inmate Population Threatens Budgets
Elsewhere, a lawsuit alleging bad medical care at a Virginia women’s prison is delayed by institution of a new provider to give that care.
McConnell Counters Medicare Ad With One Of His Own
Also, the Washington Post fact-checks another ad which positions Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., as a key Obamacare opponent and claims the health law increased insurance premiums 50 percent.
Wall Street Seeks Big Bang From Urgent Care
Urgent care has mushroomed into an estimated $14.5 billion business, as investors try to profit from changes in health care, reports The New York Times. Meanwhile, beginning in September, patients will be able to check whether their doctors have accepted gifts, payments and other services worth $10 or more from drug and medical device makers and suppliers.
Democrats Introduce Legislation To Undo High Court’s Hobby Lobby Decision
With only a limited calendar to work with, Democrats view this push as an important aspect of the 2014 congressional campaign.
Insurers Test New Payment Models For Health Care Providers
The patient-centered medical homes model, which has been the hallmark of one such experiment by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, is among the approaches receiving attention for reducing costs and reducing hospitalizations.
State Highlights: Fight Over New Ga. Trauma Center; San Francisco Premiums Expected To Drop
A selection of health policy stories from New York, Georgia, California, Iowa, Colorado and North Carolina.
Are Insurers Using Drug Tiers To Cherrypick Healthier Enrollees?
Critics charge that some plans continue to discriminate against sick people by putting certain drugs in the highest-cost drug tiers, requiring consumers to pay big out-of-pocket expenses. Meanwhile, critics and supporters of the law wait anxiously for a court decision on a challenge to the health law’s subsidies.
Viewpoints: Turning To New Legal Challenges To ACA; Is The Law Working?; Medicaid Problems In N.C.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: Doctors’ Misunderstanding Of Test Results; The Medical Facts About Birth Control
This week’s studies come from BBC News, Reuters, The New Republic, MedPage Today and The Atlantic.
