Latest KFF Health News Stories
Under Health Law, States Serve As Testing Grounds For Innovation
Media outlets report on a range of issues related to the measure’s implementation, including how some states are finding opportunities in the overhaul to pursue their own health system changes. Also in the news, the latest on the roles being played by emergency rooms, faith-based non-profits and accountable care organizations.
Some Consumers In Limbo Waiting For Medicaid Applications To Be Processed
Kaiser Health News reports that most of these are people who sought coverage through the health law’s Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, the New York Times takes a look at how a state line can make all the difference in who gets Medicaid.
Insurers Propose Rate Hikes For Plans On The Individual Market
News reports detail the latest on insurers’ efforts in Maryland and Connecticut to gain approval for increases in 2015 premiums on the state exchanges.
VA To Probe Deaths Of 18 Veterans To See If Delay In Care Played A Role
Acting Secretary Sloan Gibson announces 18 more veterans kept off an appointment list have died. The department is expected to release more details Monday as officials appear before Congress.
Cosgrove Withdraws His Name From Consideration For Top Job At The VA
Cleveland Clinic CEO Dr. Delos M. Cosgrove said that, though he seriously considered the position, he did not feel he could step away from his commitments at the clinic.
Hospital Shifting Away From Billing For Individual Services
Bundled payments may be the “wave of the future,” the Wall Street Journal suggests. Meanwhile, health care providers are working to get patients more involved in decisions about their care.
Enrollees’ Data May Be Compromised As A Result Of Access Health CT Breach
The Connecticut health insurance exchange data breach has been traced back to an employee of the company that runs the call center.
Is Healthcare.gov Floating Toward The Cloud?
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud is picking up steam in the Obama administration’s attempt to revamp the federal online insurance marketplace. Meanwhile, news outlets also report on the latest developments regarding exchanges in Colorado and New Hampshire.
Politics Continue To Swirl Around State Medicaid Expansion Debates
A group of Democratic senators has written a letter to Republican governors in states such as South Dakota, Wyoming, Wisconsin and Nebraska urging that they set politics aside and pursue the health law’s expansion of the state-federal low-income insurance program. Meanwhile, the issue is also front and center in primary elections.
HHS Identifies — But Doesn’t Recover — Overpayments To Medicare Advantage Plans
Medicare auditors found the government overpaid the plans hundreds of millions of dollars but in 2013 opted to scrap such reviews, the Center for Public Integrity writes. Meanwhile, Modern Healthcare looks at Medicare’s difficult job in dealing with safety failures.
State Highlights: Improving Chronic Care In Las Vegas; Standoff Over N.C. Medicaid
A selection of health policy stories from Arizona, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Washington
Viewpoints: ‘Triage’ At The VA; GOP Can’t ‘Fix’ Health Law; Mental Health Problems In L.A. Jail
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about efforts on the state level and within the health care system to address health care costs and advance other system reforms.
Senate OKs Sylvia Mathews Burwell To Be Next HHS Secretary
The Senate confirmed Burwell’s nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services 78 to 17, with only Republicans casting votes against her.
CBO: Only 4 Million To Face Fines For Lacking Health Coverage
That is down about 2 million from an earlier projection by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, reflecting the calculation that more of the nation’s 30 million uninsured will qualify for exemptions under the law.
Reporters Reflect On Health Law Battles
Huffington Post gathers five reporters who followed the passage and implementation of the health law to share their insights. Meanwhile, the journal Health Affairs examines how accountable care organizations have given little attention to surgery, focusing instead on managing chronic conditions, and a new study looks at premium increases before the health law.
Senators Reach Bipartisan Deal To Fix VA
The agreement, announced Thursday by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., gives authority to the acting VA chief to fire senior officials and to allow veterans who have experienced long waits or who live further than 40 miles from a VA facility to seek care elsewhere. If passed by both houses, the bill would also authorize VA to spend $500 million hiring new doctors and nurses.
Viewpoints: Tea Party Missing The Lesson; Health Care Not An Ordinary Market; Va.’s Medicaid Battle
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Pa. House Committee Advances Bill To Expand Medicaid Eligibility
States continue to debate issues related to the health law’s Medicaid expansion provision.
Healthcare.gov To Get Makeover
The Wall Street Journal reports that the federal health insurance website is slated for an overhaul that will likely result in the scrapping of major parts of it that caused problems during last fall’s launch. Its tight timeline is among the issues raising new concern. Meanwhile, news outlets also report on small business exchanges as well as developments regarding state online marketplaces in Connecticut, Kansas, Washington and Colorado.
