Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health Law Brings Changes For Small Business Regarding Insurance Coverage
The Wall Street Journal reports that, even though businesses with fewer than 50 employers are exempt from the health law’s most stringent requirements, they still face challenges. Also, patient groups increasingly worry that coverage through the overhaul’s exchanges might shift drug costs to people with chronic illnesses, and HIV and AIDS advocates have filed a formal complaint about drug pricing.
Medicare Benefits From Immigrants, Study Says
A study by the Partnership for a New American Economy concluded that immigrants make a substantial contribution to the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund — putting more into the system than they take out. Also in the news, the Center for Public Integrity examines how Medicare Advantage plans may routinely overbill the health insurance program for older Americans.
Viewpoints: Why Emory Accepted American Ebola Cases; Calls For Terrified Americans To ‘Chill Out’
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Obama To Sign Overhaul Of Veterans’ Health Care
Veterans are expected to have an easier time getting health care under a $16.3 billion measure the president is expected to sign into law Thursday, enabling the hiring of thousands of doctors and nurses.
Longer Looks: Kentucky Is Health Law Poster Child; The Ebola Outbreak
This week’s articles come from Time, Health Affairs, The New Republic, The New York Times, Vox, The New Yorker and Stanford Medicine.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including stories about how uninsured people fare with the health law’s exemptions.
Gallup Survey: States That Embraced Health Law See Big Drops In Uninsured
The study found that states that expanded Medicaid and set up their own exchanges experienced greater declines in the rate of uninsurance than those that didn’t. Nationwide, the percentage of uninsured Americans dropped from 18 percent in September 2013, to 13.4 percent in June 2014, according to the survey.
Some States Boost Transparency Of Insurance Rate Review Amid Criticism
Connecticut regulators deny an insurer’s proposed rate increase but criticize the state’s public hearing process. Meanwhile, Illinois officials give the public online access to rate filings and Florida advocates blame state lawmaker’s suspension of rate review for the big premium increases in that state.
Treating Americans With Untested Ebola Drug Raises Concerns
Using the experimental drug before it is tested in clinical trials will make it difficult to determine whether it is actually safe and effective, say scientists. Meanwhile, African officials say they have been inundated with requests from dying patients and their relatives for the same treatment.
Officials Confront Health Law Paperwork Backlog
Meanwhile, health law insurance subsidy calculations by the Internal Revenue Service may not have been as inaccurate as first thought, an audit suggests. And the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel parses the health law stances of candidates in the race for governor.
House Veterans Affairs Chair Accuses VA Of Misleading Panel On Deaths
Rep. Jeff Miller says the Department of Veterans Affairs may have manipulated on a fact sheet given to Congress the number of veterans who died as a result of waiting for care.
Wis. Senator Seeks To Appeal Recent Decision Regarding His Health Law Challenge
The focus of the lawsuit by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is an Office of Personnel Management regulation that allows congressional staffers to get their health care subsidized under the law’s exchanges. In other news, health issues are emerging as flashpoints in this year’s Arkansas senate race.
Calif. Insurers Team On Huge Digital Medical Records Plan
Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross are working together to keep and share digital records for about 9 million patients, which could cost $80 million over the first three years.
Viewpoints: Higher Costs Don’t Mean Better Health Quality; States And The Uninsured
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
State Highlights: Insurer Uses Tenn. Position For Bargaining Power; N.Y.’s Medicaid Cash Drain
A selection of state stories from Tennessee and New York.
Report Says Feds Stop Public Disclosure Of Serious Hospital Errors
USA Today reports the federal government has stopped publicly reporting when hospitals leave foreign objects in patients’ bodies or make other life-threatening mistakes. Meanwhile, Medicare spent more than $30 million on questionable HIV medications in 2012 and the agency is resuming audits for some fee-for-service claims.
Rural Residents Pay More For Exchange Plans
Rural residents paid slightly higher premiums for exchange health plans than their city counterparts, reports Modern Healthcare. Meanwhile, Vermont’s GOP leaders say they want the state’s health insurance exchange to succeed, but residents are fed up with problems.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that details how politics play a role in the nation’s health care gap between red and blue states.
Hospitals See New Revenues, Stiffer Fines From Obamacare
A surge in insured patients using health services has increased hospital revenues, even as Medicare stiffens penalties for facilities with high readmission rates or patients who contract infections and injuries while admitted for other reasons.
California Insurance Giants Create Patient Database
Two major insurers — Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California — are creating a joint health-information exchange, making the medical records of about nine million plan members available to participating doctors and hospitals.
