Latest KFF Health News Stories
Docs Often Say Colleagues Prescribe Unnecessary Care
Elsewhere, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services sets a new date for doctors to adopt a new coding practice and Medicare may follow advice against giving smokers annual CT scans.
Cigna Profits Are Up But Costs From Early Marketplace Customers Also Higher Than Expected
The insurer also said “effective medical management” in its employer plans and Medicare Advantage business was helping rein in expenses, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Large NYC Health System May Be Dropping Some Exchange Plans
Patients say they have been told the Mount Sinai Health System is terminating contracts with some low-cost insurance plans, reports The New York Times. Many are upset because the open enrollment period for 2014 has ended so they cannot switch plans. Meanwhile, Marketplace explores how the health care law allows young people who have aged out of foster care to get Medicaid coverage until they turn 26.
Burwell Confirmation Hearings Promise To Showcase Partisan Split On Health Law
Though confirmation is likely for Sylvia Mathews Burwell to head up the Department of Health and Human Services, the GOP will use the process to skewer Obamacare. Also, a House committee chairman is calling for more study of internet security risks under the law.
State Highlights: Texas Company Keeps Medicaid Contract Despite Fraud
A selection of health policy stories from Texas, Washington state, Connecticut and New York.
Texas, Ariz., Va. Among States That Saw 11th-Hour Rush
Many states saw a doubling of residents signing up for private plans through the federal exchanges in the final weeks of open enrollment for 2014. Most enrollees received federal subsidies.
Calif. Medicaid Backlog Strands 900,000; Va. Gov. Considers Expansion Without Legislature
In California, 900,000 people are still awaiting final processing of their Medicaid applications. Meanwhile, the impasse over the budget and Medicaid expansion continues in Virginia and The Washington Post reports that Gov. Terry McAuliffe is examining legal strategies to make the move without legislative approval.
Retiring Ore. Exchange Official Lashes Out At State Leaders
Developments with online insurance marketplaces in Nevada, Oregon and New Mexico are also examined.
Research Roundup: Compounding Pharmacies; Marketplace Details; Changes In Insurance Coverage
This week’s studies come from Health Affairs, Breakaway Policy, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Kaiser Family Foundation, Mathematica Policy Research, the Urban Institute, JAMA Internal Medicine and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including coverage of the latest round of health insurance enrollment data released by the Obama administration.
Big Companies Likely To Move Employees To Health Exchanges
A new investor report predicted that nearly all workers’ coverage would shift by 2020, triggering trillions in savings for employers by 2025.
Health Law Gives Boost To U.S. Economy
Health spending grew at its fastest rate since the third quarter of 1980 — a development attributed to the health law’s implementation — and thereby helped lift the nation’s GDP by 1.1 percentage points.
WellPoint Walks Back Forecast Of Big Rate Hikes
Company officials said that 2015 rates will vary by market but given a late surge of younger enrollees, increases may not be as high as initially projected. Meanwhile, Cigna’s first quarter profits surged on its group disability and life operations.
Medicare Proposes That Hospitals Provide More Transparency On Prices
In a proposed rule, federal officials lay out new regulations for hospitals that include offering a standard list of prices, the new federal payment rates, observation care and readmissions.
Hill Panel Presses Medicare After IG Reports Fraud Cost $50 Billion Last Year
Lawmakers from both parties lash out at an official who has just taken over the agency in charge of cutting waste.
Virginia Gov. Says Legislation Is Way To Medicaid Expansion
In Missouri, the expansion gets a symbolic committee endorsement, and the governor proposes using federal dollars to help pay for coverage for low-wage earners.
Polls Show Continued Public Skepticism About Health Law
While slightly fewer than half of those polled by the Wall Street Journal and NBC think the law is a bad idea, only 21 percent want it repealed. Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton criticized media coverage of the law, saying news organizations do a disservice by building a narrative and never straying from it, regardless of the facts.
Viewpoints: Health Overhaul Doesn’t Necessarily Help The Sick; Single Payer Doesn’t Mean Cheaper
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
State Exchanges Spent Far More To Reach Consumers
States that ran their own insurance marketplaces under the health law or those that partnered with the federal government spent significantly more on outreach and enrollment efforts than states that used the federal marketplace, according to a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
State-Based Marketplaces Want Feds To Decide Who Is Exempted From Mandate
At least seven states have criticized an administration proposal to make state-run marketplaces responsible for determining eligibility for mandate exemptions. Meanwhile, Oregon’s Legislative Counsel’s Office says the exchange board does not have authority to scrap the state exchange in favor of the federal one. The opinion is not binding.
