Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health Law Expected To Trigger Industry Hiring Spree
On one hand, insurance enrollment figures may be short of the numerical goals that were set earlier in the process, but some people still are predicting that health providers will ramp up hiring in response to new demand created by the overhaul.
State Highlights: States’ Troubled Health Law Websites Fall Hardest On Poor
A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, Florida, Texas, Georgia and California.
Tanning Tax, Among Others, Kicking In
News outlets covered several elements of the tax features of the health law.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
First Edition: January 7, 2014
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a range of reports about state developments related to the health law’s online marketplaces as well as details regarding the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ figures on health costs.
Medicaid Expansion Efforts Facing Challenges From Healthcare.gov
The Washington Post and Kaiser Health News report that some people who would be eligible for this coverage may be falling through the cracks. Meanwhile, Bloomberg examines how accessing health care plays out differently in states that pursued the expansion and those that didn’t.
Meanwhile, news outlets also report on state health law implementation action in Minnesota, Iowa and Pennsylvania.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Have More People Lost Health Insurance Than Gained It?
Fact checkers from the Washington Post and FactCheck.Org examine GOP claims about the number of people who have lost coverage — both in terms of individual and employer-provided coverage — as a result of the health law.
HHS To Release Slow-Growth Health Spending Numbers As Obama Readies Big Push For Law
News outlets covered administration efforts to build public confidence in the Affordable Care Act.
White House Seeks To Tighten Background Checks To Keep Guns From Those With Mental Illness
The Obama administration is proposing regulatory changes to clarify who is prohibited from owning a gun for mental health reasons and to tighten background checks. In the meantime, lawmakers consider increasing mental health funding after the Sandy Hook massacre.
Eyes Peeled On Health Law, GOP Shrinks Expectations For Major Election Year Action
Republican lawmakers are refocusing their election-year political efforts on hammering the health law’s unpopularity even as the agenda for getting legislation done shrinks amid a tightening political climate, which could stall immigration and unemployment benefit measures.
Wis. Senator Suing Obama Administration Over Health Law Subsidies
Meanwhile, fellow Republicans Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Phil Gingrey also are heavily criticizing the law.
New Abortion Restrictions Continue Torrid Pace With Texas Law At Center
Between 2011 and 2013, more than 200 abortion restrictions were passed in states, NPR reports. At the center of recent controversy is a Texas law that would require doctors giving abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
How Obamacare Coverage Is Shaking Out
Even with the health law’s insurance options, consumers struggling with chronic diseases may still face such high out-of-pocket costs on some plans that they could have trouble staying out of debt, reports the Associated Press. Meanwhile, several major drugstore chains are offering to fill prescriptions for those who enrolled in new health plans but don’t have ID numbers yet.
State Highlights: N.C. Officials Detail Medicaid Personal Info Mishap
A selection of health policy stories from North Carolina, Massachusetts, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin and California.
Administration: Contraception Rule Does Not Burden Religious Groups
In the latest legal skirmish over the so-called contraceptive mandate in the health law, Obama administration lawyers urged Justice Sonia Sotomayor to drop an appeal from the Little Sisters of the Poor and other Catholic groups. Nonprofit religious charities can opt out of the requirement, they argued. The rule already faces a challenge from several for-profit companies that will be heard by the high court.
First Edition: January 6, 2014
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how the health law fits into the Capitol Hill agenda for the year ahead.
Justice Dept. Defends Birth Control Rule Against Nuns’ Suit
The administration responded to a lawsuit by a group of nuns challenging how the health law exempts them from the rule.
For The Health Law, Are The First Days The Hardest Ones?
News outlets take a look at how the health law’s implementation is working out on the ground during these first days of January.
