Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that Medicare premiums will remain stable in 2014 and coverage of a new Congressional Budget Office estimate regarding the cost of delaying the health law’s employer mandate.
Obama Administration Touts Slower Health Care Cost Increases
According to USA Today, personal health care costs rose at the slowest rate in the last 50 years, based on statistics for the past year ending in May.
Lawmakers’ Aides Fret Over Requirement To Buy Obamacare Coverage
The New York Times explores how congressional staffs are anxious about a health law provision requiring them to buy coverage in online insurance markets because the federal government may no longer pay a share of their premiums. Meanwhile, The Hill reports on a request to audit Enroll America, a nonprofit that is encouraging people to enroll in new coverage. CQ Healthbeat looks at how the law’s definition of a full-time employee is affecting some businesses.
Uninsured People In Rural Areas Could Benefit Big Under The Health Law
MedPage Today reports on how rural residents could gain as a result of the overhaul, while other news outlets offer reports from a variety of states regarding the health law’s implementation.
Vote To Defund Health Law On Congress’ To-Do List Before August Break
The vote, which will mark the House of Representatives’ 40th effort to undo all or part of the health law, is scheduled for Friday afternoon. This time around, the effort is causing friction within the Republican caucus. Meanwhile, budget issues are gaining attention in the Senate.
State Highlights: Mandatory Treatment For Mental Illness Working In N.Y.
A selection of health policy stories from Montana, New York, Oregon, California, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
HHS Inspector General Raises Concerns About Medicare Policy On Observation Care
The report also finds that policies on admitting patients or keeping them under observation — a distinction that can have dramatic financial impact on the patients — varies substantially among hospitals.
Task Force Recommends Annual CT Scans For High-Risk Smokers
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that high-risk current and former smokers get an annual CT scan to look for cancer. If the draft recommendation becomes final, insurers will likely have to cover the scan at no co-pay cost to consumers.
N.C. Governor Signs Law Tightening Abortion Clinic Regulations
Critics say the new law — and stricter standards — will force most abortion clinics to close.
Study Finds Doctors Not Following Medical Guidelines On Back Pain
Researchers report that physicians are often overly aggressive by prescribing addictive narcotics to patients instead of other recommended drugs and too often using surgery and unneeded imaging tools.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a USA Today story reporting that personal health care costs rose in the 12 months ending in May at the slowest rate in the last 50 years — a finding that makes the White House happy.
Selling Of Obamacare Begins In Earnest
President Barack Obama tells the New York Times that his plan to build support for the health law is simply to implement it. Meanwhile, high level aides and supporters meet to craft a new message, while volunteers for the nonprofit Enroll America fan out across the country to tell the uninsured about new coverage options.
Maryland Regulators Approve Premium Rates Much Lower Than Insurers Sought
The Maryland insurance commissioner Therese M. Goldsmith approved premium increases Friday for nine insurance companies who applied to sell plans to individuals through a state exchange, which was established by the health law.
Effort To Defund Health Law Complicates Budget Talks
The Wall Street Journal reports that Obama administration officials are stepping up meetings with Senate Republicans in hopes of avoiding a deadline clash over federal spending this fall. One of the flashpoints is the Republican demand to defund Obamacare as part of any deal.
U.S. Bans New Home Health, Ambulance Providers In Three High-Fraud Cities From Medicare, Medicaid
Federal officials are temporarily banning certain types of home health and ambulance providers in three major, high-fraud cities from enrolling in Medicare or Medicaid.
This Week On Capitol Hill: Repeal Vote Number 40
The House of Representatives will consider a bill that would prevent the Internal Revenue Service from implementing the law. Specifically, it states that neither the Treasury secretary nor any designee of the Treasury secretary may implement any part of the Affordable Care Act.
Fewer Doctors Treating Medicare Patients, CMS Says
Amid payment rates and rules they dislike, more doctors are opting to not treat Medicare patients, say the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In the meantime, health care providers ready different models to change how Medicare pays doctors.
Proposed Abortion Ban Breeds New Generation Of GOP Leaders
A new generation of Republican leaders band together under the abortion-issue umbrella.
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Company’s Contraception Coverage Challenge
The court’s divided decision makes it more likely the Supreme Court will have to decide if companies making a secular product have to provide contraception coverage to their employees — a major tenet of the 2010 health care law.
