Latest KFF Health News Stories
Longer Looks: Psychology Of Gun Control; Saying Goodbye; Questioning ADHD
This week’s articles come from The New York Times, The Atlantic and Salon.
First Edition: September 20, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest on the Capitol Hill hijinx surrounding efforts to defund the health law and avert a government shutdown.
House To Vote Friday On Bill Tying Govt. Funding To Repeal Effort
News outlets report that the decision by the House GOP leadership to link the two efforts increases the likelihood of a government shutdown.
House GOP Lambasts Senate Republicans For Caving On Obamacare
The showdown over the health law that some expected would unify the party has turned into a war of words between House and Senate colleagues. Meanwhile, Politico reports that while most people are focused on the threat of a government shutdown, the bigger threat is a U.S. debt default.
State Highlights: Penn State Ends Health Plan Penalty
A selection of health policy stories from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Oregon and Texas.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Mental Health Questions Re-Emerge After Shooting Deaths In Washington
Mental health is again front and center in the gun control debate with some consensus on Capitol Hill that more resources are needed to treat the mentally ill. A new study also examines the relationship between gun ownership and mental illness in several countries.
Stateline examines concerns about what could go wrong and other news outlets look at enrollment, outreach and implementation efforts for the online marketplaces that will sell insurance policies.
Obama Focuses Attention On Fiscal Risks Involved In GOP Health Law Defunding Strategy
President Barack Obama issues tough talk about Capitol Hill during a speech to the Business Roundtable. Meanwhile, JP Morgan Chase & Co. backs away from a research note in which it predicted a delay was imminent in the launch of key provisions of the health law.
States Hammering Out Medicaid Decisions On Qualifications, Expansion
In news about state Medicaid expansions, a hospital association in Missouri explores the state’s place nationally and globally in caring for its poor. Elsewhere, Pennsylvania could require those out-of-work and on Medicaid to look for a job, and South Dakota mulls expanding the program.
House Conservatives Offer Obamacare Alternative
The legislation, advanced by the Republican Study Committee, would expand tax breaks for people who buy their own health insurance and increase funding for high-risk pools.
The clinic will offer a voluntary early retirement package to about 3,000 employees.
Who’s Leading The Charge? Politicians Jockey For Position In Battle To Undo Health Law
With a House vote set for Friday on a bill to strip the health law of funding and to avert a government shutdown, House and Senate lawmakers, state officials and other politicans angle for advantage.
Reprieve Over? Health Spending Projected To Climb 6% Next Year
The nation’s health care spending is slated to rise about 6 percent next year, according to a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report. This follows five years of slower growth expected to end as the nation’s economy recovers and the health law expands coverage. The spending increase is likely lower than it would have been, however, if the Supreme Court hadn’t allowed states to choose whether to expand Medicaid, researchers wrote.
Panel Chairman Describes ‘Narrow Window’ To Address Long-Term Care Issues
The Washington Post interviewed the chairman of a federal commission on long-term care, which released its recommendations to improve the system Wednesday. In the meantime, California eyes its own reforms.
Employers Trim Health Costs Using Obamacare As Cover
Many of these practices began well before the federal health law took effect. But several news outlets report that the law is giving businesses cover to shift additional costs onto employees and their families –an effort that may reinforce the law’s unpopularity.
White House Takes Steps To Assure Consumers About Safety Of Exchanges
The announcement of anti-fraud measures, part of a coordinated federal effort to protect consumers, came after a House committee warned of “risks of fraud and misinformation” in efforts to enroll millions of people eligible for subsidized insurance in new online marketplaces.
First Edition: September 19, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about future health spending projections from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Actuaries as well as the latest on the upcoming House vote on a stopgap funding measure that would also defund the health law.
House GOP Considers Attaching Defunding Provision To Stopgap Measure To Prevent Shutdown
A vote could take place next week, which adds to concerns about the likelihood of a government shutdown. Also in the news, some Republicans are floating alternative strategies to help avert this drastic outcome.
CBO Issues Not-So-Rosy Long-Term Budget Outlook
In the short term, the federal deficit will fall. But, starting in 2016, as more baby boomers join the Medicare ranks, the deficits again will pick up. With this news in the backdrop, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned Republican lawmakers of the dangers of risking a government default as part of their efforts to derail the implementation of the health law.
