Latest KFF Health News Stories
Study: Physicians Increasingly Rely On ERs To Determine Whether Patients Need To Be Hospitalized
The New York Times details these findings.
New Analysis Finds More Seniors Living In Poverty
The estimate, which takes health spending and other factors into account, concluded that 1 in 7 seniors lives in poverty. Projections indicate that number could go up if certain Medicare reforms took effect.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
State Roundup: Nearly 13,000 Calif. Hospital Workers Set To Strike
A selection of health policy news from California, Louisiana, Vermont, Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas and Pennsylvania.
Democrats Push Back Against Claims Of Health Law ‘Rate Shock’
House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats countered GOP claims that the health law is driving up insurance premiums by analyzing initial rate filings in five states.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including stories examining how the approaching implementation of some health law provisions is highlighting key policy questions.
IRS Scandal, HHS Fundraising Stir The Health Law Political Pot
The Obama administration’s efforts to raise money from private sources for the health law have led some likely donors to become “skittish.” Meanwhile, as GOP lawmakers seek to link the Internal Revenue Service issues to the health law, media outlets examine the IRS’s reach in this regard.
Employers Eye Limited Plans To Avoid Health Law Penalties
The Wall Street Journal reports that “bare-bones” health plans may help some employers avoid the law’s fines. Meanwhile, the Journal Sentinel explores how investors are assessing winning or losing stocks as a result of the law’s implementation.
State Roundup: Okla. Gov. Pushes Funding Fix To Cover 9,000 On Medicaid
A selection of health policy stories from Oklahoma, Texas, California and Massachusetts.
Findings Examine Work-Hour Restrictions, Impact Of Hospitalists’ Workloads
A survey found surgeons-in-training often skirt limits on work hours. Meanwhile, a new study concluded that the length of inpatient hospital stays increased when hospitalists’ workload went up.
Pentagon Advisor’s Biotech Firm Reaps Millions For Anthrax Drug
The Los Angeles Times reports on this development.
New Psychiatric Diagnostic Manual Released
Long-awaited update of “the psychiatrist’s bible” has stirred controversy.
GOP Nominee For Va. Lt. Gov. Likened Planned Parenthood To KKK; Ark. Judge Halts Abortion Ban
A man nominated Saturday for lieutenant governor of Virginia made comments last year that likened Planned Parenthood to the KKK. In Arkansas, a judge delayed a law that would ban most abortions there after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
CBO: Obama’s Budget Would Reduce Medicare Spending By $364B
The Congressional Budget Office estimated Friday that President Obama’s budget would reduce Medicare spending by $364 billion over the next decade and would reduce future budget deficits. The White House and Congress will likely soon need to work on a long-term budget solution as the nation again hits its debt limit.
Health Law’s Insurance Exchanges Are Not Mirror Image Of Mass. Version
Some of the state’s features that advocates say helped consumers make their insurance-purchasing decisions were not included in the the federal health law.
State Rejections Of Medicaid Expansion Likely To Widen Health Disparities
The Los Angeles Times reports that states opting against expanded eligibility — among them, some of the nation’s unhealthiest — could fall even further behind as the Affordable Care Act is implemented. News outlets also offer reports from Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Florida and Virginia.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the policy and political issues currently surrounding the health law’s implementation.
IRS Controversy Fuels Republican Health Law Opposition
Just as the House took its 37th vote to repeal the health law, largely along party lines, the Republicans held their first hearing on the IRS’s tax-exempt and government-entities division. Several media outlets report that Sarah Hall Ingram, who led the division when the questioned operations began, is now in charge of the branch overseeing implementation of parts of the health law.
Republicans Ask GAO To Probe Sebelius’ Fundraising
GOP lawmakers seek an investigation of the Health and Human Services secretary’s efforts to secure more funding for a private group that will help with the implementation of the health law. At the same time, an HHS spokesman offered more detail regarding whom she contacted.
