Latest KFF Health News Stories
Missed Savings Opportunities In Medicare Program
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General concluded that as mucha s $1 billion could have been saved in 2011 had lower prices been negotiated for lab tests. Meanwhile, Kaiser Health News reports on a study that details similar savings that could have been reaped through prescription drug costs.
Medicare Advantage Enrollment Reaches Record High
An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Mathematica Policy Research found that despite concerns the health law’s future payment cuts would have a chilling effect, Medicare Advantage enrollment increased by nearly 10 percent last year and by 30 percent since 2010.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including coverage of the Obama administration’s decision to drop the fight to keep age restrictions in place for Plan B emergency contraceptive pill sales.
During a Friday speech in California, President Barack Obama touted the health law’s benefits — highlighting the Golden State’s progress so far — in his effort to encourage young people and Latinos to sign up for coverage that will be available through new online insurance exchanges.
Counting Down To Online Insurance Marketplaces
The Wall Street Journal reports that consumers should start investigating the options that will be available to them under the health law’s insurance exchanges.
Going Viral With Public Health Messages
Kaiser Health News reports on how one doctor is using YouTube to communicate public health messages while The Washington Post reports on how a data event leads to consideration of health care cost solutions.
Viewpoints: Selling Obamacare In Arizona; ‘Hassle-Free’ Marketplace; Seeking The ‘Grand Bargain’
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Medical Bills Higher For African Americans
NPR reports on these findings as part of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Grassley Continues Focus On Medicare Decision Trading Probe
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, found that more than 400 people had access to information about the Medicare decision that triggered a spike in Wall Street trading more than two weeks before it was make public. Also on Capitol Hill, compounding pharmacies are lining up against legislation recently approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a draft proposal to change Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula draws critcisim.
State Roundup: Calif. Inches To Budget Deal; Iowa’s Medicaid Abortions May Need Gov. OK
A selection of health policy stories from Colorado, Virginia, California, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Florida and Kansas.
Sequester’s Budget Cuts Slowing Alzheimer’s, Other Research
Media outlets analyze how budget cuts are undermining certain types of health research and how their bite in terms of non-discretionary spending could be even bigger in 2014. Also, it appears that the urgency surrounding a budget deal has faded.
The ‘Parallel Challenge:’ Coordinating Care For Mental And Physical Health Issues
The Los Angeles Times reports on how the needs of many patients who struggle with both physical and mental illnesses presents a challenge to the health care system in terms of contolling costs and improving the quality of care they receive. Additionally, the Boston Globe reports on a new approach to reduce hosptial readmissions.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about President Barack Obama’s efforts last week to urge uninsured people to sign up for the coverage that will soon become unavailable as a result of the health law.
Obama Touts Early Success For Health Law In California
The president, urging consumers to sign up for coverage, says they are getting more affordable insurance because of the health overhaul.
Obama To Tout California As Health Law Model
President Barack Obama is slated to speak in San Jose, Calif., about the implementation of the health law and point to the coordination among public and private groups there as a model for the rest of the country. Latinos — in California and across the nation — will be one of his target audiences.
Tech Experts Brace For Glitches When Health Exchange Websites Come Online
As planners race to finish building the online marketplaces that consumers can begin using Oct. 1 to shop for health insurance, experts expect some difficulties, according to The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, CQ HealthBeat examines whether the deductibles and out-of-pocket caps applied in these marketplaces will be too high.
Costs And Coverage: Trying To Discern Who Will Experience Health Law Gains Or Feel Its Pinch
The Wall Street Journal reports on how the law might impact small businesses that employ young and healthy workers as well as whether the measure’s new coverage might be too expensive for low-paid employees. Also in the news, a report concludes that U.S. consumers who purchase health insurance on the individual market saved $2.1 billion last year due to the overhaul’s rules.
Debate Over A Dying Child And A Lack Of Transplant Organs
Several columnists explore the difficult questions raised by the case of Sarah Murnaghan, a 10-year-old with cystic fibrosis who needs a lung transplant to survive.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
‘Medical Home’ Experiment Reduced Costs, Improved Care Even More In Second Year
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield’s experiment with the new health care delivery model improved on its first-year showing, it said.
