Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how President Barack Obama’s budget proposal — to be released next week — will handle Medicare and Medicaid.
Medicare Misperceptions Create Tougher Task For Lawmakers
The New York Times reports that public misunderstandings about the specifics of entitlement benefits make trimming Medicare spending more difficult. Meanwhile, Politico reports on an idea that might bridge the partisan divide that plagues these efforts.
Feds Issue Rules For ‘Navigators’ Who Will Help Consumers Buy Health Insurance
As the Obama administration published rules for “navigators,” who will be hired in every state to help consumers shop in new insurance marketplaces, news outlets examine how states are setting up those marketplaces and the impact on consumers.
Proposal To Eliminate SGR Payment Formula Is Revised
The House panels’ proposal to replace Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula is seen as a way to change how Medicare delivers care. Meanwhile, some House GOP lawmakers who have complained about the health law’s costs said Wednesday that it should have allocated more money to a program to cover people with pre-existing health conditions.
Dementia’s Price Tag Can Exceed $50,000 A Year, Study Finds
The study, published in the April 3 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, found this medical condition costs the nation as much as $215 billion a year.
Study: Tricare Not Widely Accepted By Physicians
According to USA Today, the government study found the reasons cited by doctors are a lack of familiarity with the Pentagon health care program or the lag time for reimbursement.
State Roundup: Texas Hospitals Spar Over Indigent Care Payments
A selection of health policy stories from California, Texas, Kansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Oregon and Massachusetts.
Burden Of Care For Many Immigrants Untouched By Medicaid Expansion
Also in the news, media outlets offer news and analysis regarding Medicaid expansion plans and debates in Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri.
N.C. Governor Proposes Managed Care Move For State’s Medicaid Program
In the meantime, other stakeholders in Texas, Florida and California consider changes to their Medicaid plans.
Ala. Lawmakers Approve Controversial New Abortion Clinic Regulations
The measure, which still must be signed by the governor, would make abortion clinics use doctors with admitting privileges at local hospitals, a move opponents say could force the state’s five clinics to close.
The Stock Market, Medicare Advantage Rates And ‘Political Intelligence’
The Wall Street Journal reports that a tip about a recent a health policy decision drove insurers’ stock prices up and is now adding to questions about the “political intelligence” industry.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Walgreens To Expand Health Services To Include Treatment Of Chronic Illness
The retail chain becomes the first to offer such extensive primary care through nurse practitioners and physician assistants at more than 300 in-store clinics in 18 states.
Longer Looks: Embarrassing Accolades; Mapping the Brain; Physician Pay
This week’s selections come from The New York Times, Slate, The Atlantic and The New England Journal of Medicine.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about emerging dynamics in the ongoing federal budget debate.
Rate Boost To Medicare Advantage Plans Powers Insurers’ Stock Surge
Health insurers led gains on Wall Street Tuesday after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reversed plans to make payment cuts to Medicare Advantage plans and instead offered a 3.3 percent increase.
Health Law’s Insurance Subsidies Hold Possible Tax Risk
The Associated Press reports on how people who take advantage of federal subsidies to buy insurance could owe taxes if they don’t accurately forecast their income. It also offers a guide to eligibility.
Confirmation Hearing For CMS Nominee Set For Next Week
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a session on whether to approve Marilyn Tavenner to head the agency that controls Medicare and Medicaid.
Obama Rolls Out $100M Initiative To Study The Brain
President Obama revealed a $100 million plan Tuesday to study and better understand the human brain in part to attempt to find better treatments for Alzheimer’s and other diseases.
Death Rates On The Rise At Some Rural Hospitals
A new study finds that these critical access hospitals, which are exempt from reporting certain quality and outcomes data to the federal government, are not matching the gains made by other facilities regarding mortality rates after treatment for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.
