Latest KFF Health News Stories
Explaining The Factors Behind Health Care Spending’s Modest Increases
USA Today analyzes this trend and details some of the reasons that could be driving it.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Texas Clergy Asks Lawmakers To Boost Women’s Health Funding
Elsewhere, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo links the fight for women’s rights to his proposed abortion legislation, and Arkansas’ governor vetoes a bill that would ban most abortions at 12 weeks, setting up another override fight in that state.
IG: Lack Of Clarity On ‘Conflicts Of Interest’ May Impact Medicare Coverage Decisions
The New York Times reports that large amounts of money are in play.
After Sequester, What Comes Next?
News outlets report that the next step for some GOP lawmakers will revolve around a budget plan that will end deficits by 2023. Along those lines, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has suggested a change in his Medicare plan.
Automatic Cuts To Take Toll On Community Health Centers
Estimates suggest these centers will serve about 900,000 fewer patients in 2013 because of the sequester.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how health programs might fair in the context of efforts to balance the budget.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the nation.
Nurse Practitioners Juggle Scope-Of-Practice Issues With Providing Care
A study published last week, for instance, notes that although scope-of-practice laws might not restrict nurse pratitioners’ ability to provide primary care, it does impact how they are paid.
Roundup: Mass. Health Costs May Start Accelerating Again
A selection of health policy stories from Massachusetts, Minnesota, California, New York and North Carolina.
Commission Urges Changing Medicare Physician Payment
The panel, the National Commission on Physician Payment Reform, released a dozen recommendations to ultimately change how physicians are paid.
Much Anticipation Surrounds Push To Bring More Transparency To Medicine
The Obama administration unveiled final regulations last week regarding the “release of payments data in September 2014 [that] would mark a milestone in the push to bring transparency to medicine,” according to ProPublica.
States Continue To Formulate Medicaid Expansion Strategies
As the Obama administration gives some states the OK to pursue alternatives to the health law’s Medicaid expansion, the shape of the debate in state legislatures changes.
Hospital Costs Under Microscope
An article that appeared in Time Magazine, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” has fueled a new round of discussions about health care cost excesses — especially in the hospital setting.
Automatic Budget Cuts Lead GOP To Sharpen Focus On Medicare Cost-Cutting
With the deadline for averting sequestration having come and gone, lawmakers and the White House are jockeying for position in the next round of budget battles.
Health Law Implementation Largely Untouched By Automatic Spending Cuts
The Associated Press reports that only a small fraction of the overhaul’s funding is subject to the sequester’s cuts. Meanwhile, the Obama administration indicates that insurers will have to report rate increases no matter how small and offers rules to clarify other provisions.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including an array of stories about various aspects of the health law as well as continuing coverage of sequestration and the federal budget impasse.
The Clock Runs Out On Averting Sequestration
Time ticked down to March 1 — also known as sequestration D-day — without the White House and lawmakers finding a way to avert the scheduled cuts.
Health Law Implementation Likely To Proceed – Despite Sequester’s Cuts To Other Health Programs
Meanwhile, news outlets report on how the health law is “reshaping” the health care marketplace and how the measure’s medical device tax continues to be a point of contention.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
