Latest KFF Health News Stories
A View From The Field: How Medicare Is Playing In Congressional, Senate Races
From Texas to Connecticut, members of Congress and their challengers are pressing their views on the federal health program for seniors.
How The Entertainment Industry Relates To Mental Illness
The Los Angeles Times reports on changing public perceptions regarding mental illness and how they are reflected in television characterizations.
Hospital Records Link C. Diff To 2 Times More Deaths Than Federal Estimates Indicate
According to USA Today, the incidence of C.Diff is far greater than federal reports suggest.
Hedge Funds See Investment Potential Resulting From Health Law
Fund managers appeared to be placing bets on health insurers — starting before the Supreme Court’s health law ruling.
Congressional Leaders Plan To Maximize This Election-Year Medicare Debate
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, urged his fellow Republicans to “play offense” on the issue while their Democratic counterparts plan to keep the heat on.
Local news outlets report on developments at area hospitals.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the nation.
HHS Using Pharmacies To Sell Health Law Benefits To Seniors
The Department of Health and Human Services is touting a partnership with major retail pharmacies to tell seniors about health law benefits.
Study: Retail Clinic Popularity Spiking
Visits to retail clinics increased more than 400 percent from 2007-2009, when nearly 6 million visits were made to the clinics in drug stores, supermarkets or other stores, a new Rand study says.
Longer Looks: A Jack-Of-All-Trades Surgeon Takes Care Of Nantucket
This week’s articles come from WBUR, The Washington Post Magazine and The New York Times.
Parsing Medicare Policy And Politics
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s promise to restore the Medicare provisions cut by the 2010 health law would move the insolvency date of the program closer, reports The Associated Press. Other news outlets examine the Medicare policy specifics that Rep. Paul Ryan, the likely GOP vice presidential pick, has advanced in his House budget proposals.
First Edition: August 16, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how Medicare has taken center stage in the presidential campaign.
Ryan’s Medicaid Proposals Emerge As Campaign Issue
News outlets report that the changes to Medicaid proposed by likely GOP vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan would have immediate and far-reaching consequences for millions of people, including poor seniors.
Medicare Politics By The Numbers?
The budget plan authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., assumed the same amount of Medicare savings as President Obama’s health care law. News outlets report that both presidential campaigns are accusing the other of undermining the insurance program for the elderly and disabled, and they attempt to separate fact from fiction.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the nation.
Florida Is Ground Zero In Battle For Seniors’ Votes
Florida’s 29 electoral votes appear to be among the most sought-after prizes as both campaigns craft their Medicare messages to woo the state’s older voters.
State Roundup: Different Perks, Penalties For Hospitals Under New Mass. Law
A selection of health policy stories from Massachusetts, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina and California.
Report Prompts Close Scrutiny Of Charity Care At Calif. Nonprofit Hospitals
Nonprofit California hospitals will face a state Senate committee hearing Wednesday after an auditor’s report found variance and leeway in just how much charity care the tax-exempt hospitals give.
Reuters questions what happens if current projections for baby boomers’ lifetimes don’t come true.
HCA’s Profit Trail: Billing, Staffing And ER Care Changes
The New York Times reports on how the finanical performance of this hospital chain has become a model for the industry.
