Latest KFF Health News Stories
Loophole In Senate Bill Would Let Insurers Cap Payments For Costly Diseases
These issues include whether insurers should be able to cap patients’ annual spending, the role of the obscure Office of Personnel Management, and an excise tax on costly health plans.
Expansion Of Medicare In Health Care Compromise Faces Challenges
The Senate compromise which would expand Medicare instead of creating a new, government-run insurance plan and which leaders hailed as a breakthrough earlier this week is now triggering second thoughts.
Senators At Odds About Drug Importation Amendment
A proposal to allow prescription drugs to be imported into the United States from Canada and a few other countries is dividing senators, the White House and the drug lobby, and is stalling efforts on the health care reform bill.
State Medicaid Programs Face Cuts, Backlog Of Applications
State Medicaid and other health assistance programs are facing cuts and applicant backlogs in the face of shrinking budgets.
Health Reform Profiles: People Working In The Health Industry And Those Struggling With Coverage
News reports today featire profiles of people who work in the health care industry and people struggling with their insurance coverage.
WellPoint Stock Surges As Public Plan Struggles
Stock for the insurer WellPoint hits year-long high as lawmakers move away from a public plan.
Illinois Prepares To Implement Medical Error Reporting Law
Illinois prepares to implement a medical reporting law while CVS receives a contract to provide $1 billion in pharmacy benefits in Texas.
Pelosi Calls House, Senate Bills ’75 Percent Compatible’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., indicated Thursday that she may be open to a Senate compromise that would expand Medicare and allow the federal government to oversee nonprofit national health plans in lieu of the public option.
Senate Faces Another Working Weekend
The Senate will be working again this weekend, although the emphasis will likely be on appropriations bills.
Today’s Opinions And Editorials
Today’s Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Some Rural Communities Concerned Reform Provisions Could Hurt Medicare Services
Newspapers in Alaska and Washington state explore how health reform provisions might affect Medicare services in rural areas, while a Colorado newspaper looks at one seantor’s efforts to increase the number of doctors in rural areas.
Disabilities Account For A Quarter Of U.S. Adult Health Care Costs
“Just over one-quarter of U.S. adult health care spending was associated with disability in 2006, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention,” Insurance Journal reports.
The roundup includes research and policy briefs on Medicare buy-in, measuring quality and cost performance of physicians and “Cadillac” insurance plans.
First Edition: December 11, 2009
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including continuing reactions to the Senate’s proposed Medicare expansion deal.
MedPAC Suggests Recouping Overpayments To Hospitals
Under preliminary recommendations, Congress would adjust for overpayments that resulted from documentation and coding changes.
Reid Files Cloture Motions To Pave Way For Final Health Bill Vote Before Christmas
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif., said she would be open to keeping the House in session during Christmas week if it could lead to final action on health reform before year’s end.
Financial Times Analyzes Global Approaches To, Debate Over Family Planning
The Financial Times’ Andrew Jack analyzes the debate over different approaches to family planning worldwide. According to Jack, there is a “growing worry that some developing countries have failed to follow the broader ‘demographic transition’ to lower fertility levels that has occurred in past decades in the western world and more recently across Latin America and much of Asia. …”
Global Food Prices Reach 14-Month High, FAO Report Says
In its latest report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Wednesday said the agency’s Food Price Index had been increasing for four consecutive months and reached a 14-month high in November, Reuters reports.
FY2010 State And Foreign Ops Bill Expected To Move On The Hill This Month
The fiscal year 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which includes funding for global health-related measures, “is moving on the Hill as part of a mammoth catch-all spending bill that’s expected to move through both chambers this month,” Foreign Policy’s blog, “The Cable,” reports.
