Latest KFF Health News Stories
Insurers Revoke Plans To Avoid Paying For Patients With High Costs
Congress has turned its attention to rescission, a practice where insurers retroactively revoke plans to avoid paying high costs. Rescission happens with individual health insurance policies that include an application and generally a questionnaire about their health.
House Democrats Push Their Health Reform Plan
House Democrats’ health care bill draft released Friday is likely to survive relatively intact, despite Republican cries that some of the bill is far too liberal with insurer and individual mandates and coverage guarantees, Roll Call reports.
As Obama Wades Into Health Debate, Tough Choices Await
The administration has left the crafting of legislation in the hands of Congress, but a series of tough choices await the President, who at some point must define “what he’ll accept and what he won’t” in a final bill.
Ads Highlight Different Aspects Of Health Reform Debate
A new slate of advertising targeting Sen. Kay Hagan’s stance on a public insurance option has began running in North Carolina, The Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record reports.
Parents Struggle With Costs Of Their Children’s Autism Care
The total cost for treating a child with autism can reach $5 million, but insurance companies rarely cover autism therapy and few states mandate it.
Obama To Formally Announce Medicare Drug Cuts Today
The pharmaceutical industry agreed Saturday to reduce Medicare drug costs as part of health overhaul in an apparent effort to stave off potentially more-burdensome givebacks under the Democrats’ health-overhaul plan. Today, President Barack Obama will make a formal announcement about the deal.
Six Words More Than Enough For Senate Battle
Head-to-head comparisons of medical treatments show how easily a seemingly small provision can become embroiled in major controversy, and demonstrates the potential for indefinite debate.
Doctor’s Vision For Health Reform: Videochat
A jean-wearing, blogging pediatrician who works out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, loft claims “disruptive technology” is a better treatment for America’s health care woes than universal health insurance.
Lawmakers Address Nurse And Primary Care Physician Shortages
A pending House bill would aim to address the nursing shortage by allowing “20,000 additional nurses to enter the U.S. each year for the next three years as a temporary measure to fill the gap,” Business Week reports.
Pharmaceutical Companies Reach Deal To Shrink Medicare ‘Doughnut Hole’
Drug manufacturers agreed to spend $80 billion over 10 years in discounts for medicines for seniors.
House Reform Outline Includes Public Insurance Option
“House Democrats released the outline of their health care reform bill Friday – a proposal that would create a public insurance option, expand Medicaid, and require employers to provide coverage or pay a tax,” Politico reports.
House Democrats Unveil Reform Plans
House Democrats introduced on Friday their health overhaul plan.
Lancet Studies Examine Aspects Of Global Health Funding
“Global health funding boosted by private donors has quadrupled since 1990, but the extra money has not always gone to the right countries and diseases, according to a pair of studies released Friday,” in the journal Lancet, AFP/Google.com reports.
BBC Examines River Blindness Program In Sub-Saharan Africa
BBC examines a campaign in sub-Saharan Africa that is helping to distribute drugs to prevent onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness
Some Call For More Action At Conclusion Of Pacific Health Summit
Some Pacific Health Summit attendees said more action should have come from the tuberculosis-focused conference, which ended on Thursday in Seattle, Seattle Times’ “Business of Giving” blog reports.
Economist Examines ‘Snail-Fever’ In China
The Economist examines schistosomiasis in China.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) on Thursday called on Los Angeles County health officials to require that condoms be used in the adult film industry or shut down production in light of a recent report that a number of people tested at the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIMHF) clinic have tested positive for HIV since 2004.
