‘Health Care’ = Fighting Words In Montana
A question about the Obamacare repeal bill turned into a rumble in the Montana special election — portending tough times ahead for Republicans.
Calif. Governor Vetoes Bill To Protect Assets From Medi-Cal
This story is part of a partnership that includes Capital Public Radio, NPR and Kaiser Health News. It can be republished for free. (details) With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Jerry Brown rejected an effort to protect the estates of Medicaid beneficiaries in California, the San Jose Mercury News reported Friday. The bill, which […]
New Head of Healthcare.gov Is Connecticut’s Counihan
Kevin Counihan, the head of Connecticut’s health insurance marketplace, will be the new CEO of healthcare.gov, the website that 36 states use to sell insurance under the Affordable Care Act, the administration announced at noon Tuesday.
Angelina Jolie, Genetic Testing, And The ACA
Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, is on the record with a quick post on Angelina Jolie’s startling announcement in a New York Times op-ed that she has had a prophylactic double mastectomy to cut her inherited risk of breast cancer. Jolie’s mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died of cancer at […]
Alicia Keys Shines Light On Women And HIV
One in 32 African American women in the United States is likely to be diagnosed with HIV in her lifetime. “One in 32, think about that,” said singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic at an event Monday. “Thirty years after we first heard of AIDS, it is really a […]
Waiver In Hand, Florida’s Rick Scott Backs Medicaid Expansion
Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday that he would back expansion of the Medicaid program under the federal health law. At a hastily-called press conference, Scott, a Republican, said he supported expanding Medicaid for three years — the amount of time the federal government picks up the whole cost. “Expanding access to Medicaid services for three […]
Hospitals React To Readmission Penalties
This week, a KHN analysis of Medicare data showed that 2,211 hospitals will face penalties in October for having too many patients readmitted for care within 30 days of discharge. Hospital executives around the country have had something to say about those penalties and the new policy. Here’s a round-up of how the story played as it […]
Grassley Worries Ruling Hurts ‘Poorest Of The Poor’
In a floor statement that threads the needle very carefully, Iowa’s senior Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, blasted the Supreme Court’s decision that makes the Medicaid expansion optional for the states. Grassley laments that the ruling leaves the “poorest of the poor” with “all or nothing,” depending on which state they live in. But, he doesn’t […]
Catholic Contraception Controversy: The State Of Pay
Two Democratic governors — Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut and Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland — tried to tamp down the controversy over contraception coverage at Catholic institutions this week by quoting the same number: 28 states already require insurance coverage of contraception. That’s true and it’s mentioned in a state policy brief by the […]
Jon Stewart, Health Policy Wonk
Who knew comedian Jon Stewart was worried about essential health benefits? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius found herself in the middle of a surprisingly substantive interview Monday night on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” — 16 minutes of full-on wonkery, about half televised and half for the Web audience only. The Daily Show With […]
Does Herman Cain Want A State Takeover of Medicare?
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1 Herman Cain is certain to face tough questioning about his personal behavior in tonight’s CNBC debate among the Republican presidential hopefuls. But one of the candidate’s recent policy proposals might merit more attention from the debate’s moderators: Just how does Cain propose to fix Medicare’s finances? During his health policy speech last week, Cain […]
