Lexie Verdon

Today’s Headlines – May 25, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy, but first, here are your Friday headlines … Politico: FDA User Fee Bill Passed By Senate With little bickering and no effort to repeal the Obama administration’s health reform law, the Senate passed the massive Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act on Thursday well ahead of schedule. … The […]

Today’s Headlines – May 24, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! Here are your headlines … The New York Times: For Hospitals And Insurers, New Fervor To Cut Costs Giselle Fernandez is only 17 but she has had more than 50 operations since she was born with a rare genetic condition. She regularly sees a host of pediatric specialists. … Her care has cost […]

Today’s Headlines – April 6, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Good morning, and happy Friday. Hope you have a great weekend, but first, here are your morning headlines: The New York Times: Administration Concedes Courts’ Review Power The Obama administration stipulated the incontestable to a disgruntled federal court on Thursday, formally declaring that “the power of the courts to review the constitutionality of legislation is […]

Today’s Headlines – February 17, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Happy Friday! The Wall Street Journal: Catholic Bishops Fight Contraception Rule At House Hearing Catholic bishops took their fight against a new federal rule requiring health insurance plans to cover contraception to a House hearing, where a representative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops testified that Obama administration changes announced last week are “simply […]

Today’s Headlines – February 16, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! Los Angeles Times: Lawmakers Reach Tentative Deal To Extend Payroll Tax Break Despite discomfort in the Republican ranks, House and Senate negotiators reached a deal in principle early Thursday to extend a payroll tax break, continue unemployment benefits and ensure that Medicare doctors do not get a pay cut this year. … One […]

Today’s Headlines – February 15, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! Hope you had a great mid-week Valentine’s Day. Here are your headlines to get you going this morning: Los Angeles Times: Deal Would Extend Jobless Benefits, Prevent Medicare Cut One day after House Republican leaders made a major concession on the payroll tax cut, congressional negotiators struck a tentative deal that also would […]

Today’s Headlines – February 14, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥ The New York Times: House Republicans Yield On Extending Payroll Tax Cut Congressional Republicans backed down on Monday from a demand that a payroll tax rollback be paid for with reductions in other programs, clearing the way for an extension of the tax cut for 160 million Americans through […]

Today’s Headlines – February 13, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Good Monday morning! Here’s your headlines to start the week: The Wall Street Journal: Budget Sets Stage For Year-End Clash President Barack Obama’s budget plan, to be released Monday, will serve both as an outline of his re-election campaign message and a blueprint of the White House strategy for another clash looming after the November […]

Today’s Headlines – February 10, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Happy Friday. Here are your end-of-the-week headlines: The New York Times: Pessimism High, Republicans Warn Of Possible Expiration Of Payroll Tax Cuts Congressional Republicans said Thursday that negotiations over extending a payroll tax cut were going so poorly that it was possible the tax break — along with added unemployment benefits — could expire at […]

Today’s Headlines – February 9, 2012

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations mainly focus on the controversy over the administration’s new regulation on contraception coverage. The New York Times: Birth Control Is Covered, And G.O.P. Vows A Fight Congressional Republicans, seizing on the type of social issue that motivates and unifies their base, stepped forcefully Wednesday […]

Today’s Headlines – December 23, 2011

KFF Health News Original

We won’t publish KHN’s First Edition the week of December 26, but we’ll be back in action on January 3. Happy holidays! Here are your morning headlines: The New York Times: House G.O.P. Leaders Agree To Extension Of Payroll Tax Cut Under a deal reached between House and Senate leaders, the House will now approve as […]

Today’s Headlines – December 22, 2011

KFF Health News Original

Here are your morning headlines for the first day of winter! Stay warm. The Los Angeles Times: U.S. Leaders Say They Are Hard At Work On Payroll Tax With no endgame in sight to prevent a looming payroll tax hike, President Obama and congressional leaders took turns trying to convince Americans that they were hard […]

Today’s Headlines – December 9, 2011

KFF Health News Original

Happy Friday! Here are your morning headlines: The Los Angeles Times: Boehner Defies Obama Veto Threat With New Payroll Tax Plan The package Boehner has been compiling for more than a week was not made publicly available, but it includes the payroll tax holiday as well as an extension of long-term unemployment benefits, which also […]

Today’s Headlines – November 23, 2011

KFF Health News Original

Happy almost Thanksgiving! Here are some headlines to get you prepared for all baking, cooking and napping. Politico: Medicare Genie Is Now Out Of The Bottle The super committee failed to strike a deficit deal, but the terrain still changed for entitlement reform. And once Democrats — starting with President Barack Obama — gave ground […]

Today’s Headlines – Nov. 22, 2011

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! The Washington Post: Super Committee Announces Failure In Effort To Tame Debt A special congressional committee created to try to curb the national debt abandoned its work and conceded failure Monday. … Although Republicans offered to raise taxes by $300 billion over the next decade, they insisted on conditions that all but guaranteed […]

Today’s Headlines – Nov. 8, 2011

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including stories on malpractice reforms and previews of voting in Ohio on two ballot questions affecting health care issues and a Mississippi abortion issue. Politico: Medical Malpractice Reform Efforts Stalled In a bid to win support for health reform from skeptical doctors back in 2009, […]

Today’s Headlines – Nov. 7, 2011

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on venture capitalists’ new interest in companies that can curb health costs and concerns among states on implementing the federal health law. NPR: Raising Medicare Age Could Lead To Higher Costs Congress’s so-called deficit reduction “supercommittee” is down to the final weeks of […]

HHS Halts CLASS Act

KFF Health News Original

The Obama administration has halted plans to implement the long-term care program in the 2010 health care law after determining that financing plans for it were not sufficient. The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, a program championed by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, has come under withering criticism from Republicans, who […]

Strong Words

KFF Health News Original

The CLASS Act has been vilified by Republicans and defended by Democrats. Here’s a small sample of some of those comments.

Today’s Headlines – Sept. 7, 2011

KFF Health News Original

Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations includes reports on Mitt Romney’s announdement Tuesday about his plans for jobs and the health law and a new analysis of the donations made by the health care industry to members of the congressional “super committee” on the deficit. Los Angeles Times: Mitt Romney Releases […]