KHN Changes How It Describes Medicaid Eligibility Level Under Health Law
Since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in March 2010, most news organizations including Kaiser Health News have reported that in 2014 the law would expand Medicaid coverage to nearly everyone with a household income below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, which this year is nearly $31,000 for a family of four. But […]
Insurance Surcharges Will Fund Most Online Exchanges Created Under Health Law
The fees will make the markets self-supporting, but some state officials and insurers worry they could put coverage out of reach for some consumers.
Study: States Face Increased Medicaid Costs Even If They Don’t Expand Program
If state officials think they can escape a fiscal quagmire by refusing to expand Medicaid under the federal health law, they might want to reconsider. State Medicaid costs will jump $76 billion, or nearly 3 percent, over the next decade if all 50 states decide to expand Medicaid eligibility in 2014 under the federal health […]
Obama Administration Gives Smokers A Way Out Of Higher Insurance Premiums
Consumer groups praise the rules as a way to encourage smokers to quit, but one workplace expert dismisses them as “a dumb idea.”
Florida Gov. Rick Scott Ready To Negotiate State Exchange
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Friday that he’s open to building a state-based health insurance exchange under the health care law — but only if he can find a way to pay for it that doesn’t increase health costs or state taxes. Scott, the former hospital chain CEO who has been one of the most […]
Obama Administration Extends Deadline For State Exchanges — Again
Bowing to a request from Republican governors, the Obama administration announced late Thursday that it would give states more time to decide whether to build online insurance markets that will help millions of people buy health coverage starting next fall.
States Count Down To Decisions On Health Exchanges
With time running out, 17 states and D.C. commit to setting up the new markets, eight are undecided and the rest weigh partnering with the federal government — or letting the feds take over.
Progressive Group Recommends $385 Billion In Health Cuts
Hospitals, drug companies, nursing homes and health plans would lose billions in Medicare funding over the next decade under a budget deficit cutting plan recommended by the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank which has close ties to President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. But officials at the center say their […]
Obama Administration Extends Deadline For State Exchanges
The decision is a concession to the reality that many states had delayed planning as they waited to see who won the presidential election.
Health System Touted By Obama Is Not Yet Endorsing Medicaid Expansion
Intermountain Healthcare, the Salt Lake City-based hospital system praised by President Barack Obama as being a model for low-cost, high quality care, says it is not convinced Utah should expand Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul. The system wants those who would gain Medicaid coverage from the law to have the choice to obtain private insurance, which generally […]
Maine May Warm To ‘Obamacare’ After Democratic Sweep
Newly elected lawmakers pledge to push ahead with health law implementation despite the Republican governor’s opposition.
State Political Shifts Likely To Affect Health Law
In a power shift that could affect how the federal health law is carried out, Democrats took complete control of five additional state legislatures on Tuesday, while Republicans added a governorship and control of three additional state legislatures . All told, Republicans will have 30 governors and control 24 state legislatures next year, compared to 19 Democratic governors and […]
Obama Win Boosts Health Law, But States Still Control Its Destiny
State lawmakers will control big coverage decisions, including whether to expand Medicaid to cover millions of uninsured.
OB/GYNs And ER Docs Excluded From Health Law’s Medicaid Pay Hike
Obstetricians, gynecologists and emergency room physicians won’t be eligible for higher Medicaid pay rates for primary care doctors that start in January under the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration ruled late Thursday. Instead, the higher Medicaid rates, which will be in effect for two years, are reserved for family doctors, internists and pediatricians, because those specialties are specifically listed in […]
Quality Of Community Health Centers Varies Widely
Federally funded centers in New England generally perform better than those in the South and West.
Romney Narrows Gap With Obama On Voters’ Trust To Manage Medicare
As the race for the White House has tightened, President Barack Obama has seen his advantage on several key health issues narrow significantly among likely voters, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Wednesday. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation). Most troublesome for Obama is that, among likely voters, GOP candidate Mitt Romney has pulled nearly […]
Medicaid Spending Growth Drops As Enrollment Slows
Enrollment growth in Medicaid slowed this year as the economy improved, easing pressure on government spending.
Questions Linger About Implementing Doctors’ Medicaid Pay Raise
The health law seeks to lure more doctors to treat the poor by increasing the pay rates but states and physicians have concerns about how this will work.
GOP Plan Would Cut Medicaid By $1.7 Trillion, Study Says
The House Republican plan to repeal President Barack Obama’s health law and turn Medicaid into a block grant program would save the federal government $1.7 trillion from 2013 to 2022, a 38-percent spending reduction, according to a report today by the Urban Institute for the Kaiser Family Foundation. It would also result in 31 million […]
Study: Most Seniors’ ER Visits Could Be Avoided
Nearly 60 percent of Medicare beneficiary visits to emergency rooms and 25 percent of their hospital admissions were “potentially preventable”– had patients received better care at home or in outpatient settings — according to results of a study released Friday by a congressional advisory board. “These are spectacular rates,” said Scott Armstrong, a member of the […]
