Latest KFF Health News Stories
Young Adults Value Health Insurance, Poll Finds
A strong majority of young adults, whose participation in the health law may be key to its success or failure, strongly believe health insurance is important for them and worth the money, according to a new poll. As some states and the federal government prepare new online marketplaces for people to purchase insurance this fall, […]
Brill: Health Law Won’t Bring Prices Down For Patients
At a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday, journalist Steven Brill, who examined the issue of the high cost of health care in a much quoted March 2013 Time magazine article, told Senate Finance Committee members that President Barack Obama’s health care law will do very little to lower prices for consumers. Joined by a panel of […]
Feds Pitch Broad Payment Options For Obamacare Customers
Federal health officials have proposed that all health plans selling insurance on the new online marketplaces must allow for easy payment options for households without bank accounts or credit cards. The government’s decision to mandate a menu of payment options including cashier’s checks, money orders and re-loadable pre-paid debit cards comes amid increasing pressure from […]
Facebook Raises The Status Of Organ Donation, Study Shows
Toni Lewis-Bennett remembers hesitating when she was asked to be an organ donor while applying for her driver’s license. But years later, when a friend at work became sick, she got tested to see if she could donate her kidney to save his life. And with a green light from doctors, there was no question […]
Florida’s Win: Feds Grant Medicaid Managed Care Waiver
This story comes from our partner, The News Service of Florida. TALLAHASSEE – The federal government gave final approval Friday to Florida’s long-debated proposal to overhaul the Medicaid system by requiring beneficiaries statewide to enroll in HMOs and other types of managed-care plans. The decision was not a surprise: Federal officials signaled earlier this year […]
Audio: Proton Therapy And Health Care Technology Costs
Proton radiation therapy is a hugely expensive way to treat some cancers, and some have questioned its cost-effectiveness — especially as it relates to other cancer treatments. Jenny Gold joined WNYC Thursday to discuss what makes the therapy so expensive, where the therapy is taking hold and why patients are drawn to this treatment. Press […]
California Insurance Chief Wants To Bar Anthem From Selling Small Business Coverage
Citing a pattern of “unreasonable rate increases” for small business customers by Anthem Blue Cross, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said Thursday he will recommend that the state’s new online insurance marketplace exclude the firm from selling small business coverage. The move comes amid national debate about the cost of coverage for individuals and small businesses […]
Preparing For Flood Of Consumer Questions On Insurance Exchanges
On Oct. 1, individual consumers and small businesses will be able to enroll in the online health insurance marketplaces known as exchanges. Minnesota, where the state is running the exchange, and Florida, where the federal government will be in charge, are preparing in different ways. Under the Affordable Care Act, most Americans who don’t already have health insurance through employers, Medicare or […]
Colorado Offers Exchange ‘Assister’ Money To Many Groups
Obamacare in Colorado is getting down to the details, in dollars and cents. One of the 16 states that is setting up its own online insurance marketplace, Colorado on Monday named 58 organizations it’s selected to form its “assistance network” to help residents sign up for health coverage on the exchange. But just 11 organizations are […]
Study: Brand Name Drugs Drive Up Medicare Spending
A new study suggests that cash-strapped Medicare missed an opportunity to save more than $1 billion by not addressing the varying costs and use of prescription drugs. Comparing Medicare enrollees and those on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health plan, researchers found that Medicare beneficiaries were up to three times more likely than […]
Despite Progress, African Americans Still Hard Hit By Medical Bills
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. For many years, high medical bills have been a leading cause of financial distress and bankruptcy in America. That pressure may be easing ever so slightly, according to a survey released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But one in five Americans still […]
Latinos Key To Obama’s Health Law Strategy
President Barack Obama, who was re-elected with strong support from the Latino community, is in California today and will endorse a plan that focuses on getting Latino Americans signed up for coverage under his health care law. In remarks to the news media, slated to be given in San Jose, the president will lay out his […]
Study: Consumers Saved $2.1B On Individual Coverage Under Health Law
People who bought their own health insurance last year saved $2.1 billion because of the federal health law, mainly because of a provision that limits how much of their premium can go to insurers’ administration and profits, says a report out today from the Kaiser Family Foundation. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the […]
Of ACOs And Proton Beams: Why Hospitals ‘Live In Two Worlds’
For the past several years, hospital CEOs have been talking a big game about accountable care—the latest health care model, which pays doctors and hospitals for quality, rather than the volume of services they provide. ACOs make providers jointly accountable for the health of their patients, giving them financial incentives to cooperate and to save […]
GOP Lawmakers Press Sebelius To Help Child Awaiting Transplant
A child in desperate need of a lung transplant clinging to life. Long waiting lists of patients who need organs and too few donors to meet the demand. Rules that govern who gets what life-saving organs – and when. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had to confront all those issues on […]
Fewer U.S. Families Report Having Difficulty Paying Medical Bills
Fewer American families are having problems paying medical bills, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. Still, nearly a fifth off families still struggle with that financial responsibility. The report found that 20.3 percent of families headed by someone under the age of 65 — 54.2 million people — […]
California Law Likely Resulted In Lower Bills, Free Care For Uninsured
A California law limiting how much hospitals can charge the uninsured likely resulted in lower bills for many patients – and free care for most of the state’s poorest uninsured residents, according to a study published today in the journal Health Affairs. While some hospitals around the country have voluntarily agreed to reduce how much they […]
Medicare Data Show Wide Divide In What Hospitals Bill For Outpatient Services
Medicare released average bill charges for 30 hospital outpatient procedures Monday, showing big differences from hospital to hospital in how much they bill patients for the same service. The data come a month after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services garnered front-page attention for its release of similar information about 100 common hospital inpatient procedures. […]
Slowdown In Medicare Spending Extends Trust Fund
Slower growth in spending is helping extend the life of Medicare’s hospital trust fund to 2026, two years beyond last year’s estimate, officials said Friday. They also reported, however, that Social Security’s disability trust fund, which pays monthly benefits to disabled workers and their families, is expected to be exhausted by 2016. Social Security will begin to […]
D.C. Approves Two New Proton Therapy Centers
After months of heated debate, two of Washington’s biggest hospital systems won approval Friday to build proton treatment facilities that will cost a total of $153 million despite questions about whether the treatment is any more effective than less expensive options. Johns Hopkins Medicine will be allowed to build a two-room proton center at Sibley […]
