Latest KFF Health News Stories
White House: There Will Be Competition In Insurance Exchanges
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. The Obama administration is countering criticism that the new health insurance exchanges will be lacking in competition, though it’s doing so a bit quietly. At a White House briefing Thursday for health reporters, in which senior administration health officials spoke on the condition that they not […]
Study: Health Law Protected Young Adults From High Hospital Bills
Researchers at the RAND Corporation set out to find some hard data on one aspect of the health law: Does having medical insurance protect young adults from the financial ruin that often comes with a major injury or illness? The quick answer: Yes, it does. Since September 2010, the Affordable Care Act has allowed young […]
Final Rule Upholds Increased Rewards, Penalties For Wellness Participation
Employers will be able to increase rewards to workers who participate in wellness programs under final rules released Wednesday by the Obama administration. The final rules, similar to those proposed in November as part of the Affordable Care Act, have raised concerns among advocates who represent people with chronic or severe illnesses, as well as […]
President Obama To Hit The Campaign Trail For Health Law
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. President Obama often tells audiences that he has waged his last campaign. But that’s not exactly true. The White House is gearing up for a massive campaign this summer that will cover all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. And the president’s legacy may hinge on whether […]
In Case Of Tornado, EHRs Can Be Just The Prescription
Everyone expects a hospital to be ready to jump into action when disaster strikes. But what about when the disaster devastates the hospital itself? Turns out, it helps a lot to have an electronic medical record system in place. At least that was the case at Moore Medical Center in Oklahoma, a small hospital right in […]
Mass. Advocates Want To Snuff Out Higher Premiums For Smokers
You’ve heard all the campaigns and statistics: Smoking Kills. It’s the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. And it’s expensive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says smoking costs the country $193 billion a year in lost productivity and health care spending. Add another $10 billion for secondhand smoking expenses. That’s why […]
11 Insurers Want To Play Ball In Colorado’s Marketplace
Corrected at 6:00 p.m. to reflect that 11 insurers, rather than 17 have submitted policies to sell in the state’s new online health insurance marketplace. The larger number includes those proposing to sell both inside and outside the online marketplace. Colorado became the latest state Wednesday to post proposed health insurance plans for its new online […]
Accuracy of Blood Glucose Meters Draws Scrutiny
Blood glucose meters, which millions of diabetics rely upon to regulate their blood sugar, have become less costly and easier and less painful to use. But they haven’t become more accurate, a top Food and Drug Administration official said Tuesday at a meeting of researchers analyzing studies that show wide variation in the performance of the machines […]
Survey: Even In Southern States, Medicaid Expansion Is Popular
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina have a lot in common: The summers are hot and the political climates are conservative. These are states where Mitt Romney handily beat Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, so it’s not surprising to learn that the president’s signature health law is unpopular there. But despite the […]
GOP Fears About IRS’ Access To Medical Records Disputed
Listening to recent statements from some congressional Republicans, you might think that the 2010 health law allows the Internal Revenue Service to have access to your medical records. Not so, says the Department of Health and Human Services. “The Affordable Care Act maintains strict privacy controls to safeguard personal information. The IRS will not have […]
Audio: 42 Percent Of Americans Unaware Health Law Exists
A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation says 42 percent of Americans don’t know that the Affordable Care Act actually still stands. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the Foundation.) Mary Agnes Carey joined NPR’s “Tell Me More” Friday afternoon to discuss the state of the health law and other health policy […]
CDC Takes A Closer Look At Kids’ Mental Health
Somewhere between 13 and 20 percent of kids in the United States experience some sort of mental illness, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That adds up to millions of children suffering from disorders like ADHD, depression, autism and illicit drug use. The total annual cost of the […]
Cloning, Stem Cells Long Mired In Legislative Gridlock
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. The news that U.S. scientists have successfully cloned a human embryo seems almost certain to rekindle a political fight that has raged, on and off, since the announcement of the creation of Dolly the sheep in 1997. “The issue of legislation on human cloning is about to […]
Docs, Nurses Disagree Over Expanded Nurse Roles
As nurse practitioners lobby to expand their authority and scope of practice in many states, a New England Journal of Medicine study released Wednesday documents a deep chasm between how doctors and nurses regard the issue. The study found the two groups overwhelmingly agreed that nurse practitioners should be able to practice to the full extent of […]
GOP Raises Concerns About ‘Sebelius Shakedown’
As the GOP-controlled House of Representatives prepares again to vote this week on a repeal of the 2010 health law, some key Republican senators have seized on recent news developments to show their ire. Senate GOP leaders Tuesday took issue with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for soliciting money from private groups to implement the […]
Most Doctors Still Waiting On Medicaid Pay Raise
Five months after primary care doctors who treat Medicaid patients were supposed get a big pay raise, most physicians have yet to see it. Only three states have implemented the pay raise — Nevada, Michigan and Massachusetts, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. The two-year pay hike is intended to entice more doctors to treat […]
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 […]
CMS Won’t Penalize Hospitals In States Slow To Expand Medicaid
That sigh of relief you heard Monday was from hospital administrators in nearly two dozen states, including Florida and Texas. That’s because the Obama administration announced that for the next two years, it doesn’t plan to penalize states that have yet to expand Medicaid coverage under the federal health law by targeting them for reduced Medicaid funding, according […]
The Dramatic Difference: What A Hospital Charges Vs. What Medicare Pays
For the first time, the federal government has publicly shared what hospitals bill Medicare for the 100 most common diagnoses and treatments. The information shows hospitals across the country — and across Alaska — bill dramatically different prices for the same things. Hospital veteran Rick Davis, the CEO of Central Peninsula General Hospital in Soldotna, […]
Competition Spurs 2 Oregon Insurers To Lower Proposed Rates
Maybe competition among health insurance plans can lead to lower rates. As soon as Oregon this week became the fourth state to publicly list health insurers’ proposed 2014 rates for individual and small group coverage, two plans moved to cut their suggested prices, the Oregonian reported Friday. Providence Health Plan and Family Care Health Plans […]
