Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s Headlines – July 25, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about new Congressional Budget Office health law estimates that reflect the Supreme Court’s decision on the Medicaid expansion. The Washington Post: CBO: Court Ruling Cuts Cost Of Health-Care Law, But Leaves 3 Million More Uninsured President Obama’s signature health-care initiative will cost a bit […]
CBO Reports On Impact Of Medicaid Ruling, Health Law Repeal Effort
Federal spending under the health care law is likely to be $84 billion lower over the next 11 years than previously projected now that states can opt out of the law’s Medicaid expansion, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Tuesday. The CBO estimated that 6 million fewer low-income Americans will gain coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s […]
Minnesota Wants Outside Audit Of Medicaid HMOs
The Minnesota Department of Human Services announced Monday that it is seeking bids for an outside audit of Medicaid payment rates for fiscal years 2003 through 2011. The move follows months of controversy over whether the state’s contracts have been too generous. The move means the administration of Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, is seeking […]
GAO: Proposed Rule May Leave Some Children Ineligible For Subsidies
While most uninsured children will qualify for coverage under the federal health law, a small percentage — 6.6 percent of the total, or at least 460,000 — may be shut out because of how the government proposes to define “affordable” coverage, says a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The proposed Treasury Department rule […]
When Going Back To The Hospital Is Good News
No one wants to be readmitted to a hospital, but it does beat one alternative: death. As Medicare prepares to start punishing hospitals with higher than expected readmission rates, new government data show that some hospitals with high readmissions are actually doing a better job than most in keeping Medicare patients alive. Beth Israel Deaconess […]
Today’s Headlines – July 24, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news from the campaign season as well as reports from the international AIDS conference currently taking place in Washington, D.C. The Wall Street Journal: Deloitte: One In 10 U.S. Employers To Drop Health Coverage Around one in 10 employers in the U.S. plans to drop […]
Medicare IDs Few Hospitals As Outliers In Readmissions
Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly listed 10 hospitals as having better than average readmission rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients. Only two hospitals, Citrus Memorial Hospital of Inverness, Fla. and Sarasota Memorial Hospital of Sarasota, Fla., had better than average readmission rates for those three conditions tracked by Medicare’s Hospital Compare […]
Today’s Headlines – July 23, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the international AIDS conference taking place this week in Washington, D.C. The Associated Press: Working Poor Stand At Center Of Medicaid Debate Jose Gallegos’ company eliminated employee health insurance to save money, so when his gut started hurting and his skin took on […]
Abortion Back On The Front Burner For Congress
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. It’s not just states where abortion is heating up as an issue this election year. Congress is getting back into the fray, too. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee approved, on a party-line vote of 18-14, a bill that would ban abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of […]
Physicians And Assisted Suicide; Avoid Getting Sick In July
KHN’s Matthew Fleming selected these interesting articles from around the Web for weekend reading options. ABC News: Assisted Dying: Experts Debate Doctor’s Role Peggy Sutherland was ready to die. The morphine oozing from a pump in her spine was no match for the pain of lung cancer, which had evaded treatment and invaded her ribs. … Sutherland, 68, […]
Today’s Headlines – July 20, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports from the presidential campaign trail and from the health care marketplace. The New York Times: Obama Visits Florida To Win Over Older Voters After weeks of focusing on Mr. Romney’s private-sector business deals, Mr. Obama turned to another front by attacking Republican plans to […]
Today’s Headlines – July 19, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a variety of stories exploring public opinions about the health law, the upcoming election and the Supreme Court. NPR: A Majority Of Voters In NPR Poll Favor Amending, Not Repealing, Health Care Act A new poll done for NPR by a bipartisan polling team shows […]
Bill Frist To GOP Governors: Get Cracking On Exchanges
A former GOP power player is urging Republicans to rethink their rejection of the health law and to implement state insurance exchanges – and to do it now. Bill Frist, a former Republican Senate majority leader and heart transplant surgeon, today argued in a column that state officials should not pass up the opportunity to build […]
Notre Dame On-Campus Retail Clinic Opens, But Without Birth Control
Retail clinics are spreading across the country, offering their services at an increasing number of locations in stores and business offices. But a just-opened clinic at the University of Notre Dame could signal a new direction: setting up shop at academic centers. Walgreens partnered with Notre Dame to open an on-campus wellness center for employees last week. […]
Today’s Headlines – July 18, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including coverage of a new report that offers a gloomy fiscal forecast for states as they confront rising health care costs, underfunded pensions and a range of other economic challenges. NPR: Could The Health Law End Up Back In Court? Opponents Think So If you thought […]
Health Insurance Prices For Women Set To Drop
Any woman who has bought health insurance on her own probably didn’t find herself humming the old show tune, “I Enjoy Being a Girl.” That’s because more than 90 percent of individual plans charge women higher premiums than men for the same coverage, a practice known as gender rating. Women spend $1 billion more annually […]
Report: Higher Payments Are No Cure For Doctor Shortage
Medicare should not try to address the shortages of doctors and health care providers in some areas of the country by raising reimbursements to lure practitioners there, the Institute of Medicine recommended Tuesday. The committee concluded that while “there are wide discrepancies in access to and quality of care across geographic areas, particularly for racial […]
Today’s Headlines – July 17, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report that concludes that few Americans will pay more as a result of the health law. USA Today: Few Will Pay More Under Health Care Law Though the law is projected to raise more than $800 billion in taxes, fees and penalties over a […]
Safety Net Hospitals Could Lose Money In Medicare Changes, Study Warns
When Medicare begins adjusting hospital payments in October based on quality, one of the primary metrics will be patient experience ratings that cover everything from the communication skills of doctors and nurses to their promptness in responding to complaints about pain. A new study finds that this change may add to the financial troubles of […]
Today’s Headlines – July 16, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a variety of reports from the past weekend’s meeting of the National Governors Association in Williamsburg, Va., and how the nation’s state executives continue to wrestle with what to do next after the Supreme Court’s decision on the health law’s Medicaid expansion. Los Angeles Times: […]
