Latest KFF Health News Stories
Q&A: Navigating Options For Long Term Care
There are many restrictions on purchasing long term care insurance. Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about other options.
Q&A: Should You Have Access To Your Lab Results?
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader about patient access to test results. The reader asks: In order for patients to take more responsibility for their care shouldn’t the lab be required to send them results unless specifically precluded by the doctor?
Video: Santorum Still Swinging At Romney About Health Care Record
After his primary victories in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia, Mitt Romney attacked President Obama on a variety of social and economic issues, briefly mentioning health care. Meanwhile, challenger Rick Santorum went after Romney by reprising his theme that the former Massachusetts governor would be a weak candidate against Obama on health care.
Video: Obama Blasts GOP Medicare, Medicaid Plans
President Barack Obama today attacked the Republican 2013 budget as a “Trojan horse” and “thinly veiled social Darwinism” — and defended the constitutionality of the health law. Watch excerpts from the speech.
Consumer Tips: Workplace Wellness Plans
More and more employers are tying financial reward and penalties to workers completing a set of medical tests. KHN’s Julie Appleby says the tests can include blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.
Recapping The Health Law’s Week At The Court
Mary Agnes Carey, Stuart Taylor, SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein, and NPR’s Julie Rovner discuss this week’s historic oral arguments and answer reader questions about what happens next.
Vigorous Questions On Severability, Medicaid On Final Day
The justices heard from the opposing lawyers about issues as basic as ‘what is liberty?’ and whether it’s better to ‘fix’ flaws in legislation or scrap it entirely. Legal analyst Stuart Taylor, Jr., talks with Jackie Judd about the last 2
Day 2: Justices Grill Obama Administration On Health Law
The second day of the historic hearings on the health reform law focused on this question: Does Congress have the power to require Americans to purchase health insurance? KHN contributor Stuart Taylor, Jr., tells Jackie Judd the conservative justices were especially skeptical, with sometimes-hostile questions.
Your Guide To What Happened At The Supreme Court, Day 1
The first day’s arguments focused on the Anti-Injunction Act and whether the court can rule on the case before a penalty is imposed on those who do not have health insurance. KHN’s reporter inside the court, Stuart Taylor, tells Jackie Judd that all the justices, except one, seemed eager to ask questions.
Health On The Hill: Analyzing Ryan’s New Budget Proposal
KHN’s Marilyn Werber Serafini and Mary Agnes Carey discuss the budget Wis. Republican Rep. Paul Ryan released today and how it differs from the proposal he released last year.
Ryan On ‘Moral And Legal Obligation’ To Fix Entitlements
In a news conference Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Reps. Paul Ryan and Tom Price said that the proposed sweeping changes would protect the program for seniors and the disabled.
What You Can Expect This Year From The Health Law
Even as the Supreme Court prepares to hear the historic lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, consumers are already seeing some changes. Jackie Judd talks with KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” columnist Michelle Andrews about insurance rebates, flexible spending accounts, preventive care (including contraceptives) and easy-to-read insurance labels.
Super Tuesday Speeches: Santorum Attacks Romney, Obama On Health Care
On a day with 10 GOP primaries and caucuses, former Pa. Sen. Rick Santorum calls health care “the most important issue of the day.” Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney repeats pledge to “repeal Obamacare.”
Video: Obama Fields Questions On Limbaugh, ‘War On Women’
During a Tuesday news conference, the president responded to questions about Rush Limbaugh and the heated debate over contraception coverage, and about whether Republican positions on these issues constitute a “war on women.”
GOP Debate: Romney Attacks Federal Employee Benefits; Santorum Promotes HSAs
During a debate in the battleground state of Ohio, Mitt Romney contrasted proposed Tricare cuts to health benefits for other government employees, while Rick Santorum extolled the virtue of health savings accounts, saying, “We need to expand them greatly.”
Q&A: Why Did I Receive A Bill From An Out-Of-Network Radiologist?
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader who received a bill from an out-of-network radiologist after a routine mammogram at an in-network hospital. The reader asks: What can we citizens do to ensure our rights?
Handle With Care: Helping Seniors Move On
Robert Ray of Silver Spring is in the business of helping the elderly move. He’s president of Caring Transitions in Silver Spring, a company that manages everything from packing boxes to finding a real estate agent.
In Victory And Defeat, Romney And Santorum Bash Health Law
GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum struck out at the Democrats’ health law in speeches Tuesday night after Romney won both the Arizona and Michigan GOP primaries.
Q&A: I Was Billed, But Aren’t Colonoscopies Free Under The Health Law?
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader who had a colonoscopy and was billed a 30 percent co-pay. The reader asks: Aren’t preventive services like that free under the health law?
Testy Santorum, Romney Tussle Over Mass. Health Reform
In the last scheduled Republican debate, candidates Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul attacked the Obama administration on its birth control stance. Santorum dovetailed the issue into an attack of the 2006 Massachusetts health reform law, which then-Gov. Romney endorsed. Here is a transcript of the health care portions of the debate:
