Latest KFF Health News Stories
Breast Cancer: How Politics Is Driving Up Costs
In spite of clear evidence that the high-priced drug Avastin does not benefit breast cancer patients, politicians want the FDA to maintain approval.
Insurer Mounts Offensive And Defensive Strategies On Health Law
Cigna Corp. has geared up with a high-powered team of executives to find new business under the health law while also preserving current benefits for customers and for the company.
Transcript: Health On The Hill – August 16, 2010
Insurers, lawmakers and state insurance regulators continue to debate what may and may not be included in a calculation of the medical loss ratio. Separately, debate is also ongoing over how much power individual states have to enforce provisions of the health care law.
Week In Review: State Budgets Get Reprieve From Feds; Health Reform Politics On The Homefront
Party politics were obvious this week as House Democrats approved $16 billion in additional federal Medicaid funds for states.
Health Insurance Debate: Is A Little Coverage Better Than None At All?
The new health overhaul law aims to end all annual dollar limits on health insurance policies by 2014, but insurers that offer limited-benefit plans can seek waivers so they can continue to offer them. Many employers want to keep the plans, criticized by consumer advocates as skimpy.
Transcript: Health On The Hill – August 11, 2010
President Obama has signed legislation into law that will give states an additional $16 billion in Medicaid funding. As House members left the Capitol to resume their August recess, some predicted that town hall meetings in their districts would focus more on job and the economy than health care, a change from the town halls of last August where health care was often a combative issue.
Helping Employees Provide End-Of-Life Care Is Good For Morale, Corporate Bottom Line
Juggling a caregiving role with a full-time job is daunting. But it can be even more difficult working during the end stages of a loved one’s life. Some companies are helping their employees manage the tough times.
Doctors and Hospitals Team Up for Payment Reform
Across Texas, hospital systems are scooping up physician groups and solo practitioners, scrambling to create the kinds of coordinated medical teams that federal health care reform puts a premium on.
House leaders are taking the unusual step this week of interrupting the August recess to call members back to consider state aid legislation that includes $16 billion in federal Medicaid assistance. The Senate approved this funding package last week.
From Florida To Oregon, Medicare Advantage’s Benefits
For the 11 million people signed up for private Medicare Advantage plans, their future with the popular program that has been designated for cuts in federal funding may depend on where they live.
Week In Review, Alliteration Version: Medicaid, Medicare And Missouri Ballot Initiative
This week, Democrats grab an unexpected success in extending enhanced Medicaid funding. Meanwhile, Medicare’s trustees offer a positive view for the program’s future but Missouri voters reject the new health law’s individual mandate.
New Medicare Report: Is It Based on a Rosy Scenario?
The new health care reform law will extend the solvency of Medicare’s main hospital insurance program by 12 years, according to a new government report.
Will Health Savings Trickle From Your Paycheck To Social Security?
Some say money employers save on health insurance in the health law will eventually mean more money for Social Security instead of more money for workers.
Text: 2010 Medicare Trustees Report
The government released Thursday the annual trustees report on the financial wellbeing of Medicare and Social Security.
Transcript: Health On The Hill – August 3, 2010
Legislative and legal action surrounding the new health overhaul continue in Virginia and Missouri. Panelists also discuss the U.S. Senate vote on extra money for state Medicaid programs.
Deuell Asks AG: Can State Ban Abortion Affiliates?
This story comes from our partner the Texas Tribune . State Sen. Bob Deuell wants Planned Parenthood’s clinics out of the state’s Women’s Health Program, which provides family planning services – but not abortions – to impoverished Medicaid patients. And he says a 2005 law should exclude them already. But for years, the state’s Health […]
Virginia Lawsuit Challenging Health Law Passes Key Hurdle
The first big legal test of the constitutionality of the “individual mandate” that requires just about everyone in the U.S. to have health insurance starting in 2014 is going to get out of the starting gate.
Doctor Discounts For The Asking
It takes some work, but patients can help control health care costs by avoiding unneeded care and negotiating prices, among other things.
EHealth Wins Contract To Help Run Federal Health Website
Ehealth Inc., a large Internet health insurance broker, has been named to help operate the new federal health website, making it one of the first private companies to get a major contract from the federal government under the nation’s new health law.
This week, HHS issued rules on high-risk health insurance pools as well as guidance on children’s coverage issues. Two new polls focused on seniors and health reform, and both political parties continued to position themselves for the fall elections.
