Latest KFF Health News Stories
High-Risk Health Insurance Pool Rules Bar Abortions, Limit Patient Costs
During the health reform debate, people with pre-existing conditions lobbied for affordable health insurance. Now, HHS has issued new rules on how high-risk pools will work.
Support For Health Law Remains Steady While Opposition Drops
A lot has changed since last summer’s town hall meetings. A new poll finds that, in the last month, the percentage of people viewing the health law unfavorably has fallen. But seniors continue to be more negative.
Winners and Losers Emerge with New Medicaid Reimbursement Schedule
A small school that specializes in the most difficult children is the one hardest hit.
Britain Plans Radical Changes to Health Care System
Deficit and debt drive cuts in jobs and services
Men With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Usually Get Treatment, Despite Side Effects
Most men with low-risk prostate cancer get aggressive treatment, even though the therapies carry big risks, a new study finds.
Seniors Still In The Dark On New Health Law
That fact that people don’t know a lot about what’s in the new health law isn’t exactly news. But a new poll that shows just how little Grandma and Grandpa know about it must be giving the new law’s supporters a serious case of heartburn. That’s because seniors are not just a key voting bloc […]
This week’s health policy news was marked by new administration rules regarding the appeals process for denied health insurance claims and continuing state-level efforts to implement high risk pools.
New Rules Guarantee Patients’ Right To Appeal Insurance Claim Denials
The Obama administration issues regulations that will set some minimum requirements for the process, including allowing patients to appeal the insurer’s decision to an independent outside panel.
Torn ACL? New Comp Effectiveness Study Says Exercise Just As Good As Surgery
After a knee injury, patients often have immediate reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. A Swedish researcher found that exercise was just as good as surgery at helping patients recover.
Blacks Face Bone Marrow Donor Shortage
Lower numbers of donors, rare genes make finding a match less likely for blacks than for whites.
Lawmakers: Extend Medicaid Subsidies To Help African-American Seniors
Three black members of Congress say minority nursing home patients would be disproportionately affected if Congress fails to extend bonus payments to state Medicaid programs.
Kids and Dental Health: Rising Costs and Struggling State Programs a Dangerous Mix
Children are missing out on vital dental care-risking their health and racking up costs to parents and taxpayers alike. In the past decade, the number of cavities in children between the ages of two and five has increased 15 percent.
Battle Continues Over Abortion In High-Risk Insurance Pools
The battle over whether the new federally-funded program to help people with pre-existing health conditions will pay for abortions just won’t go away.
This week, news outlets covered the Obama administration as it began implementing parts of the new health law and also unveiled a national HIV/AIDS strategy. And, Capitol Hill is still reacting to the president’s recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid.
Abortion Supporters Now Blast Administration Over Health Law
The administration is getting an earful from abortion rights groups for making sure that states getting federal funds to run insurance programs for people with pre-exisitng conditions don’t cover elective abortions.
The Crippling Costs Of Obesity In The Workplace
Obese employees cost U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion a year in medical expenditures and work loss, according to figures from the Conference Board. And employers are taking note, now more than ever.
Some Medicaid Doctors Rely Heavily On Potent Drugs
Over the last five years, Texas physicians wrote Medicaid patients nearly 3.4 million prescriptions for antipsychotics.
Federal Task Force On Preventive Care Faces New Challenge Under Health Law
Panel’s recommendations on preventive care will determine which services are covered fully by insurance. That could make it a political lightning rod for lobbyists and disease advocates and conflict with its tradition of scholarly dedication to the science of randomized medical trials.
Health Law Sparks Abortion Fight In Pennsylvania
Abortion opponents say the administration is already breaking the promise it made as part of the new health law not to fund elective abortions.
Tired Of Waiting For the Doctor? Try One That Gives Same-Day Appointments
Patients typically wait 20 minutes or more to see the doctor, the AMA says. But a new scheduling system that allows patients to see the doctor on the day they call for an appointment has surprising success in cutting that delay.
