Latest KFF Health News Stories
Online Health Insurance Broker That Once Feared Overhaul Now Sees New Opportunities
eHealthInsurance hopes to get government contract to run the new website that will serve consumers looking for insurance options.
Governors To Congress: Extend Extra Medicaid Funds
Kansas’ Mark Parkinson is one of a number of governors who are urging Congress to extend the additional Medicaid funds that are now scheduled to expire in December. The governors say without the extra help, state budgets could be devastated.
Health and Class: A New Look at Poverty and Illness
A new study looks at why more education and income sometimes means fewer colds and headaches.
Want To Know What A Hospital Charges? Good Luck
More than 30 states and Congress have passed laws requiring hospitals to publish their prices, but the information often is of little use to consumers.
Transcript: Health On The Hill
The Department of Health and Human Services is facing July 1 deadlines for creation of high-risk pools to help individuals who have been without health insurance for six months or longer and a new web portal to provide consumers with information about health insurance plans.
HHS Launching Health Website For Consumers This Week
A new federal website will give consumers a list of all private and government health care plans for individuals and small businesses in their areas. Insurers and advocacy groups are clashing over the data to be provided.
As Congress temporarily delayed the 21 percent Medicare pay cut to doctors, it failed to resolve the issue of COBRA benefits and Medicaid funding for hard-pressed states.
Health Care Model Faces Hurdles On Quality and Cost
If President Obama succeeds in slowing the growth of health care spending, it will be with some of the innovative services and procedures being used as part of a pilot project in Annapolis, Md.
Health Overhaul Train Leaves Doctors On The Platform
Good news and bad news for doctors who treat Medicare patients.
Experts cite a disturbing trend in the acceleration of medical spending in areas like Provo, Utah, once noted for lower costs.
Battle For Health Reform Moves Down Under
Australian prime minister’s drive for health overhaul is reminiscent of U.S. effort.
Checking In With… Mediation Expert Nancy Lesser On Congress’ Current Health Reform Dynamics
To an outside observer, the congressional impasse triggered by the health reform debate may seem increasingly entrenched poisoned by politics and conflicting agendas. But to a trained mediator, the debate’s dynamics are not so surprising. Nancy Lesser, a principal at PAX ADR, an alternative dispute resolution firm in Washington, D.C., says the term of […]
More Calls For Moderation In Use Of CT Scans
A pair of papers in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine add to a growing chorus urging doctors to be more judicious in their use of CT scans.
Medicaid’s Ticking Bomb – Long Term Care – Could Wipe Out State Budgets
A new study claims the costs of Medicaid’s long-term care services could cripple states’ already-fragile budgets.
How New Health Insurance Regulations Could Affect Some Premiums, Coverage
As he trumpeted what he called a new “Patient’s Bill of Rights” Tuesday, President Barack Obama tried to calm fears that the new health law would increase insurance costs.
Text: The Obama Administration’s New ‘Patient’s Bill Of Rights’
The White House today released a “Fact Sheet: The Affordable Care Act’s New Patient’s Bill of Rights,” the Obama administration’s summary of new regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Obama To Meet Tuesday With Insurance Executives
The President will also discuss the health law’s new benefits, cost savings.
New Survey: Consumers Who Buy Their Own Health Insurance Report Big Rate Increase Requests
When the big California health insurer Wellpoint sought rate increases up to 39 percent this year, some wondered if they were unusual. But in a new national survey consumers who buy their own policies report the most recent rate requests averaged 20 percent.
Transcript: Health On The Hill
The Senate has passed a six-month payment increase for Medicare physicians but it is unclear if the House will pass that measure.
After a five-day legislative saga, Senate Democrats were unable to pass a tax extender bill that included provisions to prevent a 21 percent reduction in physicians’ Medicare payments and to extend enhanced federal Medicaid funding. But after a compromise with the GOP, the Senate passed just a Medicare pay fix.
