Latest KFF Health News Stories
Ranks Of The Uninsured Keep Growing
The U.S. census’ estimates of how many people in the country don’t have health insurance won’t be done until late summer, but the CDC is out with a snapshot of its own. And the findings aren’t pretty.
Feds To States: Set Up Health Insurance Pools For High-Risk Patients By July 1
The federal government is giving states until June 25 to say how they intend to run high-risk pools to insure people who have been denied coverage due to a pre-existing medical condition and have been uninsured for at least six months.
Heart Disease: Why Costs Rise as Prevention Improves
The number of people hospitalized or killed by serious heart attacks each year is down sharply, new studies show. The overall rate of hospitalization for heart disease is down, too. Experts attribute improving heart health to the decline in smoking, more people getting treated for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and the greater attention many people now give to eating healthier foods and getting exercise. Prevention clearly pays off for those who pay attention.
Experts Outline Ways To Enroll Children, Adults In Medicaid
Experts say states can employ a variety of strategies to identify and enroll eligible children in the Medicaid and CHIP programs this year
States, Community Groups Press Efforts To Sign Up Uninsured Children For Coverage
Federally funded initiatives to enroll kids in Medicaid and CHIP hold lessons for enrolling adults once health overhaul goes into effect in 2014.
‘Door Knockers’ Help Uninsured Kids Get Coverage
The “Walkers/Talkers” program in New Orleans sends workers into the poorest neighborhoods to find uninsured children and then helps sign them up for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Renewed Threat Of Medicare Pay Cuts Leaves Doctors With ‘Sense Of Fatigue’
Doctors across the country find themselves
Transcript: Health On The Hill
The Senate is debating ways to reverse a 21 percent cut in Medicare physician payments that began on June 1.
Most Elite Medical Schools Rank Low On ‘Social Mission’
When it comes to “social mission,” traditionally high-ranked private medical schools are not as successful as public universities and historically black colleges.
Cutting C-Sections Helped Babies
Florida hospital administrators for years have said the state’s high rate of preterm births — and the infant health problems that result — are beyond their control. But that’s not true, as Tallahassee Memorial Hospital has proved.
Rising Health Care Costs Pose Challenge For Democrats In Election Year
After the bitter battle to get the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed, Democrats are on the defensive amid an expected increase in Americans’ health care costs.
Rating System For Medicare Advantage Plans Slated For Upgrade
A few years ago, federal officials began rating Medicare Advantage plans – using a scale of one to five stars – but seniors’ advocates, policy analysts, insurers and some top Medicare officials agree the ratings are flawed. Even so, the star system is about to become more significant.
Chart: The Stars of Medicare Advantage
Chart depicts percentage of beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans by rating.
Cheers, Jeers For New Federal Rules On Changes In Health Benefits
A new Obama administration regulation lays out how employers and insurers can revise their health plans
Both Parties Try To Score Points Off Health Care Law
The overall health care plan remains unpopular, and Republicans are campaigning on a promise to repeal the law and replace it with something less costly. But when it comes to repeal – well, Democrats think that could help them, too.
Federal Medicaid Aid Boost Becomes Issue In Kansas Governor’s Race
A bill before Congress that would extend richer federal Medicaid assistance to states has now become an issue in the Kansas governor’s race.
Administration officials tout the Medicare drug rebate as an early and tangible benefit of health reform while Senate Democrats continue trying to advance a legislative package that includes the Medicare physician payment fix and, potentially, an extension of enhanced Medicaid funding for states.
Heart Problem Underscores Need to Test Competing Treatments
More than 2.2 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, the most common heart arrhythmia, but treatment choices vary widely
A Look At Comparative Effectiveness Research
Under the new health law, a nonprofit entity called the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute will be established to carry out a comparative effectiveness research agenda, starting in 2012. The law bars the government from using findings as the sole basis for decisions about what Medicare will cover.
The Health Care Economy: New Questions About Costs, Quality And Care
The health care industry is bulletproof when it comes to increasing spending or creating jobs as growth rates often double the rest of the economy.
