Latest KFF Health News Stories
What They Said: Obama And Boehner On Debt Deal
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner on Monday night offered competing views on the state of debt talks and proposals. While neither touched heavily on overhauling entitlement spending, especially Medicare, the president mentioned it several times. Here are a pair of word clouds that show what each man said and how often.
Head Of Major HMO Sees Openings For Accountable Care Organizations-The KHN Interview
Kaiser Permanente’s George Halvorson says that despite the complexity of ACO regs, some versions have the potential to save money and improve care.
Hospitals Look For Disney Magic To Make Customers Happy
Medicare payments soon will partly reflect patient satisfaction, so hospitals are seeking advice from the entertainment kingdom.
Health On The Hill Transcript: ‘Gang Of Six’ In The Health Care Spotlight
NPR’s Julie Rovner talks with Jackie Judd about the re-emergence of the “Gang of Six” senators in the debt-ceiling debate, what their plan means for the CLASS Act, and how missing details are likely to be filled in.
Trends To Watch For Curbing Health Costs
Industry mergers, doctor-hospital cooperation, new payment models are among the changes identified by six health care experts.
Gang Of Six Deficit Plan: Executive Summary
The bipartisan group of senators’ plan to reduce the deficit calls for major changes to health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and the CLASS act for long-term care.
Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory
Is birth control part of preventive care for women? That’s the question before an independent panel of experts. And their decision could force insurance companies to fully cover the cost of the pill and other prescription contraceptives
HHS Sets Rules For Consumer-Controlled Health Plans
Supporters hope the nonprofit co-ops will increase competition and cut prices.
AARP Finds Toll On Family Caregivers Is ‘Huge’
A new study by the AARP estimates that for the more than 40 million Americans caring for an elderly or disabled loved one, the value of their work is $450 billion a year.
FAQ: Seniors May See Changes in Medigap Policies
As debt limit talks drag on, lawmakers are eying possible changes in Medicare supplemental plans – moves that could increase seniors’ out-of-pocket costs.
Budget Expert: Don’t Expect Medicare Cuts In Debt Deal – The KHN Interview
Federal budget guru Stan Collender offers his views on the current debt-ceiling talks and how efforts to include entitlement spending reforms in the final deal could effect future budget battles.
Health On The Hill: Debt Limit Talks Intensify As Deadline Nears
Jackie Judd and KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey discuss what Democrats, Republicans and special interest groups are saying in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.
Rising Health Care Curve Won’t Bend, Even for Obama
A forthcoming report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that more than two dozen demonstrations projects launched by Medicare and Medicaid over the past decade have failed to stop the upward march of health care costs. But health care policy experts say the findings paint too gloomy a picture.
PhRMA Chief Says Support For Health Law ‘Was Right Decision’-The KHN Interview
But John Castellani, who came to the drugmakers’ lobbying group after the health care debate, also warns officials against further cuts to the industry.
Medicare Payment Board Draws Brickbats
The health care overhaul law calls for an independent board to make recommendations for ways to reduce Medicare payments without cutting benefits or increasing costs to beneficiaries. But Congressmen from both sides of the aisle are growing doubtful that such a board will work.
After Much Scrutiny, HHS Releases Health Insurance Exchange Rules
Industry and consumer groups are poring over more than 200 pages of long-awaited proposed federal rules on state-based insurance exchanges, a critical element of the federal health law.
Why Black Women, Infants Lag In Birth Outcomes
Across the U.S., maternal and infant death rates are far higher for African-Americans than whites.
Alan D. Aviles, the longest serving president of the nation’s largest municipal health system, discusses his efforts to stabilize HHC’s finances in the face of dramatic budgetary challenges — including the health law’s reduction in special funding for safety net hospitals and state efforts to reduce Medicaid costs.
Medicaid Makes ‘Big Difference’ In Lives, Study Finds
But a new study – the first of its kind in nearly four decades – finds that Medicaid is making a bigger impact than even some of its supporters may have realized.
A New Health Care? Many Doctors Skeptical of New Technology
Video: Like many physicians across the country, Cleveland doctor Conrad Lindes is worried about one of the government’s latest overhauls to the medical system: digitizing health care. He believes the government is forcing doctors to make a change to electronic medical records before they — and the technology — are ready.
