Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health On The Hill Transcript – Congress Returns To Work On Deficit Proposals And Health Programs
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro’s David Nather talk with Jackie Judd about lawmakers’ return to work this week on lowering the federal deficit and how health programs could be affected.
‘Big Cleanout’ No Cure For Hoarding
Studies presented this weekend at the American Society on Aging conference say hoarders are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and have social phobias rather than obsessive compulsive disorder.
Medicare’s Math Problem: Taxes – Benefits = Trouble
Why do seniors receive Medicare benefits totaling more than twice what they pay in to the system?
Some Employers Already Sending Workers To Exchanges to Buy Health Insurance
Entrepreneurs create new private marketplaces
Docs: Health Law Will Make ER Crowding Worse
According to a new survey, emergency rooms doctors say crowding is caused by insured people who can’t find a doctor to treat them.
Tables: State-By-State Rankings Of Hospital Experiences
As part of its effort to make hospitals focus more on patient satisfaction, Medicare is preparing to use patient satisfaction survey scores in deciding how much to pay hospitals. While the data are not yet used to determine Medicare reimbursement, the ratings are publicly available. Patients in different states give vastly different ratings of their […]
Medicare To Begin Basing Hospital Payments On Patient-Satisfaction Scores
Beginning in 2012, bad grades from unhappy patients could cause hospitals to lose out on bonuses.
Audio: Federal Courts Weigh The Health Law
KHN’s Bara Vaida joined Santa Clara University professor Brad Joondeph and the Washington Post’s Marc Fisher to discuss the progress of legal challenges to the law.
Health On The Hill Transcript: GOP Medicare Plan Spurs Anger, Splits Public During Recess
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Jackie Judd report on a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll that reveals a split among the public on the GOP plan to cut Medicare cost growth.
Few Seniors Support GOP Plan To Restructure Medicare
A new Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds 30 percent of seniors support the effort to switch Medicare to a voucher-type program. Among all adults, opinion is more evenly divided, but confusion is rampant.
Illinois Insurance Chief Sees Market Becoming More Concentrated – The KHN Intervew
Michael T. McRaith, who is taking a new job shortly with the Treasury Department, says state or regional health insurers are having trouble remaining viable.
Insurers Clash With Health Providers As States Expand Medicaid Managed Care
Many states are trying to restrain Medicaid spending by putting more people into managed care plans, but with billions of dollars at stake, insurers and health providers are lobbying hard for their interests.
Medicare Patients Aren’t Taking Advantage Of Some Newly Free Tests
This year, seniors enrolled in Medicare no longer have to pay for more than a dozen tests and services to prevent disease thanks to the health law. Many, however, aren’t lining up for mammograms or colonoscopies though free wellness checks are luring many.
Under Health Law, Colonoscopies Are Free – But It Doesn’t Always Work That Way
The billing can get complicated if doctors find a polyp during a screening: Some insurers
Finding A Path Through The Health Insurance Market ‘Gobbledygook’
In her search for a health plan, Lisa Drew discovered that her ZIP code was a black hole for individual coverage.
3 In 4 U.S. Prescriptions Are Now For Generic Drugs
As more brand-name drugs lose patent protection, use of inexpensive generic medicines continues to rise. Later this year cholesterol-fighter Lipitor will become available as a generic in the U.S., a change that will add more fuel to the trend.
Medical Wonder: Meet the CEO Who Rebuilt a Crumbling California Hospital
Wright Lassiter is doing the seemingly impossible as CEO of the Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, Calif.: He’s turned a mismanaged urban safety-net hospital system in one of America’s most violent cities into a model for other public hospitals by trimming costs — and did it while expanding services.
Nursing Home Industry Leader Worries About Cuts To Medicare, Medicaid
Too few resources are available to handle the predicted explosion in the number of elderly, says Mark Parkinson, head of the largest nursing home lobby.
HHS Will ‘Hold Ourselves Accountable’ On Plan To Lessen Health Disparities – The KHN Interview
Dr. Garth N. Graham, HHS deputy assistant secretary for minority health, says comprehensive HHS approach aims to improve workforce diversity and data collection for minority populations.
House Passes Ryan’s Controversial Budget Plan
Republicans on Friday passes a controversial budget plan championed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, and though it stands nearly no chance in the Senate, it is likely a starting point for negotiations among lawmakers.
