Latest KFF Health News Stories
New Coverage May Spur Younger Women To Use Long-Acting Contraceptives
The health law specifies that birth control is a covered service in many plans ending the burden of a high up-front cost for IUDs and hormonal implants.
Cancer Rehab Begins To Bridge A Gap For Patients
STAR, a program designed to offer cancer survivors rehabilitation therapy after treatment, is growing, as is research showing that many of the quality-of-life problems cancer survivors have are physical and can be helped with rehab.
Health Technology’s ‘Essential Critic’ Warns Of Medical Mistakes
“We’re in the midst of a mania right now,” Dr. Scot Silverstein warns, speaking of the race to adopt electronic health records. “We know it causes harm, and we don’t even know the level of magnitude. That statement alone should be the basis for the greatest of caution and slowing down.”
Federal Government To Run Insurance Marketplaces In Half The States
Friday deadline passes and states largely bypass the option to work with the federal government in setting up new online health insurance marketplaces that open for business Oct. 1.
Medicaid Expansion Puts Spotlight On Access To Primary Care
The Affordable Care Act will usher at least seven million more Americans into Medicaid next year, but the question of whether enough doctors will be there to welcome them is keeping some state health policymakers up at night.
California Health Chief Looks Within For Solution To Rising Health Costs
Ex-cop-turned-Scripps Health CEO Chris Van Gorder roots out ‘unnecessary variation’ to make care more cost-effective.
Observation Units Can Improve Care But May Be Costly For Patients
Sometimes patients who are kept in the hospital to monitor their condition are not formally admitted and must pick up a bigger share of the cost.
Kansas’ Great Hope: Managed Care Will Tame Medicaid Costs
Starting this year, the state — hoping to control costs and improve quality — has moved almost all of its Medicaid recipients into managed care plans.
Obama: ‘I’ve Offered Sensible Reforms To Medicare’
In a statement to the press Tuesday, the president emphasized the need to reduce the cost of health care in the U.S.
Florida Gets Green Light For Medicaid Managed Care
Medicaid-eligible seniors who need long-term care likely will start enrolling later this year in HMOs and another type of health plan known as a “provider service network.” The long-term care changes are the first phase of a controversial proposal to shift Medicaid beneficiaries statewide into managed care.
Insurance columnist answers readers’ questions about the new pregnancy benefits offered in the health overhaul, assurances that current insurance policies will be honored in the future and switching employer health plans.
Six Questions And Answers About The Obama Administration’s Birth Control Rule
The new regulations lay out a plan that will keep organizations that self-insure from having to pay for the coverage.
Religious Nonprofits Won’t Pay For Birth Control Under Proposal
After a year of controversy, the Obama administration proposes a way for women who work at nonprofit religious institutions to get free birth control without requiring their employers to pay for it.
Post-Sandy, NYU Langone Has Reopened, But Can It Regain Market Share?
Some 500 NYU doctors found refuge at other hospitals while NYU was closed following Hurricane Sandy. Now, the question looms whether all of the patients and doctors will return.
Fed Economist Steps Into Dispute On Geographic Differences In Health Spending
A new analysis concludes that things like the prevalence of smoking, obesity and diabetes best explain why Medicare spending in some regions of the country is higher, instead of how medicine is practiced, as other researchers believe.
Long Waits For Consumers When Medicare Is ‘Secondary Payer’
A new law sets schedules for providing details about medical claims in cases where a beneficiary suffers a personal injury due to someone else’s negligence.
TurboTax, Not Travelocity, May Be Better Analogy For Health Exchanges
Consumers in Colorado focus groups said they know very little about insurance and will need a lot of customer support to purchase coverage online.
HMO-Like Plans May Be Poised To Make Comeback In Online Insurance Markets
Insurers bet some consumers will choose cheaper plans that restrict their choice of doctors, despite worries about skimpy care and huge bills for out-of-network providers.
Obama: ‘Medicare and Medicaid … Strengthen Us’
Video: In his second inaugural speech Monday, President Barack Obama discussed the need to reduce health costs — but also defended the importance of Medicare and Medicaid.
Insurers Prod Doctors, Hospitals To Stop Elective Early Deliveries
Medicaid and private insurers seek to reduce deliveries before 39 weeks to reduce complications and costs.
