Latest KFF Health News Stories
U.K. Health Maps Show A Shared Problem Across The Pond?
Doctors in some areas of Britain do one type of hip replacement at rates up to 16 times greater than in places like London, according to a November atlas by the National Health Service, mirroring a problem Medicare researchers have seen in the U.S.
Medicaid May Not Be Ideal, But Unraveling It Would Be Foolish
Here is a question for the state officials who oppose expanding the safety net program or support getting rid of it: What do you propose to do instead? The answer appears to be very little.
Is The Individual Mandate Really A Lynchpin In The New Health Law?
The individual mandate as included in the health overhaul isn’t even close to what it has been made to be — a provision that would protect the integrity of the health insurance market by forcing people to buy health insurance before they became sick.
Is There Any Hope For Medicaid Reform?
Recent coverage of the proposals offered by President Obama’s debt commission managed to gloss over a huge factor adding to the nation’s deficit — Medicaid. But the problem wasn’t just in the coverage, but in the report, too. The final version ignored the massive expansion of the Medicaid program included in the new health care lawand didn’t push for structural reforms to the program.
New Rules Spell Out Protections For Consumers With ‘Limited Benefit’ Insurance Policies
HHS says that employers and insurers have 60 days to send out detailed notices to consumers on the limitations of their health insurance policies, which could have effects on so-called ‘mini-med’ policies.
Checking In With Dr. Arthur Garson On ‘Health Care Half Truths’
KHN interviews Dr. Arthur Garson, Jr., on health care sound bites and myths. He says that the massive amount of confusion plaguing reform efforts confirms just how pervasive such myths can be.
Unnecessary Hospital Admissions Targeted By New Payment Plan
Maryland hospitals and regulators are teaming up in an experimental payment plan to reduce unnecessary admissions while improving patient care.
McAllen, Tex. spends more on Medicare patients than almost any other part of the country. But a new study contradicts the assumption that McAllen, Texas doctors over-treat everyone.
Justice Increases Efforts To Enforce Olmstead Ruling
Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, is making a “paradigm shift” in his division to focus more on care-at-home cases.
Health Insurance Brokers Fight For Their Future
The new health law appears to threaten the future of many health insurance brokers, but they say the service they provide is worth the money.
The Senate’s Object Lesson For GOP Health Law Repeal Hopes
The upper chamber’s recent consideration of legislation to repeal a small revenue-raising provision within the health overhaul offers insights into why a more sweeping repeal effort would be a very difficult task.
Drug Lobby’s Tax Filings Reveal Health Debate Role
New documents reveal that the drug industry’s chief lobbyists, PhRMA, raised and spent at least $101.2 million in 2009 during the contentious health care debate.
Deficit Reduction Plans Would Squeeze Medicare
Spurred by growing concerns about the federal deficit, plans to curb Medicare spending are proliferating – setting the stage for potentially bruising battles between seniors’ advocates and budget cutters.
In Emergency Rooms, It’s Getting Tougher To Say ‘No’ To CT Scans
A new study shows that the emergency department use of computerized tomography scans has increased nearly six-fold since 1995 and shows no sign of tapering off.
Reinhardt: Repeal Health Care, Make GOP Cut Costs
Health economist Uwe Reinhardt critiques the new health care law, talks about cost containment and gives his reasons why a single-payer system health system couldn’t work in America.
Replace The Tattered Medicaid Long-Term Care Safety Net
Medicaid, the state-federal health program that also pays for nearly half of all long-term care services for the frail elderly and younger people with disabilities, is in big trouble.
If Employers Walked Away From Health Coverage
What would happen if the rank and file of America’s employers, financially overwhelmed by the burden associated with sponsoring health coverage, suddenly opted not to? It’s an idea that is not so far-fetched.
Scorecard: How Health Industry PACs Placed Their Election Bets
Health-sector PACs – ranging from doctors to hospitals to drug companies – generally favored incumbent Democrats, according to a KHN analysis. Two doctor groups backed more Republicans.
Health PAC Giving: A Report Card On The Tightest Races
KHN analyzed 20 health-sector political action committees’ direct contributions to individual candidates in the 94 most competitive congressional races to determine the PACs’ win-loss records.
Health On The Hill Transcript: Medical Loss Ratio, Doc Fix
HHS released regulations on the medical loss ratio, a provision in the health law that requires insurers spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars of health care. Meanwhile, before the Senate adjourned for Thanksgiving it passed a one-month ‘patch’ to prevent physicians who see Medicare patients from having their payments reduced.
