Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health Reform’s Impact on Premiums: Winners, Losers And, For Many, A Question Mark
If a Democratic health bill passes,certain individuals and small businesses initially would pay more for insurance, while others would pay less, experts predict. But the long-term outlook is less clear.
Don’t Rationalize Busting The Budget – Start Over
We have plenty of time to take this back to where it should have been in the first place – beginning the long and complex journey to create a health care system that pays for value.
For Public, Affordability A Key Issue In Health Bill
The debate in Washington over how much the health care overhaul bills will cost has largely centered on the bottom line for the federal government. But polls repeatedly show Americans are much more concerned about how a reshaped health care system will affect their own family’s financial situation.
Getting The Bugs Out Of Health Reform
When it comes to making medical care not only cheaper but also better, reducing hospital infections is among the easiest changes to make–something reform really should be able to do, even in this political universe of such limited possibility.
Evidence-Based Medicine: Hard For Some To Swallow
Patients often find it difficult to base medical decisions on study results. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
A Consumers’ Guide To The Health Reform Bills
The Senate and House health bills differ in important ways. We ask and answer questions consumers might have about the bills.
Plastic Surgeons Cry Foul Over ‘Botax’ Proposal In Senate Health Bill
Levies on liposuction, breast augmentation and other cosmetic procedures would generate billions of dollars to help cover the uninsured.
New Technology Helps Elderly Stay Healthy At Home
Devices that measure blood pressure and other health information may help the elderly and people with chronic conditions stay in touch with doctors while remaining at home. The technology could cut health spending by catching problems before they escalate into crises.
Crusading Professor Challenges Dartmouth Atlas On Claims Of Wasteful Health Care Spending
Dr. Richard “Buz” Cooper doesn’t mince words as he challenges highly-respected research asserting that hospitals and doctors waste up to $700 billion a year on unnecessary testing and treatment. He says the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care doesn’t adequately account for the health care needs of poor people.
Reaction To Cooper’s Challenge Against Dartmouth Atlas
Some argue the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, which found wide geographic differences in how medicine is practiced, overstates the amount of potential waste because its methods don’t fully factor in the heavy medical needs of very poor people. Here are some views on the debate.
Don’t Forget About The Other Determinants of Health
As we move to the endgame of what will at best be health care reform 1.0, it is also important to remember that if we want to improve health-presumably health care reform is a means to improving health-we need to focus on more than just health care and reform of the health care system.
Checking In With Dr. Donald Berwick,
KHN’s Phil Galewitz talks to Donald Berwick, M.D., M.P.P., President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and clinical professor of pediatrics and health care policy at the Harvard Medical School.
On Hill, Bipartisan Support Emerging For Commission To Control Health Costs
The drive on Capitol Hill to create a bipartisan commission to help “bend the cost curve” of health spending is picking up momentum – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a handful of moderate Democrats and Republicans are supporting the effort.
Current ‘Death Panel’ Uproar Echoes Decades-Old Controversy
It was early summer. A senior federal health official wrote a memo suggesting that living wills — documents that can convey patients’ wishes about when to end life support — could help curb health-care costs.
The bill is enormously expensive, but it is full of perverse incentives
The House Bill Is A Great Start
The House health overhaul bill is a great start. It should just be faster, stronger and–really–bigger.
The President Should Be Opposing the House Bill
If the president and his aides continue to signal that House bill is acceptable, they will never be able to deliver the real reform the president has promised.
Take This Conservative Argument Seriously
Lately conservatives have been making an argument you should hear. It’s about whether we can believe Congress when it promises to raise taxes or cut spending–and, as such, whether we can believe that health care reform can actually be fiscally responsible.
Finance Bill’s Fine Print May Cause Sticker Shock For Some Consumers
Legislation seeks to limit the amount low-and middle-income people will pay for health insurance. But a shift in the way their share of the premium is calculated in the second year of the program may make it more expensive.
Health Care Pools: Let Youth Jump, Or Push Them?
In drafting national standards on how health insurers should be able to use age to set premium rates, congressional committees agree that older people should pay more. But they differ widely on just how much. Ultimately, it comes down to how many young adults get into the pool.
