Latest KFF Health News Stories
For Formerly Obese, Stigma Remains Even After Weight Is Lost
People who have lost significant weight are uneasy about how much to reveal in online dating profiles, and research shows they have good reason to be.
How Will Taxes Be Reconciled With Premium Subsidies?
KHN consumer columnist Michelle Andrews examines how subsidies for health insurance can be divvied up among family members choosing separate plans and how a miscalculation of the premium will be handled on your taxes.
Rise Of Catholic Insurance Plans Raises Questions About Contraceptive Coverage
Insurers try to avoid conflict with church positions on contraception by using third parties to provide coverage.
Health Law Tempers New State Coverage Mandates
Provisions in the Affordable Care Act seek to curb individual states from setting new mandates requiring insurers to cover specific care but many local legislators are trying to work around that.
HHS Official: Healthcare.gov Updates Will Be ‘Improvement But Not Perfection’
Testifying before a House subcommittee, a key Obama administration official lays out the updates that HHS is making to the online marketplaces before enrollment begins in November. Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro’s Jennifer Haberkorn discuss.
Can I Buy Coverage After Accident Injuries? Who Pays The Cadillac Tax?
Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers readers’ questions.
Consumers To Hear Soon If Plans Are Canceled
Although the Obama administration has given insurers extra time to bring their plans into compliance with the health law, some may opt to drop substandard coverage this fall.
Enrolling People In Obamacare Who Have No ‘Concept Of Insurance’
An agency that ministers to immigrant and Arab-American community in Dearborn, Michigan, faces challenges enrolling some people in health coverage.
Affordable Care Act Exemptions Mean Millions Don’t Have To Sign Up
Exemptions allow medical bill-sharing groups to help members pay costs – without Affordable Care Act insurance.
Some Insurers Refuse To Cover Contraceptives, Despite Health Law Requirement
Most plans must cover all FDA-approved birth control methods, but consumer advocates say it is still common for women to face rejection for some forms.
More Employers Limit Health Plan Networks But Seek To Preserve Quality, Says Adviser
Dr. Robert Galvin, who helps executives at 50 companies purchase health care for employees, tells KHN that workers must become savvier consumers.
Vermont Is ‘Single-Payer’ Trailblazer
Vermont plays the maverick again in trying to be the first state to implement a single-payer health care system.
Cleveland’s Early Medicaid Expansion Paying Off
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, created its own Medicaid program for 28,000 residents. So far, E.R. visits have dropped 60 percent.
Health Law Calls For Some Workers To Be Automatically Enrolled In Coverage
A provision of the ACA that could be implemented as early as next year requires employers with more than 200 workers to sign up employees in one of the company’s plans. Workers may opt out, however.
A Reader Asks: With Job-Based Coverage, Can I Still Qualify For Cost-Sharing Subsidies
KHN’s consumer columnist Michelle Andrews explains that if the insurance offered through an employer is considered affordable, you can’t qualify for the health law’s program to provide financial help to cover costs such as deductibles and co-payments.
The HHS is contacting hundreds of thousands of people with subsidized health plans bought under the ACA to verify their eligibility,
Pitfalls Emerge in Health Insurance Renewals
Automatically renewing your Obamacare policy could cost you thousands.
Arkansas Weighs Plan To Make Some Medicaid Enrollees Fund Savings Accounts
The state is proposing that many people enrolled in the “private option” Medicaid expansion program contribute between $5 and $25 a month. Those who don’t could face additional medical expenses.
A Reader Asks: If You Have A Job-Based Plan, Can You Buy On The Marketplace?
KHN consumer columnist Michelle Andrews points out that standards for eligibility to buy a plan off the exchange is different than eligibility for subsidies.
Specialty Care Is A Challenge In Some ACA Plans
“Narrow networks” keep the price of some Obamacare insurance plans low, but they also keep certain hospitals and physicians out of reach for sick patients.
