Latest KFF Health News Stories
Q&A: Can You Be Denied Insurance Due To Pregnancy?
Losing employment and group coverage during a pregnancy narrows consumers’ health insurance options.
Romney’s Defense Of The ‘Individual Mandate’ Praised By An Architect Of Mass. Law
When Mitt Romney vigorously defended Massachusetts’ decision to require that nearly every resident either have health insurance or pay a tax penalty Thursday night, some said it was the best support of the individual mandate made by any candidate so far this election cycle.
Obama On Health Insurance Reform: ‘I Won’t Go Back’ (State Of The Union Excerpts)
The president was brief but resolute on health reform in his State of the Union speech. In the GOP response, Gov. Mitch Daniels, R-Ind., said Medicare dollars should be devoted to “those who need them most.”
Unique in the nation for having public health insurance plans that are run by counties, California has public plans that stretch from San Francisco to the Mexican border and cover 2.5 million people.
Court: Massachusetts Must Cover Legal Immigrants
Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Thursday that the state must offer the same level of subsidized insurance to legal immigrants as to citizens. The decision affects roughly 40,000 residents and could cost the state at least $150 million per year.
A Health Insurance Plan President Gingrich Might Support
He’s done with mandates, but Newt Gingrich likes John Goodman’s idea for helping people who buy insurance and paying for care for those who don’t.
My ER Doctor Is Billing Me For What Insurance Didn’t Pay, What Can I Do?
KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a question about what to do when you’re billed by an out-of-network doctor for an in-network hospital visit.
Q&A: Is It Legal For Insurers To Deny Coverage Because Of A Pregnancy?
KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” columnist Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader about whether or not insurers are required to cover maternity care on the individual market.
Despite Deep Opposition To Health Law, Ga. Contemplates Exchange
Georgia is not alone. A number of Republican states, including some in the South, are hedging their bets and planning health insurance marketplaces to avoid a version designed by Washington.
South Carolina’s Waiting Game On Health Insurance Exchange
The state is likely to decide against creating its own exchange, opting instead to let the federal government build the marketplace, one of the central features of the health law.
Analysis: Keys To The Supreme Court’s Health Law Review
In this analysis, Stuart Taylor writes that the case is “especially momentous” because it will determine the future of the health law — President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement. The ruling also will likely occur during the midst of the 2012 presidential election season.
Minnesota GOP Wrestles With Health Exchange Questions
The state could end up with an exchange run by the federal government, and some lawmakers think that’s a risk worth taking.
In Kansas, Republicans Can’t Agree On Insurance Exchanges
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback sent back a $31.5 million federal grant and Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger worries it’s not sound policy.
Florida Readies Its Own Health Insurance Exchange
But it’s unlike the online marketplace required by the federal health law and draws only tepid support from health plans and insurance agents.
Demise Of Pa. Plan For Low-Income Adults Leaves Many Uninsured
Six months after the state ended the adultBasic health coverage, only about 40 percent of the enrollees went to Medicaid or a limited benefit plan opened to them.
Religious Freedom, Individual Mandate And Anti-Injunction Act At Issue In D.C. Circuit
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and ABC News’ Ariane de Vogue discuss today’s oral arguments in the American Center for Law and Justice challenge to the health law.
Analysis: Handicapping Health Care Lawsuits, And The Truth-In-Labeling Factor
Stuart Taylor puts the chances at about 25 percent to 33 percent that the health law’s individual mandate will be overturned, and adds that the court seems even less likely to sweep away the rest of the 975-page law.
Sweating The Details: Health Reform Supporters Fret Over HHS Rules
Some consumer and patient advocates worry that the administration is bending too much toward insurers and employers when it issues new health regulations.
Health Insurers Seek Delay Of New Consumer-Friendly Coverage Forms
Shopping for health insurance next year will be easier, consumer advocates and government officials say. But the new materials are still a work in progress.
Medicaid’s Moment (Guest Opinion)
While Democrats are effusive in their praise of Medicare, their silence in response to public attacks on Medicaid has been deafening. All the more important, then, is the study released this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research. It makes the job even easier.
