Latest KFF Health News Stories
The First Test Of New Health Law: Covering Hard-To-Insure People
In a test of the Obama administration’s ability to smoothly implement the sweeping health care overhaul law, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services have just 90 days to launch an insurance program for people who can’t get private coverage because of health problems.
Federal Agencies To Iron Out Health Care Details
Health care experts say enforcement of the new health care bill will fall to the Department of Health and Human Services and the IRS. One expert says the pages of regulations could dwarf the 2,400-page bill. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
‘Cadillac’ Insurance Plans Explained
The Democrats final health bill negotiated by the House, Senate and White House and released today contains a scaled-back tax on high-cost insurance policies. Here is a brief guide to these types of insurance plans.
‘Cadillac’ Insurance Plans Explained
The Democrats final health bill negotiated by the House, Senate and White House and released Thursday contains a scaled-back tax on high-cost insurance policies. Here is a brief guide to these types of insurance plans.
Piecemeal COBRA Health Insurance Subsidy Extensions Puzzle Laid-Off Workers
Congress has extended the COBRA subsidy periods again and again, helping many laid-off workers keep health insurance but sowing confusion as well.
Florida Couple Pays $3,000/Month For Health Insurance
One family in Tampa is trapped in an expensive insurance policy because it covers their 19-year-old daughter, who has a serious digestive disease and has been through several surgeries.
How Blue Cross Became Part Of A Dysfunctional Health Care System
If the Democrats get their way, Blue Cross companies will have to change their business model, so that they act a bit more like the Blue Cross plans of old–the ones that helped schoolteachers, not stockholders.
How Health Reform Could Affect The ‘Young Invincibles’
Under the health bills being debated in Congress, young adults would be required to buy insurance – but they could buy low-cost “catastrophic” plans, requiring high deductibles. That’s igniting a fierce debate whether young adults – sometimes known as the “young invincibles” – would benefit from such plans.
Popular But Ineffective: Repealing Insurers’ Antitrust Exemption
There are exempt insurance practices that, at least in theory and under certain conditions, could help insurers defend and expand their market share against competitors. But the exemption simply does not shield the most straightforward kinds of conduct by which companies get big.
Transcript: White House Health Summit, Afternoon Session
The White House transcript of yesterday’s remarks from the health care summit convened by President Barack Obama.
Transcript: Health On The Hill: After The Summit
A health care summit between President Obama, Republicans and Democrats ended with the president laying out some areas of consensus between the two parties but many disagreements remain.
Transcript: White House Health Summit, Morning Session
The White House released the first set of this morning’s remarks from the health care summit convened by President Barack Obama.
State Regulators Criticize Obama Plan To Create Federal Authority Over Health Insurance Rates
Three veteran state insurance commissioners said they’d welcome federal advisory help, but draw the line at giving the government authority over rates, a power they say states should retain exclusively.
Republicans Spurn Once-Favored Health Mandate
The last time Congress debated a health overhaul, when Bill Clinton was president, several senators who now oppose an individual mandate actually supported a bill that would have required it. In fact, says Len Nichols of the New America Foundation, the individual mandate was originally a Republican idea.
Many Still Hope For Insurance Reform
Some lawmakers are considering a scaled-back health bill in place of the comprehensive legislation now stalled in Congress. But there’s debate about whether popular insurance reforms, such as requiring insurers to accept applicants with health problems, can be successful without an unpopular individual insurance mandate.
Opponents Threaten Constitutional Challenge To Individual Mandate
A major component of the Congressional health bills is a requirement that nearly everyone buy health insurance. But conservatives who oppose health reform have threatened a challenge on constitutional grounds.
Feds Vs. States: Who Should Run Proposed Health Insurance Marketplaces?
The final decision on who should supervise health exchanges is critical to health plan choices available to consumers, the cost of the premiums and the clout regulators may have.
House, Senate View Health Exchanges Differently
One key element of both the House and Senate health bills would create health insurance “exchanges” where individuals and small businesses could purchase health insurance. However, the House and Senate versions would work in very different ways. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
Requirement For Americans To Get Insurance Is Central To Health Overhaul
Both the House and Senate health care overhaul bills require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. Yet government mandates don’t necessarily ensure compliance: Not all Americans buckle up, or get their children vaccinated.
Democrats Move To Regulate How Insurers’ Spend Customers’ Money
Both the House and Senate health overhaul bills would force insurers to spend the vast majority of premium revenue on medical care for their customers, reducing the amount available for profits, executive salaries, sales and administration.
