Latest KFF Health News Stories
Senate President Lays Blame With Sebelius If Florida Fails To Expand Medicaid
Kaiser Health News sat down with Florida Senate President Don Gaetz in his office in Tallahassee last week to discuss the debate over expanding Medicare in the Sunshine State.
With Time Running Out, Florida Medicaid Expansion Is In Doubt
House GOP leaders question whether feds can deliver on $50B promise to cover poor residents.
Hospitals Press States To Expand Medicaid
With billions at stake, hospitals are lobbying hard for Medicaid expansion in Columbus, Tallahassee and other state capitals where state legislators oppose the extension of the program.
Tavenner Fields Questions on Leaks, Premium Costs, Future Of Medicare
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., set the tone for a very-supportive Senate Finance Committee hearing on Marilyn Tavenner’s nomination to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But others questioned Tavenner, who is acting administrator, on a variety of other issues. Here are video excerpts of the hearing.
‘Remarkably Friendly’ Hearing For Acting Medicare Chief
Marilyn Tavenner, the acting head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and President Obama’s nominee to keep the job, found both Democratic and Republican support during a Senate Finance Committee hearing today. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about the hearing and when the Senate could vote on the confirmation.
Medicaid Expansion Will Open Doors To Care for Ex-Convicts
Extending benefits to ex-offenders will provide health coverage to a group that is generally in worse health than the overall population. Researchers say it could also keep some from sliding back into crime.
Medicaid Expansion Divides Florida GOP
House speaker talks about his family’s reliance on “safety net” help when he was young, but he still opposes health law’s new Medicaid funding.
N.C. Medicaid Director: ‘We Want Bold Proposals’
Tar Heel State will not be expanding Medicaid. Carol Steckel explains that before the state can contemplate expanding the program, “We’ve got to clean up internally.”
Opposition To Medicaid Expansion In Texas House Has Caveats
Republicans in the Texas House agreed not to expand Medicaid, but left the door open to doing so if the Obama administration grants the state enough flexibility.
In Arizona, Poorest, Sickest Patients Get Coordinated Care
Can for-profit health insurance companies be trusted to take care of the vulnerable, expensive patients who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid? In Arizona, a state that has been known to resist federal health programs, private companies have been doing just that for many years.
Oregon May Provide Model For Restructuring Medicaid In Alabama
Alabama lawmakers will soon consider a proposal from Gov. Robert Bentley for a Medicaid overhaul based in part on Oregon’s groundbreaking “community care organizations.” Although Bentley has said he would not support an expansion of Medicaid “under its current structure,” the expected reforms are seen as paving the way for a possible expansion as early as 2015.
Medicaid Expansion May Be Key To Restoring State Mental Health Funding
Few states are poised to spend their own money to reverse as much as a decade of budget cutbacks in mental health care.
Voice For Medicare, Medicaid Retiring
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who helped create the Children’s Health Insurance Program and fought to protect the social safety net, says he will not seek reelection in 2014.
Fla. Gov. Scott to Look at Other Medicaid Cost Estimates
In several public statements, Gov. Rick Scott has cited $26 billion as the 10-year cost of Medicaid expansion in Florida, saying he got it from the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration.
HHS Tells States It Will Not Fund Partial Medicaid Expansion
In a letter to governors, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says states that expand Medicaid must cover people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level to get enhanced funding.
California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, is trying to save money by moving thousands of its patients into managed care health plans. For Juan Cameros, that meant he could no longer see the surgeon who had been treating him.
Medicare Changes Loom As ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Negotiations Pick Up
Health on the Hill: KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about Republican and Democratic proposals and possible cuts in federal health care spending.
As California Prepares To Expand Medicaid, Only the Poorest Will Benefit In Sacramento
This month Sacramento rolls out the Low Income Health Program, but it will only be serving the poorest of the poor in the county.
Questions Linger About Implementing Doctors’ Medicaid Pay Raise
The health law seeks to lure more doctors to treat the poor by increasing the pay rates but states and physicians have concerns about how this will work.
