Latest KFF Health News Stories
Free Health Clinics At A Crossroads
Free health clinics have long been places people turn to when they don’t have health insurance or any money to pay for care. But the health law’s expansion of coverage puts free clinics in uncharted territory.
Two (Very Different) Miami Hospitals Prepare For Health Law’s Medicaid Expansion
Even as Florida leads the Supreme Court challenge against the health law, a private and a public hospital are anticipating an influx of new patients who will be covered by Medicaid if the law stands.
New Ryan Budget Would Transform Medicare And Medicaid
KHN’s Marilyn Werber Serafini details how the Wisconsin Republican’s proposal places greater limits on federal spending for Medicare than last year’s blueprint.
The Hardest Job To Fill (And Keep) In Washington: CMS Chief
The revolving door at the top of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services raises questions about the key agency implementing the health law.
Health On The Hill: Congressional Leaders Reach Deal On 10-Month ‘Doc Fix’
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about the agreement Senate and House negotiators reached today on the “doc fix,” which avoids a cut in Medicare physician payment rates for the rest of the year.
Senior Correspondent Phil Galewitz Discusses What 2012 Will Hold For Health Care
KHN reporters preview some of the big issues coming this year: KHN Senior Correspondent Phil Galewitz says he’ll be following health care in the states, Medicaid and how the Supreme Court will rule on the health law.
Web Reporter Sarah Barr Discusses What 2012 Will Hold For Health Care
KHN reporters preview some of the big issues coming this year: KHN Web Reporter Sarah Barr discusses what waivers states could seek to change Medicare in their states.
Administration Ties Medicaid Managed Care Expansion To Performance
The managed care industry’s growing role in Medicaid got a boost Monday when the Obama administration approved Texas’ plan to shift one million additional recipients into private health plans by 2013.
Transcript: Donald Berwick on Medicare, Medicaid, ‘Rationing’ and Who Decides
Edited selections from KHN’s interview with former CMS Administrator Donald Berwick.
GOP Candidates Dispute Gingrich, Romney Records On Individual Mandate
At Saturday night’s debate in Des Moines, the GOP presidential candidates spent a considerable amount of time discussing the 2010 health law. In the debate’s most talked-about moment, Mitt Romney offered to bet Rick Perry $10,000 that what Perry was saying about Romney’s book wasn’t correct.
Florida Eyeing Cuts To Medicaid
The response of Gov. Rick Scott’s administration to the soaring cost of Medicaid is drawing fire from hospitals, and HHS may refuse to approve the plan.
Local California Republicans Quietly Embrace Medicaid Expansion
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the No. 3 Republican in the House, has made it clear that he wants President Obama’s health overhaul law repealed. But conservative lawmakers in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., and elsewhere in the state are expanding insurance coverage for low-income adults.
Children’s Health Program Opened To Low-Income State Employees
At least six states are taking advantage of a change mandated by the 2010 health law to allow their low-income workers to enroll kids in the Children’s Health Insurance Programs.
Perry’s Medicaid Plan Secret: Dems Like It
Texas is quietly revamping the health safety net for the poor in a way some Dems can get behind.
President Obama Proposes Cuts To Health Care Spending To Lower Deficit
President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a series of cost savings in health care programs including to Medicare and Medicaid to reduce the deficit. The proposals include paying doctors for health care outcomes instead of on a “fee-for-service” basis, and Obama also rejected the notion turning Medicare into a “voucher” system.
The Specifics: How Obama Plans To Cut Health Programs By $320 Billion
Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports that the biggest cut to Medicare requires pharmaceutical companies to lower the rates for low-income beneficiaries.
Some States Seeking Health Care Compact
The interstate compact, which has been adopted by four states, would replace federal programs – including Medicare and Medicaid – with block grants. It cannot be implemented without congressional approval.
Healthcare 101: Connecting Immigrant Communities To Care
For the first time the Department of Health and Human Services is trying to help eligible legal immigrants sign up for programs like Medicaid. Here’s one program.
Reaching Out To Legal Immigrants Who Need Health Care
For the first time the Department of Health and Human Services is trying to help eligible legal immigrants sign up for programs like Medicaid, sometimes by going to health fairs in immigrant neighborhoods.
How Would Perry Reform Health Care If President?
Republican presidential candidates are often careful to not reveal during primaries how they would change health care in America, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry is no exception. But examining Perry’s legislative record gives a glimpse into just what he’d change if elected.