Latest KFF Health News Stories
California Doctors Again Press For More Money To Treat Poor Patients
They want the state’s new tobacco tax to help pay for a raise in Medicaid rates, but so far Gov. Jerry Brown has other plans for that money.
Medicaid Caps Pitched By GOP Could Shrink Seniors’ Benefits
Advocates for the elderly worry that GOP plans to end Medicaid’s open-ended spending and replace it with per-capita limits could pose a risk for low-income older people who rely on the federal-state program for nursing and other long-term care.
For New Medicaid Patients, The Doctor Is In (Generally). But You May Have To Wait.
A new study examines whether people newly insured through the Affordable Care Act are adding pressure to primary care access challenges.
Indiana’s Claims About Its Medicaid Experiment Don’t All Check Out
Indiana’s conservative take on Medicaid expansion is up for renewal in the home state of Vice President Mike Pence. But there are some discrepancies between the state’s application for renewal and facts about the program.
Hospitals, Both Rural And Urban, Dread Losing Ground With Health Law Repeal
Under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals made a high-stakes trade of massive cuts in federal aid in exchange for millions of newly insured customers. Now that deal is in jeopardy.
Liberal Vermont Tests The Waters On GOP Health Care Overhaul
Vermont embarks on a six-year experiment to redesign health care and how it’s paid for.
Threat Of Obamacare Repeal Leaves Community Health Centers In Limbo
These clinics have long provided health care to low-income patients and enjoyed expansion under the Affordable Care Act. With repeal looming, the centers’ doctors worry about what’s next.
Some Immigrants, Fearful Of Political Climate, Shy Away From Medi-Cal
Some foreign-born California residents fear they could be penalized for using Medi-Cal and other social benefits. Others, in families of mixed-immigration status, worry about jeopardizing their loved ones’ chances of becoming green-card holders or citizens.
Pharmacies Thrive Selling Opioids For Depressed Small Town Pain
Prescription pain pills are strong sellers in this southeastern Kentucky region that’s long struggled with high rates of joblessness and poor health.
Indiana, Pence’s Home State, Seeks Federal OK To Keep Medicaid Expansion
Indiana asked the Trump administration Tuesday to renew funding for its Medicaid expansion under the health law, which is due to expire in January 2018.
Fight Is On To Protect Health Care In California, Says Foundation Head
The thought of losing California’s Obamacare gains is “somewhere between nauseating and mind blowing,” says Robert K. Ross, CEO of the California Endowment.
GOP Vows To Defund Planned Parenthood. Reality Makes That Hard.
Ending federal support of the group that helps supply women’s reproductive health care could complicate health law overhaul efforts.
Mobile Team Offers Comfort Care To Homeless At Life’s End
A Seattle program pioneers palliative care that reaches dying patients on streets and in shelters.
Montana May Be Model For Medicaid Work Requirement
The Obama administration has said no to states taking more control over Medicaid, but the incoming Congress and White House may be more inclined to say yes.
Signed Out Of Prison But Not Signed Up For Insurance, Inmates Fall Prey To Ills
States that expanded eligibility for Medicaid have failed to enroll large numbers of a significant group that stood to benefit: ex-inmates.
Medicaid Coverage For Addiction Treatment Varies Dramatically
States can set their own rules about these benefits for Medicaid enrollees and a study shows wide disparities. But researchers say a repeal of the health law’s expansion could derail progress.
In California, Planned Parenthood Girds For Potentially Grim Future Under Trump
The CEO of the group’s state organization, Kathy Kneer, says private donations can’t cover the potential loss of federal money for reproductive health services.
Medicaid Is Balm And Benefit For Victims Of Gun Violence
Young men injured by gunshot wounds often lacked insurance and went for years without proper follow-up care. The health law’s Medicaid expansion, in doubt since the election, changed that in many of the states with the most gun violence.
Tighter Prescribing Rules: An Anti-Abuse Strategy That Could Hurt Patients In Pain
Responding to a national epidemic, many state Medicaid programs are making the coverage rules for these opioid-based medicines tougher so that physicians will think twice before prescribing them. But some worry that legitimate pain patients could suffer.
California Braces For Medi-Cal’s Future Under Trump And The GOP
California officials jumped at the chance to cover millions more low-income people by expanding its Medicaid program. Now, health policymakers and advocates fear the Trump administration and a Republican-ruled Congress will roll back the state’s progress.
