Latest KFF Health News Stories
Smokers’ Ranks Look Conspicuously Sparse In Obamacare
Federal data suggest that many smokers aren’t confessing to their tobacco habit to avoid paying higher health care premiums, thwarting insurers.
Patience, Persistence Serve Alaska’s Health Commissioner Well In Government – And In Fishing
Valerie Davidson, an advocate who became Alaska’s top health official, still loves spending her time fishing for salmon and cooking for her Yup’ik family.
Medicaid Drives Historic Coverage Gains In Colorado
A surge in Medicaid enrollment drove down the uninsured rate in Colorado from 15.8 percent to 6.7 percent.
Survey Confirms Significant Drop In California’s Uninsured
The California Health Interview Survey shows significant gains in insurance coverage but also points to disparities among ethnic groups.
An Explicit Contract Makes Surrogacy Viable For An Oregon Woman
The agreement sets up expectations for the woman and covers a wide variety of contingencies to help protect her from unexpected problems.
Florida To Review Proposed Obamacare Rate Hikes For First Time
After two years with its hands tied, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will be able to review proposed rate increases in a market seeing double digit hikes.
Hope, Hurdles In Mental Health: A Medicaid Managed Care Firm’s First Year
Some say Cardinal’s first year’s performance has eased fears about care in Charlotte, N.C., but gaps and challenges remain.
15 States Extend Health Law’s Higher Medicaid Payments To Doctors
The health law temporarily paid doctors more to handle the expected influx of patients when states expanded their Medicaid programs and some states are continuing that program because they find it has helped attract providers to the program.
Illinois Gov.’s Proposed Cuts To Mental Health Care Could Raise Costs, Critics Say
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget plan to reduce funds for psychiatry, housing programs for the homeless and care coordinators for the mentally ill could send people to hospitals, nursing homes and jails where treatment costs are higher, providers say.
Advocates And Experts Debate Need For More Regulation Of Fertility Services
A new Utah law allowing children conceived via sperm donation to see the medical histories of their fathers is seen as an exception to otherwise light regulation of assisted reproductive technology in states.
Texas GOP Leaders Say They Won’t Expand Medicaid
Republican lawmakers asked the Obama administration for greater flexibility to administer the state-federal insurance program and reiterated their lack of interest in expanding eligibility under the federal health law.
Illinois Turning To Insurance Agents For Obamacare Outreach
Get Covered Illinois, the state’s enrollment arm, is spending about $150,000 this winter to help 13 insurance brokerages pay for co-branded marketing materials.
Appeals Court Hears Texas Abortion Case
Three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sharply questions both sides and focuses on the abortion clinics’ argument that the law would create a burden for women in El Paso and West Texas.
Alaska’s New Governor Sets Sights On Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Bill Walker, an Independent, campaigned on Medicaid expansion and now he has to pitch it to a reluctant Republican legislature.
Health Exchange Bill Fizzles In Illinois Legislature
Proponents of state-based health exchange bill say residents’ subsidies are now at risk.
Medicaid Expansion By Any Other Name May Fly For Florida Lawmakers
Coalition, which includes some prominent Republicans, pushes “free market” alternative.
In New York, Video Chat Trumps Quarantine To Combat TB
While Americans debate whether we should quarantine people who might have Ebola but clearly aren’t contagious, others wander among us who are infected with tuberculosis — another disease that’s highly communicable in some forms.
Red State Idaho Launches Its Own Obamacare Exchange
Idaho will have the only new state marketplace this year, while Oregon and Nevada abandon failed state exchanges and go with healthcare.gov instead.
Cigna Agrees To Reduce Costs Of HIV/AIDS Drugs In Florida
The health insurer signs a consent agreement saying it would cap the amount consumers must pay for four popular HIV drugs.
Soda Tax Succeeds In Berkeley, Fizzles In San Francisco
The nation’s first tax on sugary drinks aims to combat obesity and diabetes, with a penny-per-ounce levy.
