Latest KFF Health News Stories
Pennsylvania Governor Plans State Insurance Exchange To Protect Subsidies
It is unclear whether the Republican-dominated General Assembly has to approve Wolf’s plan, which is designed protect residents’ subsidies should the Supreme Court void subsidies in states that rely on the federal exchange.
Small-Business Employees’ Group Slams Washington State For Rejecting Health Plans
While the Washington Education Association health trust has won approval from the state, other groups providing health coverage for thousands of small-business employees are finding their plans in limbo or rejected.
What’s Next If The Supreme Court Strikes Down Obamacare Aid?
An interview with policy expert Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute about the possible consequences of the latest health law case before the Supreme Court, King v. Burwell.
In Louisiana, Obamacare Subsidies Mean Financial Independence For Some
Meet three people from the Bayou State who would likely lose their insurance and their newfound sense of financial stability if the Supreme Court rules subsidies illegal in the King v. Burwell case.
‘Free’ Contraception Means ‘Free,’ Obama Administration Tells Insurers
The announcement says that the health law’s provision that insurers provide free contraceptives extends to all types of prescribed methods.
Montana Governor Signs Medicaid Expansion Into Law
Backers of Medicaid expansion celebrated in Helena as Gov. Steve Bullock signed the bill extending the health coverage to an estimated 45,000 more Montanans.
Tennessee, Kansas Also Get Warning: Expand Medicaid Or Risk Hospital Funds
Federal officials have warned several states that their reluctance to expand Medicaid could cost them special federal funding to treat the uninsured.
Obamacare Processing Center In Missouri Paid 13,000 Hours Of Overtime
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch filed Freedom of Information Act requests after whistleblowers alleged that workers at the Wentzville, Mo. center played games, read or worked very slowly because they had so little to do beginning in fall, 2013 after the facility opened. Serco Inc. said that it paid workers overtime in spring and summer of 2014 because of the large number of backlogged applications as a result of healthcare.gov’s computer problems.
Cancer Survivor Worries About Supreme Court Ruling On Obamacare Subsidies
A Philadelphia-area caterer who had been uninsured for five years before the ACA frets about her future if the Supreme Court strikes down federal exchange subsidies.
KHN Video: Tax Deadline Meets The Health Law
As April 15 approaches, most of the consumers who didn’t get insurance coverage face penalties while others who used federal subsidies to buy their plans must reconcile their actual earnings with the estimates that they made last year.
Errors Can Turn Affordable Care Benefits To Customer Torment
Pairing federal payments with private insurance brings benefits to many but creates dueling bureaucracies for some customers caught between them.
HHS: Health Law Has Helped Insure 16.4 Million
The percentage of people without health insurance has dropped about a third since 2012, to 13.2 percent, according to federal officials.
Missouri Gov. Endorses Work Requirement As Part Of Medicaid Expansion Plan
Despite the Democrat’s embrace of a work requirement for the first time, the plan got a hostile reaction from some GOP lawmakers.
In Florida, 93 Percent Of Enrollees Get Financial Help For Obamacare
Florida and Mississippi had the highest percentage of enrollees receiving a tax credit to help them pay premiums.
Surprises And Standing: Breaking Down Today’s Supreme Court Arguments
Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case challenging some of the health law’s insurance subsidies, but not before considering whether the plaintiffs had standing in the case. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Julie Rovner discuss surprises from the hearing.
Health Law Arguments Offer Few Clues About Supreme Court Decision
After hearing arguments Wednesday from both sides of a case challenging the health law’s subsidies to help people buy health coverage on federal exchanges, Supreme Court justices offered little insight into how they will rule.
Justices Raise Questions About Federal-State Balance, Plaintiffs’ Standing
Oral arguments in King v. Burwell, the challenge to the health law’s insurance subsidies, were completed this morning.
Fate Of 500,000 North Carolinians Tied To High Court Case
The U.S. Supreme Court hears a challenge Wednesday to the insurance subsidies available through the federal health insurance exchange used by North Carolina residents.
HHS Secretary Burwell Is Grilled About Health Law Contingency Plans
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell says her agency would be unable to counter the damage of a Supreme Court decision striking subsidies in about three dozen states.
Few Seniors Benefiting From Medicare Obesity Counseling
A little known part of Obamacare pays primary care doctors to help overweight seniors drop pounds and improve their health. So why aren’t more seniors taking advantage of the free benefit?
