Latest KFF Health News Stories
HHS Releases Poverty Guidelines For 2014
The federal government has released slightly higher poverty level guidelines for 2014, but those won’t alter the income thresholds that are being used now to determine what kind of financial assistance is available to buy insurance under the health law. The guidelines will be relevant in the fall, when people look to buy coverage for […]
Minnesota’s MNsure Exchange Weighs What To Do Next
Officials with Minnesota’s troubled online insurance marketplace heard from the authors of a scathing independent report and began weighing the crucial question of what do do next. “Is it irreparably broke?” MNsure‘s chairman of the board Brian Beutner asked during the insurance marketplace’s board meeting on Thursday. Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, prepared the […]
KHN’s Jenny Gold was on Boston’s WBUR’s On Point Thursday to talk about the latest developments with the health law — how many people have signed up and what they’re encountering in the process. Listen to audio of the conversation below or download it here.
Solo Coverage For $430 A Month? For This Enrollee, It’s A Deal
This post is Randy Dotinga’s latest update on his efforts to secure health insurance as a single, freelance writer with pre-existing conditions. You can also read his earlier installments, Taking A Risk To Secure Health Insurance and My Other Pre-Existing Condition: Unstable Insurance. After 13 years of being an insurer’s worst nightmare, I just heard some wonderful words: The insurance company will […]
Is The Health Law’s Insurance Website Not Spanish Friendly?
KHN’s Daniela Hernandez joined CNET en Espanol’s Laura Martinez on NPR’s Tell Me More Friday morning to talk about how Spanish speakers are struggling with the federal website to buy health insurance. Listen to audio of the conversation below:
How Much To Deliver A Baby? Charges Vary Widely by Hospital
Hospital charges for labor and delivery vary so widely from one California medical center to another that some facilities charge women eight to 11 times more than others, according to a new study. Comparing nearly 110,000 uncomplicated births and Caesarean sections, researchers found the lowest charge for a vaginal birth involving an average woman was […]
State Snapshots Of Obamacare Enrollment Numbers
Enrollment in the health law’s marketplaces surged in December, and the administration’s report on the numbers made headlines on Monday — but the national story isn’t the whole story. Health care is delivered in 50 different state markets, and each state is implementing the health law with varying degrees of success and failure, enthusiasm and […]
Oregon To Feds: Give Tax Credits To Shoppers Who Bypassed Troubled Exchange
Two officials from the Oregon governor’s office were on a mission in D.C. Tuesday — trying to get a federal go-ahead to compensate individuals who purchased insurance on their own because of the breakdown of the state’s health care exchange. Sean Kolmer, the governor’s health policy adviser, and Dan Carol, director of multi-state and strategic […]
WellPoint Optimistic On Exchanges Despite Slow Start
WellPoint Inc. and its Anthem Blue Cross plans made one of the biggest bets on selling insurance to individuals and families through the health law’s online exchanges. No regrets, CEO Joseph Swedish said Tuesday, despite the balky beginning. “Despite the near-term uncertainty, we believe exchanges will be growing as a big part of the market […]
New Attack On Obamacare Filed In Missouri Legislature
Missouri would strike another blow against the federal Affordable Care Act under a bill filed by state Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue. The bill would suspend insurance companies’ state licenses if they accepted subsidies offered by the federal government to help pay health insurance premiums for low- and middle-income Missourians. Lamping contends the subsidies are illegal […]
New York Consumers Frustrated By Insurance Delays
Last weekend, Rob Cuillo had a severe stomach bug, and he began thinking it might be time for a trip to the emergency room near his home on Long Island. “I was sick as a dog,” he said. “I was so dehydrated, I was thinking if this goes on another day I might need an […]
For High-Risk Women, Some Breast Cancer Drugs To Be Free
Starting next September, women at increased risk for breast cancer will be able to get some drugs shown to help prevent the disease without a co-pay, the Obama administration said Thursday. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended last September that clinicians give medications such as tamoxifen or raloxifene to such women to reduce their risk of the disease. […]
New Customer Service Data Available On California Medical Groups
Californians looking for more information about their doctors can now turn to a statewide website that includes new data on 170 physician groups. The website rates medical groups based on patients’ survey responses on access, care and customer service. Patients can compare doctor groups on such criteria as how easy it was to get appointments, […]
Most Small Health Plans Struggle To Thrive In California Insurance Marketplace
Unlike their larger counterparts, small health plans are struggling in the state’s health insurance marketplace to attract new members — with two exceptions.
Report: Effort To Curb Health Costs Should Be ‘Led By The States’
Governors and other state leaders have the leverage to slow rising health costs and should not wait for action by the federal government, a commission chaired by two former governors said in a report Wednesday. State leaders can use their clout as large purchasers of health care as well as regulators to set goals for health […]
More Shoppers, Including Young Ones, Showing Up At Health Exchanges
The road to enrolling Americans in the online health exchanges has been fraught with glitches and a rich source of political fodder. But a new survey says there are signs of improvement. Seventeen percent of people potentially eligible for coverage visited the marketplaces when they opened in October, according to a survey of 622 people conducted […]
Survey Finds Wealthier Patients In California More Satisfied With Their Health Care
Money may not buy happiness, but patients with more money to spend tend to be happier with their health care providers, a statewide survey sponsored by the Blue Shield of California Foundation found. Based on responses from 1,500 California residents, researchers found that among those whose household incomes fell below 200 percent of the federal […]
Maryland Plan Offers Retroactive Coverage Due To Sign-up Problems
Dr. Peter Beilenson may be the only health insurance CEO who picks up the phone when reporters call. So Kaiser Health News bothers him a lot. We caught up with the boss of Maryland’s Evergreen Health Co-op late last week to learn how one insurer moved from Obamacare theory to Obamacare practice. “They have their […]
New Year Brings Many Key Provisions Of Health Law
KHN’s Julie Appleby appeared on PBS NewsHour Thursday to discuss the status of the health law rollout as of Jan. 1, a date that marks the start of many of the Affordable Care Act’s most important provisions. Watch video of the segment below:
Missouri Governor Pushes GOP-Led Legislature On Medicaid Expansion
This story was produced in partnership with the Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, is intensifying his effort to persuade Republican lawmakers to expand Medicaid with a pitch that uses some of the same themes that Republicans favor. At a news conference in his Capitol office this week, Nixon praised states such as Iowa and Arkansas […]
