Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s Headlines – August 8, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a variety of stories that reflect how health policy issues are playing on the campaign trail. The Wall Street Journal: Puzzling Over What To Call State Insurance Exchanges Health-insurance exchanges are a central part of the Obama administration’s health overhaul, serving as marketplaces for people […]
Q&A: Does My Travel Insurance Have Me Covered?
Michelle Andrews discusses options for protecting yourself when traveling if you have a preexisting condition.
Group Health’s ‘Learning Health System’ Keeps Innovations Moving
At Group Health, a nonprofit health system in Washington state, doctors and researchers are collaborating to make sure the latest health care innovations don’t just sit on the shelf. They’ve adopted a strategy known as a “learning health system,” which creates a feedback loop of sorts between the system’s medical and research sides, including the […]
Four Want To Be Washington State’s Insurance Commissioner
Voters in Washington will be filling out their Vote-by-Mail ballots Tuesday, and they will have a chance to do something that voters in just 10 other states do: elect an insurance commissioner. The primary field this year includes four candidates, and the top two vote getters, regardless of party, will face each other in the […]
2013 Medicare Drug Plan Premiums Will Be Similar To This Year — On Average
UPDATED 1:55 p.m. Aug. 7 Premiums for private Medicare prescription drug plans will be about the same in 2013 as they have been over the past two years, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Based on drug and health plan bids, the average monthly premium for an individual next year will be […]
Today’s Headlines – August 7, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that HCA, the largest for-profit hospital chain in the U.S., is facing scrutiny about the medical necessity of some of the cardiac procedures done at some of its facilities. The Associated Press/Washington Post: Obama Administration: Average Monthly Premium For Basic Medicare Drug Coverage To […]
Survey: Employers Expect 7 Percent Growth In Cost Of Health Benefits
As employers brace to absorb cost increases in employee health benefits, many are also experimenting with new ways to control these expenses, according to a new survey from the National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of 342 large employers. The survey’s findings, which were released today, are based on the responses of 82 […]
How One Panel Weighed The Evidence On Magnetic Pulse Treatment For Depression
After assessing costs and benefits, a New England advisory group concludes it’s at least as beneficial as more traditional approaches.
Is Magnetic Pulse Treatment An Answer For People Suffering From Drug-Resistant Depression?
Supporters say the $10,000 treatment is worth the cost, but others raise questions about its long-term effectiveness.
Today’s Headlines – August 6, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a progress report about health insurance exchanges as well as news from the campaign trail. The New York Times: U.S. Officials Brace For Huge Task Of Operating Health Exchanges Obama administration officials are getting ready to set up and operate new health insurance markets in […]
New Ads Promote Health Law’s Preventive Benefits
They aren’t campaign ads, but two new television commercials from the Obama administration that promote the president’s health law may also be boosting its image. The ads, which began airing this summer, tout the law’s preventive services benefits, including coverage of vaccinations, mammograms and other screenings. For many people, these services will now be available through […]
Today’s Headlines – August 3, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports on a Capitol Hill hearing during which House GOP lawmakers grilled the director of the Internal Revenue Service on his agency’s health care subsidy ruling. The Associated Press/Washington Post: Republicans Grill IRS Chief On Health Care Subsidy Ruling As Commissioner Defends His Agency House […]
Nursing Schools Struggling To Find Professors
Despite a nursing shortage, nursing schools are turning away qualified applicants because there aren’t enough professors.
Baltimore Center Brings Hope to Homeless Struggling With Mental Illness
Catering to mentally ill homeless individuals and staffed by workers who have struggled with the same problems, the HOPE Wellness and Recovery Center is providing a critical safety net in Baltimore.
Vermont Wields New Power Over Hospital Budgets
Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board, established by state law in May 2011 and given new powers last spring, is taking over responsibility for virtually every aspect of health care in the state. This month’s project for the new regulatory board: How much hospital budgets should go up on an annual basis. The board has established […]
Economists Say Market-Based Approach Will Curb Costs Best
A market-based effort to control health care spending would provide Medicare beneficiaries with fixed subsidies, rather than the current system’s open-ended ones, a trio of conservative health economists said Wednesday. The economists said in an online paper for the New England Journal of Medicine that while the 2010 federal health law aims to slow health […]
Today’s Headlines – August 2, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including stories detailing the latest news on various issues involved in the health law’s implementation, as well as reports about Medicare and Medicaid . The Wall Street Journal: Small Firms See Pain In Health Law Restaurants and retailers face some of the toughest changes now that […]
Doctors Will Have To Figure Out Who Gets ‘No-Cost’ Birth Control
The new provision of the federal health law that waives cost sharing for women’s preventive health services may be a mandate on insurance companies, but it’s providers who are complaining about its burden. That’s because not all women are eligible for the cost sharing waiver at the same time. The rule went into effect Wednesday, […]
Experts Release 11-Point Plan To Reduce Health Spending
Some of the nation’s top health care experts, several of whom helped write the 2010 health care law, released a strategy Wednesday to take the next step — curbing spending. The proposals include state spending targets; competitive bidding for medical devices, laboratory tests and other Medicare services; and a dramatic move away from the traditional […]
KHN has assembled an overview of Mitt Romney’s record as governor of Massachusetts and the positions he has taken on the campaign trail.
