Latest KFF Health News Stories
Advocates Worry States Are Moving Too Fast On Dual Eligibles
Some states likely will begin testing new ways to care for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid early next year—a timeline that has some advocates urging officials to slow down. Finding high-quality, cost-effective ways to care for the 9 million people known as “dual eligibles” is among the brass rings of health policy. […]
Community Health Centers Get $728M Boost To Serve More People
The Obama administration on Tuesday gave out $728 million to expand and modernize 398 community health centers that provide primary care mainly to the poor. The money, made available under the 2010 health law, will help centers in 48 states expand their capacity to serve an additional 900,000 people. Demand for care at the centers […]
Today’s Headlines – May 1, 2012
Good morning! Here are your early headlines: The Associated Press/Washington Post: On Taxes, Health Care And Government’s Role, Obama And Romney Offer Distinct Choices To Voters Those differences surely exist. Obama and his Republican challenger are offering voters a distinct choice on taxes, a sharp disagreement over health care and a classic ideological divide on […]
Studies Reignite Mammography Debate For Middle-Aged Women
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Should women in their 40s routinely get mammograms to detect breast cancer? Two studies released Monday aim to help resolve that question, which is one of the most intense debates in women’s health. The studies identify which women in their 40s are most likely to benefit from […]
What Is The Future Of Health Care? Watson Has An Answer
IBM’s Watson frequently had the right answer when the supercomputer competed on Jeopardy last year. Now, the nation’s second largest health insurer is hoping it will have the right diagnosis and treatment for patients. Representatives from IBM and Wellpoint discussed their developing partnership at a Friday Capitol Hill event. The tech company aims to make […]
Today’s Headlines – April 30, 2012
The New York Times: The Ticket: Ryan’s Rise From Follower To GOP Trialblazer His prescriptions in the Republican budget plan he devised have become his party’s marching orders: cut income tax rates and simplify the code, privatize Medicare, shrink the food-stamp and Medicaid programs and turn almost all control over to the states, and reduce […]
Breaux: Bipartisanship Necessary To Fix Medicare Finances
Louisiana Democrat John B. Breaux left the Senate seven years ago, but old habits die hard. Today he fell back easily into his former role of compromise builder as he stressed the need for political common ground to overhaul Medicare next year. After a House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing to delve into “premium support” models, Breaux held […]
Why We Still Have Faith In Physicians
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. National Journal: Why We Trust Doctors This patient is no fool, and she does’t award trust liberally. … Yet, somehow, (Mary) Morse-Dwelley never lost faith in Pellegrini. She’d hear the click of her doctor’s shoes in the hallway, see her […]
Today’s Headlines – April 27, 2012
Happy Friday from Kaiser Health News. Here are today’s top headlines: Los Angeles Times: Obama Healthcare Reforms Lead To $1.3 Billion In Insurance Rebates U.S. consumers and businesses will receive an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates from insurance companies this year, according to a new study quantifying a key early benefit of the healthcare law […]
Respite Programs For Family Caregivers Face Cuts Despite Growing Need
Family caregivers provide 80 percent of long-term care needs in the U.S., but many need time away from that job so they can continue to care for their loved ones. Respite can provide short-term relief through several options, including a paid home care worker or providing temporary stays for patients at a residential care facility or […]
Today’s Headlines – April 26, 2012
Politico: Government Shutdown On The Horizon? Plunging ahead along party lines, the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a set of Republican-backed spending targets that break with the August debt accords by demanding more than $27 billion in additional savings from non-defense programs. The 28-21 vote sets up a long summer of political skirmishing, all […]
Few Doctors Consider Themselves Rich, Survey Says
Few doctors think of themselves as rich, and only about half think they’re fairly compensated, according to survey results released this week by Medscape. The annual survey isn’t scientific — and perhaps, not surprising, either — but it offers insights into what nearly 25,000 physicians earn, and how they view that number. In 2011, compensation self-reported by surveyed physicians ranged […]
Today’s Headlines – April 25, 2012
The Associated Press/Washington Post: GOP Pulls Its Budget Punches As Follow Up Legislation Advances On Capitol Hill Instead of big reductions in Medicaid and Medicare, top GOP lawmakers are sticking mostly with familiar proposals like cutting money for President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and federal employee pensions while reaching out to Democrats to help […]
Medicare To Add Hospital Efficiency, Patient Safety To Payment Formula
Medicare is proposing a significant change in how it decides on hospital reimbursements, adding two measures of patient safety and a financial assessment of whether hospitals are careful stewards of Medicare’s money. The changes represent a broadening of the way Medicare plans to pay hospitals through its value-based purchasing program, which is set to begin in October. Medicare […]
An Even Bleaker Prognosis For Medicare?
If readers can bear the first 276 pages of bad news in the annual Medicare trustees report, released Monday, they will come to several pages in which Medicare Chief Actuary Richard Foster argues the program’s financial future is even bleaker than what the trustees suggest. Foster acknowledges the trustees did exactly the job they were asked […]
Today’s Headlines – April 24, 2012
Good morning! Here is your morning news roundup. The New York Times: Social Security’s Financial Health Worsens The Obama administration reported a significant deterioration in the financial outlook for Social Security on Monday, while stating that the financial condition of Medicare was stable but still unsustainable. … One of the trustees, Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary […]
Poll: Doctors Fall Short In Helping Many Seniors
Large numbers of seniors aren’t receiving recommended interventions that could help forestall medical problems and improve their health, according to a new survey from the John A. Hartford Foundation. Notably, one-third of older adults said doctors didn’t review all their medications, even though problems with prescription and over-the-counter drugs are common among the elderly, leading to over […]
Survey: Court Hearings Don’t Move Public Opinion On Health Law
The three days in March that the Supreme Court devoted to debating the health law didn’t change many minds among the public. But the debate, and related media coverage, appear to have increased awareness about the law and made Republicans more supportive of the justices, according to a new survey. As it has for two years, […]
Medicare Trustee Has New Personal Stake In Program
As a nationally known expert on federal health policy, Robert Reischauer has for decades had more than a passing interest in Medicare. But this week his passion for the program — and concern for its future viability — turned more personal. “I applied for Medicare yesterday,” Reischauer said Monday at a media briefing where he and […]
Today’s Headlines – April 23, 2012
Good Monday morning! Here are your headlines to get you back in the swing of things: The Associated Press/Washington Post: Social Security, Medicare Strained By Slow Economic Recovery, Aging Workforce An aging population and an economy that has been slow to rebound are straining the long-term finances of Social Security and Medicare, the government’s two […]
