Latest KFF Health News Stories
As Komen Defends Itself, Planned Parenthood Rakes In Substitute Funds
Leaders of the breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure tried in vain Thursday to contain the controversy stemming from its decision to end its grants to Planned Parenthood.
Taking Another Shot At The Flu Vaccine
Despite nearly 20 years of recommendations that health workers get flu shots, the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that less than 64 percent of them do. Consumer and business groups met in Washington Thursday to show their support for a recommendation from the National Business Group on Health […]
Today’s Headlines – February 2, 2012
Good Thursday morning to you! Here are your headlines to help you get your day started; up and at ’em: The Associated Press/Washington Post: Payroll Tax, Jobless Benefits Negotiations On Capitol Hill Off To Slow Start As Deadline Nears Negotiators on Capitol Hill agreed Wednesday to try to extend a payroll tax cut worth about […]
A Computer Beats A Pen For Getting Prescriptions Right
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Drug errors inside hospitals remain a big problem. By one estimate, 1 in 7 hospitalized patients suffers some form of error in care. Nearly a third of those mistakes are related to drugs. And those mix-ups can lead to longer hospital stays, unnecessary suffering, permanent damage […]
Is HHS Medicare Advantage Celebration Premature?
Updated at 2:00 p.m. Enrollment is up and prices are down in Medicare Advantage, which offers Medicare beneficiaries private health plan alternatives – mostly managed care – to the traditional fee-for-service program. The Department of Health and Human Services is hailing the numbers as proof that predictions that the 2010 health law would damage Medicare […]
Study: Health Law’s Tax On Insurers Will Take Bite Out Of Medicaid
Under the health care overhaul, the federal government will begin taxing itself and the states beginning in 2014. And that’s giving state Medicaid directors heartburn. The law calls for a new tax on health insurers’ premium revenue — intended to help pay for expansion of coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. But the tax will be paid by all […]
Today’s Headlines – February 1, 2012
Can you believe it’s February already? Here are your morning headlines: The New York Times: Budget Deficit Tops $1 Trillion, But Is Falling, Report Says Lawmakers of both parties say Congress must block impending cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, who face a 27 percent reduction in fees in March. Just to maintain Medicare payment […]
Video: Florida Primary Night Speeches Feature Health Issues
After the bruising Florida primary, Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich made similar promises to roll back the 2010 health law and regulations affecting religious institutions.
Many In High Risk Pools Aren’t Protected From Lifetime Coverage Limits
Thanks to the health care overhaul, most people no longer have to worry about getting sick and running out of health insurance coverage. The law eliminated lifetime limits, which ran in many plans from $1 million to $2 million. Unfortunately, though, the change doesn’t apply to plans that enroll some of the sickest people: those […]
Nursing Homes Offer Plan To Help Cut Medicare Spending
Much attention has been focused on a House-Senate conference committee’s efforts to find ways to finance an extension of the current payroll tax break and to prevent a 27 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians. But the nursing home industry is also facing some stiff funding reductions, and an industry trade group has come up with a proposal to […]
Today’s Headlines – January 31, 2012
Tuesday is here. We have your headlines to get you through the morning: Los Angeles Times: Democrats In Congress Step Up Tax-The-Rich Efforts But after a year in which a tea-party-driven Republican Party proposed steep cuts to Medicare and other mainstays of the federal government, polls show that voters have reacted in part by taking […]
Dream Of A Medical ‘Price List’ Dies In Florida Legislature
Imagine if finding out the cost of a particular treatment or procedure at a doctors’ office was as easy as locating the prices of entrees at a restaurant. The menu might read: school physicals – $40; office visit for a cold – $80; diabetes screening – $200. But to the dismay of some consumer advocates, this push for […]
Today’s Headlines – January 30, 2012
Good morning! Monday’s here, but don’t fret, here are your headlines: Los Angeles Times: GOP Leaders Pledge Quick Action On Payroll Tax Break House-Senate negotiators are expected to meet this week on extending the tax break, which amounts to about $20 a week for the average worker, as well as continuing unemployment benefits and preventing […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the state of Maryland have rated patient safety at hospitals in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
‘Oy Vey’: Jewish Republicans In South Florida See Little To Like In Health Care Law
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Waiting for Newt Gingrich to arrive at a Republican Jewish Coalition rally here late afternoon Friday, Connie Cestari, 80, said health care will be a top issue for her in November. She said she’s voting Republican in part to make sure the 2010 health overhaul gets overturned, because it gives the government too big a role in health. […]
Bipartisan Report Highlights Gaps, Recommendations For Health IT
It’s been three years since Congress approved a nearly $30 billion plan to digitize health care records, yet much of the health care industry is still drowning in paper, a coalition of policymakers from the left and right said Friday. The Bipartisan Policy Center released a 43-page report detailing the gaps in health IT implementation–the biggest […]
Today’s Headlines – January 27, 2012
Happy Friday! Here are your morning headlines: Politico: Health Care Reform: House GOP Waits For Supreme Court House Republicans have tried to repeal various pieces of President Barack Obama’s health reform law, but they haven’t touched the least popular piece: the individual mandate. One reason for that: They don’t want to give the Supreme Court […]
Health Law Is A Family Affair For CMS’ Tavenner
Marilyn Tavenner, the president’s nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was already hoarse when she began her speech at the Care Innovation Summit in Washington D.C. today. However, that did not stop Tavenner, the agency’s acting administrator, from delivering a laundry list of the 2010 health law’s benefits and achievements, including a particularly personal one. An estimated […]
Today’s Headlines – January 26, 2012
Good morning health policy world! Here are your morning headlines: The Associated Press/Washington Post: House GOP Leaders Want ‘Replace’ Bill Ready If Supreme Court Strikes Down Obama’s Health Law House Republican leaders are drafting a bill to replace President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul if the Supreme Court strikes it down this summer. Pennsylvania Rep. […]
Important New Understanding About Essential Benefits? Not Everyone Thinks So
The Department of Health and Human Services today released a document intended to preview the kinds of benefits most health plans must offer starting in 2014. But one consumer advocate said it does not provide nearly enough information to be helpful. The federal government in December gave states significant leeway to decide what “essential benefits” must be […]
