Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘Almost Heaven’ Meets ‘Paradise’ — Virgin Islands and West Virginia Discuss An Exchange
One place, known for its Appalachian Mountains and rich coal supply, was immortalized in John Denver’s 1970s hit, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The other has white sandy beaches, rum distilling and an average January high temperature of 86 degrees that attracts millions of tourists each year. From economy to climate, West Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands […]
Today’s Headlines – January 9, 2012
Good morning! Here are your early morning news highlights to get your day going! The Washington Post: Administration To High Court: Congress Acted Within Rights On Health-Care Law Congress was “well within” its constitutional powers when it decided that the way to resolve a crisis in health-care costs and coverage was to mandate that Americans […]
We Watch The Debates So You Don’t Have To
KHN boils down the weekend’s GOP presidential debate marathon to just the discussions of health care issues, including Medicare, premium support and contraception.
The Supreme Court, The Individual Mandate, And Eating Your Broccoli
One of the major arguments against the individual health insurance mandate in the federal health overhaul is this: If Congress can force most Americans to buy health insurance, can’t it also require people to buy broccoli? It’s a question a senior Obama administration official faced Friday in a briefing with reporters an hour before the Justice […]
Today’s Headlines – January 6, 2012
Happy Friday! Here are your headlines to start your morning! The New York Times: Romney Facing Risks Left And Right To Democrats, it is a straw-man formulation that twists the facts of Mr. Obama’s record and implies that the president is somehow less than American. The largest entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid — […]
9 States Seek Help For High-Risk Pools
Nine states have asked the federal government for more money to make sure their new high-risk pools that provide health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions don’t run out of money before 2014, the Obama administration said Thursday Two of the states — California and New Hampshire — have already been promised additional money. The […]
Today’s Headlines – January 5, 2012
Good morning! Here are some health headlines to get your day started: The Wall Street Journal: Health-Law Opponents Try To Add Plaintiffs To Lawsuit A small-business group fighting President Barack Obama’s health-care law asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to add two plaintiffs to its lawsuit after possible problems arose with an initial plaintiff. The […]
In U.S., Hospital Round Trips More Common For Heart Attack Patients
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. If a heart attack sends you to an American hospital, you’ll probably go home after only two or three nights. That’s faster than virtually anyplace else in the world. But your chances of needing to go back into the hospital within the next month are also […]
Today’s Headlines – January 4, 2012
Good morning! It’s freezing cold in our nation’s capitol, here are some headlines to warm yourself by: Politico: Iowa Caucus Results: Mitt Romney Edges Rick Santorum In Iowa Mitt Romney edged Rick Santorum by a mere eight votes in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses — a margin that amounted to a tie in the crucial opening act […]
Should Doctors Be ‘Parsimonious’ About Health Care?
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. A major medical group issued ethical guidelines on Monday that take the provocative position of urging doctors to consider cost-effectiveness when deciding how to treat their patients. The American College of Physicians, the second-largest U.S. doctors’ group after the American Medical Association, included the recommendation in […]
Do Different Birth Years Mean Different Insurance Statements For Twins?
By the time newborn Freya Humenny joined her twin brother Beckett this past weekend, the calendar already had turned from 2011 to 2012. That means the twins always will have their own birthdays—but will they share an insurance statement? The twin’s mother, Stephanie Peterson, gave birth to Beckett at 6:40 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2011, […]
Today’s Headlines – January 3, 2012
Good morning! We’re back with your early morning headlines! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that New York seniors are experiencing reduced prescription coverage and more California patients are being added to the health insurance rolls. The New York Times: New Laws Now Evaluated By Job Creation After years of judging […]
Reversal On Health Mandate Came Late For Gingrich And Romney
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Opposition to the administration’s overhaul of health care has almost become an article of faith with every Republican running for president. Candidates promise to repeal the law and its less-than-popular requirement for most Americans to either have health insurance or to pay a penalty starting in […]
Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reads from around the Web. TIME: Should Journals Describe How Scientists Made A Killer Flu? In experiments conducted at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, researchers engineered a strain of H5N1. … The next logical step would be for the researchers […]
Survey Finds One In Five Americans Juggling Medical Bills
Americans continue to struggle to pay their medical bills, and even the 2010 health care overhaul may not ease their financial burden. A new survey from the Center for Studying Health System Change and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows the percentage of American families having difficulty paying their medical bills did not increase from 2007 […]
Today’s Headlines – December 23, 2011
We won’t publish KHN’s First Edition the week of December 26, but we’ll be back in action on January 3. Happy holidays! Here are your morning headlines: The New York Times: House G.O.P. Leaders Agree To Extension Of Payroll Tax Cut Under a deal reached between House and Senate leaders, the House will now approve as […]
Feds Bolster High Risk Insurance Funds In Two States
The federal government this month increased funding to New Hampshire and California to make sure their new high-risk pools that provide coverage to uninsured people with pre-existing condition don’t run out of money before 2014. Because nationwide enrollment has been far less than expected, overall federal funding for the program established under the health overhaul appears […]
Lack Of Autopsies After Elderly Die Conceals Health Flaws
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Abuse in nursing homes and suspicious deaths among seniors often go undetected because postmortem examinations are becoming few and far between. Earlier this year, an NPR News investigation found that many jurisdictions stopped doing autopsies on people who died over the age of 60, unless it […]
Today’s Headlines – December 22, 2011
Here are your morning headlines for the first day of winter! Stay warm. The Los Angeles Times: U.S. Leaders Say They Are Hard At Work On Payroll Tax With no endgame in sight to prevent a looming payroll tax hike, President Obama and congressional leaders took turns trying to convince Americans that they were hard […]
Public Can Be Swayed On Health Law’s Mandate, Survey Finds
The individual mandate is the Affordable Care Act’s least popular provision and lies at the heart of the legal challenge to the law before the U.S. Supreme Court. But a new poll finds that public opinion can be swayed by how the mandate’s implications are described. In general, only 33 percent of Americans support the individual mandate, […]
