Latest KFF Health News Stories
That Other Shopping Spree: Medicare Deadline Looms
Updated at 11:40 a.m. on Nov. 23. Black Friday is nearly upon us, and along with holiday gift shopping, there’s plenty of Medicare shopping to do over Thanksgiving weekend. Seniors have only two weeks left to choose a new Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan, if they want to change from their current ones. Medicare’s […]
Today’s Headlines – November 23, 2011
Happy almost Thanksgiving! Here are some headlines to get you prepared for all baking, cooking and napping. Politico: Medicare Genie Is Now Out Of The Bottle The super committee failed to strike a deficit deal, but the terrain still changed for entitlement reform. And once Democrats — starting with President Barack Obama — gave ground […]
Tavenner To Replace Berwick At CMS Helm
President Barack Obama chose Marilyn Tavenner, a nurse and former hospital executive, to run the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid.
Report: U.S. Outspends Other Countries On Health Care
We’re No. 1. In health spending. Again. The United States far outpaces other countries in how much it spends on health care, although Americans have a lower rate of doctor visits and hospitalizations than most of the other 34 member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. In its Health at a Glance […]
Need For Seniors Programs Is Rising, But Funding Is Not
Money for the federal programs that millions of seniors rely on to live independently in their own homes will not rise with the growing demand, Kathy Greenlee, head of the Administration on Aging, told members of the Gerontological Society of America during its annual meeting. More than 3,800 researchers, scientists, educators and health professionals specializing in […]
Medical Journal Reaches Out To iPhone Generation
The QR code — that funny-looking square bar code popping up on billboards, magazines and business cards — is now on the pages of medical and health care journals. In October, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) began incorporating the two-dimensional scannable code on at least one study every issue. When scanned with […]
Today’s Headlines – Nov. 22, 2011
Good morning! The Washington Post: Super Committee Announces Failure In Effort To Tame Debt A special congressional committee created to try to curb the national debt abandoned its work and conceded failure Monday. … Although Republicans offered to raise taxes by $300 billion over the next decade, they insisted on conditions that all but guaranteed […]
HHS Flags First ‘Unreasonable’ Premium Increase
Updated at 4:35 p.m. with comments from Everence. Everence Insurance of Pennsylvania on Monday became the first insurer flagged by federal regulators for having an unreasonable rate increase. The insurer, a for-profit arm of the Mennonite Church USA, raised rates starting in September by 11.6 percent for its ShareNet policies covering 4,800 people working for […]
Commonwealth Fund President Stepping Down In 2012
Karen Davis, the president of The Commonwealth Fund since 1995, announced today that she plans to leave her post at the health care foundation by the end of 2012. “It’s a decision I feel really good about,” she said. “I’ve been at the fund for 20 years … and I feel like I made the […]
Puzzling Out How To Help States With Hard-Hit Medicaid Budgets
One of the biggest problems governors face during a recession is this: When the economy is going down, Medicaid enrollment is going up. So states have more people in their Medicaid program, but less tax revenue to pay for them. It is what economists call counter-cyclical. Washington is sensitive to the problem. During the most […]
FDA Pulls Approval Of Avastin For Breast Cancer
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has spoken. After more than a year of deliberations and an unprecedented public hearing in June, the agency has revoked approval of the biotech blockbuster Avastin, a medicine that chokes off the blood supply to various cancer cells, as […]
Legal Questions And Answers That Will Decide The Health Law’s Fate
With Stuart Taylor as a guide, Kaiser Health News provides a decision tree to help readers see how the sweeping health law’s implementation could proceed – or not – based on each of the legal arguments the Supreme Court will hear.
Today’s Headlines – Nov. 18, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations: The Washington Post: Supercommittee Appears Unlikely To Reach Agreement The absence of an imminent crisis helps explain the lack of urgency on Capitol Hill this week, despite a Thanksgiving deadline approaching. With a vast ideological gulf separating the Republican House and the Democratic Senate on taxes […]
The Supreme Court And Health Law Politics
Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. New Yorker: Birthright There are eighty-two Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide, operating nearly eight hundred clinics. Planned Parenthood says that one in five women in the U.S. has been treated at a Planned Parenthood clinic. Critics of Planned Parenthood, who are engaged in a […]
Today’s Headlines – Nov. 17, 2011
Good morning! The fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision on a hearing for the health law continues, as observers watch for signs that the super committee will find common ground before their Wednesday deadline. The Washington Post: Supreme Court’s Planned Review Of Health-Care Law Shocks Medicaid Advocates While there was no surprise over the Supreme […]
Health Insurance Premiums Soar In All 50 States
Another day, another piece of bad news about health insurance premiums. A state-by-state analysis finds that from 2003 to 2010, premiums for family coverage increased an average of 50 percent. At that rate, the average family premium would balloon to nearly $24,000 by 2020, according to the study, which was conducted by The Commonwealth Fund, […]
TV Spots Target Three Republicans On Medicare Cuts
The AFSCME and SEIU trade unions, along with the liberal advocacy group Americans United for Change, are warning Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass. and Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., that votes in favor of Medicare and Medicaid budget cuts will be unpopular with seniors. The groups launched ads today featuring the voice of a […]
Today’s Headlines – Nov. 16, 2011
Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including more analysis of Supreme Court’s upcoming consideration of the health law, and the latest developments regarding the Super Committee. The New York Times: News Analysis: Insurance Mandate May Be Health Bill’s Undoing As Barack Obama battled Hillary Rodham Clinton over health care during the […]
Physicians Push For More Palliative Care Despite Barriers
A poll released Tuesday found that an overwhelming majority of doctors support palliative care, with 96 percent responding that they believe enhancing the quality of life for seriously ill patients is more important than extending life as long as possible. Despite these sentiments, many physicians responded that they have some hesitations about palliative care and […]
Drug Shortages Affect More Than Half A Million Cancer Patients
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Persistent shortages of life-saving drugs led President Barack Obama to issue an executive order last month to try to ease what one administration official called a “dire public health situation” that has created problems for patient care. So far this year, short supplies of more than 200 […]
