Latest KFF Health News Stories
Needs Improvement: U.S. Health Care Not Getting Better, Report Finds
America’s health care system is not getting any better even as it gets more expensive, according to the third comprehensive scorecard issued by the Commonwealth Fund, one of the country’s biggest health care foundations. After looking at 42 indicators of health care quality, access, cost and other values, the fund gave the U.S. a score […]
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 18, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the emerging strategies to undo the 2010 health law. Politico: Olympia Snowe Breaks From GOP On Health Care Sen. Olympia Snowe, the most moderate Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, parted ways with her GOP colleagues over their calls for tighter Medicare eligibility […]
ER Docs Focus On Medical Liability Reforms
The number of emergency room visits in the U.S. rose nearly 13 million in 2009 — about 10 percent — to more than 136 million visits — which is the largest increase ever, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Statistics like this, combined with changes that will result as the 2010 health law […]
Panel: Obama Administration Left Long-Term Care Puzzle Unsolved
On Friday, the Obama administration nixed the CLASS program. Still, speakers at the LeadingAge annual meeting on Monday said the controversial long-term health care program has the potential to succeed. “We’re still reading through the appendices [of the administration’s analysis], waiting to see their ideas” for how to make it work, said Connie Garner, executive […]
AARP, Iowa Hospitals On Air To Defend Medicare, Medicaid
While some organizations are turning to social media to get their message out about possible Medicare and Medicaid cuts, others are relying on old-fashioned paid media on television and radio. AARP and the Iowa Hospital Association are among the first on the air with messages for Congress and the super committee. AARP AARP’s ad focuses […]
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 17, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest on the super committee’s deliberations, the demise of the CLASS program and Herman Cain’s health policy positions. The Washington Post: Some States Seek Flexibility To Push Health-Care Overhaul Further A handful of states are pursuing health measures that go far beyond the Obama […]
The Obama administration has halted plans to implement the long-term care program in the 2010 health care law after determining that financing plans for it were not sufficient. The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, a program championed by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, has come under withering criticism from Republicans, who […]
Threat Of Medicaid Cuts Sparks Latino Social Media Push
Today is the last day Senate and House committees will be able to give their deficit-reduction recommendations to the bipartisan super committee, which has been assigned the task of cutting federal spending $1.2 trillion to reduce the deficit. While Democratic state officials reached out in person to the 12-member committee this week, Jennifer Ng’andu, the deputy […]
For Doctors, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. Economist: A Person Already? One evening in late September John Perkins, a veteran of the civil-rights movement, attended a rally at a Baptist church in Jackson in support of what he called “a total justice issue,” … It was concerned with Amendment 26, a […]
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 14, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including more status reports on the super committee’s deficit-reduction deliberations. USA Today: Congress Funnels Deficit-Cutting Ideas To ‘Supercommittee’ When it set up a “supercommittee” to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, Congress also asked other committees to weigh in with advice about what spending to cut. […]
Kids’ Emergency Mental Health Needs Add To Safety Net’s Burden
Emergency rooms across the country are crowded with children in need of psychiatric care, and more and more of those kids are underinsured – either on Medicaid or without any insurance at all. According to a new study, underinsured children accounted for 54 percent of emergency room psychiatric visits in 2007, up from 46 percent […]
Minorities Would Be Hard Hit By Medicaid Cuts, Study Warns
Blacks and Latinos would be among those hardest hit if Medicaid funding were cut as part of a deficit-reduction package, according to a new report released today by Families USA, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Council of La Raza, among others. In these communities, more than one in four people […]
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 13, 2011
Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report about how Mitt Romney’s health law waiver plan would work — states could skirt some of the measure’s biggest requirements, but it’s still not a complete repeal. Politico: How Romney’s Waivers Would Work Gov. Mitt Romney says he has a plan that […]
What Newt Gingrich Didn’t Say About His Cancer-Screening Expert
At last night’s GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich condemned the government’s latest effort to discourage men from reflexively getting blood tests for prostate cancer by citing the views of Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach. Gingrich stressed some of Eschenbach’s prestigious bona fides, including heading the National Cancer Institute and practicing at one of […]
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 12, 2011
Good morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports detailing how GOP rivals targeted Mitt Romney during last night’s presidential debate, and how Romney defended his health plan. Los Angeles Times: GOP Rivals Target Mitt Romney At Debate Targeted by a Republican field trying to blunt his renewed surge to the […]
Food-Safety Issues Abound Near U.S. Capitol
While consumers think they can find refuge in markets selling food grown locally, an investigation reveals seams in the federal government’s efforts to keep the country’s food supply safe.
The Five Cancers Most Likely To Push You Over The Financial Edge
Cancer often takes a heavy toll not only on people’s bodies but on their finances as well. And just as some types of cancer are more deadly than others, some types cause more financial pain, as recent research from Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center shows. When researchers examined bankruptcy rates in Washington state and […]
Today’s Headlines – Oct. 10, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how Mitt Romney taking heat from the other GOP hopefuls, with some of the fire focusing on his Massachusetts health overhaul. The New York Times: Many In Both Parties Want A Window Into The Deficit Reduction Panel’s Work On one crucial point, a […]
No Health Help for NGA Dues Shirkers
The National Governors Association is a bit of a misnomer these days. Sure, it still represents the interests of governors from all 50 states, but it no longer provides “technical assistance” to four states that have failed to pay their annual dues. Those states — all of which have Republican governors — are Florida, Texas, Idaho and […]
16 States Fall Short On Health Plan Appeal Systems
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia don’t meet new requirements under the federal health law for consumers to appeal health plans’ decisions to a third party, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As a result, by 2012, these states will have to contract with three “independent review organizations” to handle consumers’ […]
