Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘Big Cleanout’ No Cure For Hoarding
Studies presented this weekend at the American Society on Aging conference say hoarders are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and have social phobias rather than obsessive compulsive disorder.
Some Employers Already Sending Workers To Exchanges to Buy Health Insurance
Entrepreneurs create new private marketplaces
Tables: State-By-State Rankings Of Hospital Experiences
As part of its effort to make hospitals focus more on patient satisfaction, Medicare is preparing to use patient satisfaction survey scores in deciding how much to pay hospitals. While the data are not yet used to determine Medicare reimbursement, the ratings are publicly available. Patients in different states give vastly different ratings of their […]
GOP Budget: Time Travel Back To When Seniors Couldn’t Afford Health Care — Guest Opinion
A short walk down memory lane — to a retired auto worker’s 1959 congressional testimony — offers a stark reminder that Republican plans to change Medicare could turn back time and leave many seniors unable to pay their medical bills.
3 In 4 U.S. Prescriptions Are Now For Generic Drugs
As more brand-name drugs lose patent protection, use of inexpensive generic medicines continues to rise. Later this year cholesterol-fighter Lipitor will become available as a generic in the U.S., a change that will add more fuel to the trend.
Medical Wonder: Meet the CEO Who Rebuilt a Crumbling California Hospital
Wright Lassiter is doing the seemingly impossible as CEO of the Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, Calif.: He’s turned a mismanaged urban safety-net hospital system in one of America’s most violent cities into a model for other public hospitals by trimming costs — and did it while expanding services.
HHS Will ‘Hold Ourselves Accountable’ On Plan To Lessen Health Disparities – The KHN Interview
Dr. Garth N. Graham, HHS deputy assistant secretary for minority health, says comprehensive HHS approach aims to improve workforce diversity and data collection for minority populations.
House Passes Ryan’s Controversial Budget Plan
Republicans on Friday passes a controversial budget plan championed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, and though it stands nearly no chance in the Senate, it is likely a starting point for negotiations among lawmakers.
Video Excerpts Of President Barack Obama On Health Care And The Deficit
In a major speech at George Washington University today, President Barack Obama laid out a framework for controlling the deficit. Here are excerpts of what the president said about health care.
Health On The Hill Transcript – Spending Cuts Agreed To As Entitlement Reform Looms
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about an 11th hour spending deal reached late last week that would remove some minor provisions of the health care law and require that the Senate vote on two measures the House already has approved
Brief Federal Shutdown Wouldn’t Faze Medicare Or Medicaid
If the current budget standoff on Capitol Hill leads to a shutdown of the federal government on Friday, recipients of the Medicare and Medicaid health programs won’t have to worry. At least not for a while.
Budget Office: GOP Medicare Plan Could Lead To Rationing
Remember all those allegations from Republicans that the Affordable Care Act would inevitably lead to health care rationing? It turns out the same might be true of the House GOP budget plan for Medicare.
Fix the CLASS Act. Don’t Repeal It.
Congressional critics want to repeal the CLASS act. But without it, millions of disabled adults, frail seniors and their families will be left with only Medicaid’s tattered safety net.
Documents: Medicare, Medicaid In The GOP’s ‘Path to Prosperity’ Budget
The GOP “Path to Prosperity” 2012 budget blueprint includes proposals to restrain spending growth in health care costs by voucherizing Medicare and giving Medicaid block grants to states.
ACOs Spell Gold Rush For Health Care Consultants
Hospitals, doctors scramble for outside help in deciphering how to capitalize on health law’s “accountable care organizations.”
Accountable Care Organization Proposed Regulations: Resources
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick have unveiled the long-awaited federal rule on accountable care organizations. Here are several documents HHS has released to help make sense of the proposed regulation.
The President’s Health Care Predicament
Having spent so much political capital on the health law’s passage, one might expect it to feature prominently in the president’s planned reelection campaign. But it will likely turn out to be the law’s opponents who are more likely to talk about it.
Cuccinelli Says Va. Suit Has 60% Chance Of Prevailing: The KHN Interview
Virginia’s attorney general says it is hard to prejudge a constitutional case, but he says at least two cases suggest the Supreme Court could side with him.
The RUC – Providing Valuable Expertise To The Medicare Program For Twenty Years
Today, much of the dialogue related to Medicare payment refers to the need to infuse value into the system. Confusion persists, however, regarding how values are assigned to physician services under the current Medicare payment system, as well as the impact that this process actually has on payment levels for physicians of different specialties.
No More Senior Moments On The Health Law
The truth about the health law is being drowned out by fear-mongering talk-radio hosts and lawmakers with political agendas. Lichtman’s message to her peers is that they should be more discerning, separate fact from fiction and set an example with clear-eyed analysis about how this measure helps them.
