Latest KFF Health News Stories
Policy Shift By Nation’s Largest Insurer Could Leave Some With Unexpected Bills
UnitedHealthcare is no longer routinely paying for out-of-network emergency room physicians and other specialists even when they work for hospitals in the insurer’s network.
Texas Bill Would Prohibit Doctors From Asking About Guns
A Texas lawmaker, also a surgeon, wants to ensure doctors ‘have the right not to ask’ about gun ownership and is pushing a bill to do just that.
It’s Obamacare’s First Tax Season. Can The IRS Handle It?
Delayed refunds, mistakes feared as an understaffed IRS confronts the complexities of the Affordable Care Act.
Errors Can Turn Affordable Care Benefits To Customer Torment
Pairing federal payments with private insurance brings benefits to many but creates dueling bureaucracies for some customers caught between them.
Is Arkansas’ ‘Private Option’ Medicaid Expansion A Solution For Other Red States?
Several GOP-led states are taking note of Arkansas’ market-based approach to Medicaid expansion, but questions remain about its long-term costs and effectiveness.
Many Along Texas Border Still Live Without Clean, Safe Water
Roughly 90,000 Texans living along the Texas-Mexico border in unincorporated ‘colonias’ don’t have running water in their homes.
In Texas Funding Fight, Cancer Care For Poor Women Could Be Collateral Damage
GOP lawmakers eager to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood are weighing changes to a cancer screening program for poor women. But private clinics unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood say they’d take a hit, too.
Missouri Gov. Endorses Work Requirement As Part Of Medicaid Expansion Plan
Despite the Democrat’s embrace of a work requirement for the first time, the plan got a hostile reaction from some GOP lawmakers.
Retail Health Care Spurs Innovation In South Florida
In September, Florida Blue will debut three “integrated care” facilities designed to cater to South and Central American populations by offering primary care, specialty services, labs and diagnostics under one roof — a model common in Latin America.
In Florida, 93 Percent Of Enrollees Get Financial Help For Obamacare
Florida and Mississippi had the highest percentage of enrollees receiving a tax credit to help them pay premiums.
Pa. Medicaid Expansion Switch To Be Done By September
The switch from the previous governor’s privatized Medicaid expansion alternative to Gov. Tom Wolf’s traditional plan will take several months because of IT issues.
South Florida Doctors Explain Co-Insurance, As Well As Cholesterol Counts
Doctors in South Florida are placed in the sometimes awkward position of explaining to thousands of newly insured patients that their coverage doesn’t cover everything.
Fate Of 500,000 North Carolinians Tied To High Court Case
The U.S. Supreme Court hears a challenge Wednesday to the insurance subsidies available through the federal health insurance exchange used by North Carolina residents.
High Costs Of HIV Drugs On Some Illinois Insurance Plans May Be Discriminatory, Say Advocates
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago has warned Coventry, Humana and two other insurers that their pricing of AIDS drugs may violate the health care law’s protections against discrimination.
Texas Has High Stakes in Lawsuit Over Health Law
Nearly 1 million Texans who signed up for health insurance through healthcare.gov would be affected if the court invalidates subsidies in federal exchange states – and not just the ones getting subsidies.
Disruptions Mount As Illinois Shifts Medicaid Patients To Managed Care
Medicaid managed care enrollees in Illinois are reporting difficulties seeing their doctors and getting prescriptions filled, which a state Medicaid official attributes to the speed and scope of the changes.
More Governors Embrace Medicaid Expansion, But With Changes
Some advocates worry these changes could push Medicaid further away from its original purpose, which was to provide affordable health insurance for the needy.
Blue Cross North Carolina’s Price Tool Could Shake Up Medical Industry
The state’s largest insurer is the latest to pull back the veil of secrecy shrouding health care costs by publishing prices for more than 1,200 non-emergency procedures.
One South Florida ZIP Code Leads The Nation In Obamacare Enrollment
Saturation advertising in one Hispanic-heavy city in South Florida has led to unusually high rates of health plan sign-ups through the federal insurance exchange — and they lead the nation in health law insurance enrollment.
Enrollees In Pa.’s Medicaid Expansion Locked Out Of Substance Abuse Services
An apparent glitch in enrolling Pennsylvania residents into that state’s Medicaid expansion, which was championed by former Gov. Tom Corbett, limits mental health and addiction services for enrollees.