Latest KFF Health News Stories
A selection of health policy stories from California, Texas, Minnesota, Connecticut, Louisiana, Ohio, Washington and North Carolina.
More Vets To Qualify For Private Health Care After Rule Change
Veterans who live 40 driving miles away from a VA hospital or clinic will have an easier time getting treated at private medical facilities, as the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to relax the way it calculates the distance requirement.
Insurers Scale Back Nursing Home Coverage After Costs Soar
The Baltimore Sun reports that long-term care insurance has proven to be a tough business, as four of the top five providers have scaled back their business or stopped selling new policies. Meanwhile, nurses and orderlies suffer a high rate of on-the-job injuries, but NPR reports that medical facilities and regulators aren’t doing enough to protect them.
Medicaid’s Estate Recovery Provision Makes Some Enrollees Think Twice
Federal law requires the program to charge for some services that may be billed to a beneficiary’s estate after he or she dies. It is a scenario that is giving some people pause.
Even In Nursing, Men Make More Than Women
Nine of 10 nurses are women, but a new study says that male RNs still earn more than their female counterparts. The pay gap is a little over $5,000 annually.
Humana: DOJ Queried Many Medicare Advantage Plans, Providers
The insurer said a previously disclosed government query is part of a wider review involving many health care companies. Meanwhile Health Diagnostic Laboratory nears a settlement of a federal probe and the Supreme Court rules that a lower court made it too easy for Omnicare investors to sue the company.
Improve Oversight Of Hospital Discount Drug Program, Watchdogs Say
As participation in the federal 340B drug discount program has quickly expanded, officials told lawmakers at a House hearing that new legislation may be necessary to make sure that benefits go to eligible providers and patients.
Even States That Didn’t Expand Medicaid Are Benefiting From Health Law Funds
But news from Louisiana and North Carolina also shows how advocates continue to push for the expansion of the low-income insurance program.
Health Law Worries Include Slowing Enrollment, Fewer Work Hours
The health law is also leaving its mark on new taxes for high-cost insurance plans and may be hindering government transparency. Elsewhere, a Democrat introduces legislation to repeal the medical device tax and Latinos speak about their experiences with the law.
Obama To Push Health Care Quality Over Quantity In Anniversary Speech
The push comes in the form of a new private and public partnership that will include more than 2,800 health care providers. Rite Aid and Cigna are among the partners teaming with the Obama administration on the move.
Ted Cruz — An Anti-Obamacare Crusader — Will Seek Health Law Coverage
A day after the GOP freshman senator from Texas officially announced his presidential bid and pegged it to undoing the Affordable Care Act, he said he would be seeking coverage on the health law’s online insurance marketplace.
House Bill To Revamp Medicare Payments To Doctors Making Progress On Capitol Hill
The bipartisan package, which also includes an extension of health care benefits to low-income children, is picking up interest, although some Senate Democrats still express concerns.
Stakes Are High For Votes On Budget, Medicare Fix
As they seek to show their governing skills, Republican leaders are nearing votes on the House and Senate budget blueprints, which also include a road map for repealing the health law. Separately, a permanent doc-fix measure moving through Congress could likely face partisan challenges.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Study: Half Of Households Getting Subsidies May Have To Repay IRS
The analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation also projects that 45 percent of households getting subsidies would receive refunds from the government after reconciling the tax credits with their 2014 income.
Viewpoints: Obamacare Anniversary Reflections; Rubio’s Replacement Plan; Deep CHIP Divide
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
A selection of health policy stories from Arizona, Kansas, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Montana, Utah and Arkansas.
Maine Lawmakers Change Minds, Will Preserve Medicaid Funding
Elsewhere, Ohio mistakenly sends letters to 4,200 providers telling them they were being dropped from the state’s Medicaid program, and Arkansas readies to notify thousands that they may soon lose their Medicaid coverage.
Experts Call For Reimbursing Doctors For Planning End-Of-Life Care
A forum at the National Academy of Sciences examined these issues. In the meantime, Alzheimer’s patients are sometimes not told they have the disease, a new study says.
VA To Soften Rules That Make It Hard For Some Rural Vets To Get Care
The so-called “40-mile” rule often makes it difficult for those living outside large cities to prove they live far enough away from a VA health center to get private medical care instead. The VA will now rely on driving distance to determine the distance, not a straight line.
