Latest KFF Health News Stories
More Than 900,000 Texans Sign Up For Health Coverage
News outlets look at enrollment results in Texas, Wisconsin and New York.
Marketplace Enrollment Grows To Nearly 10 Million, HHS Reports
With a little more than a week left in the open enrollment period, officials say they have signed up about 7.5 million on the federal exchanges that serve 37 states and 2.4 million on the exchanges run by states.
Rand Paul’s Vaccination Politics Play Role In Larger Ambition
Sen. Rand Paul’s beliefs on childhood vaccination — that it be mostly voluntary — are playing into what some view as a potential run at the Republican nomination for president. Paul’s longtime association with a doctors’ group that opposes mandatory vaccinations is also scrutinized.
Burwell Blasted For Dodging Questions On Subsidy Contingency Plans
Republicans unsuccessfully sought answers from Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell about what the administration would do if the Supreme Court invalidates subsidies in federal exchange states. Meanwhile, a bipartisan bill to exempt veterans from the health law’s employer mandate would add $900 million to the deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
GOP Unveils Obamacare Alternative
The plan, which is not a formal bill, would still guarantee coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions and offer subsidies to some to afford health coverage, but it would also end most requirements on health plans and transform Medicaid into a system of block grants.
Insurer Anthem Faces Cyberattack; Data Breach Affects Tens Of Millions Of Customers
The nation’s second largest insurer first noted suspicious activity Jan. 27.
First Edition: February 5, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Congress Back To Its Old Agenda; Problems With Health Law’s ‘Cadillac’ Tax
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Commentators Take Parents, Politicians To Task For Lack Of Commitment To Vaccines
The measles outbreak is prompting an outcry among columnists and editorials for children to be inoculated and for elected officials — including N.J. Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul — to acknowledge the importance of public health strategies.
A selection of health policy stories from California, Maryland, Arizona, Kansas and Illinois.
‘Quality’ Is New Health Care Buzzword, But Does Tracking It Improve Outcomes?
Some new studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that tracking and comparing hospitals’ surgical complications and deaths doesn’t necessarily improve patient outcomes. Elsewhere, Medicare is approving fewer pricey drugs and procedures.
Employees’ Out-Of-Pocket Costs Rise 7 Percent For Work Coverage
Also, more people with coverage from their employers are choosing high-deductible plans. An analysis also finds that a lack of price transparency in health care costs leads consumers to miss savings.
Despite Huge Hep C Drug Sales, Gilead Stock Falls On Forecasted Discounts
Gilead Sciences sold $10.3 billion-worth of its new hepatitis C drug Sovaldi in 2014, a figure that brought it close to being the best-selling drug in the world in its first year. But the drug’s price has been controversial and the announcement on an investor call that it would be discounted this year by an average 46 percent lowered Gilead’s share price in after-market trading.
Multi-State Measles Outbreak Sparks Political Debate
Top GOP lawmakers went on record Tuesday with their support of routine vaccination, after two elected officials — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — made remarks that caused them to step back from earlier statements. Meanwhile, news outlets examine state vaccine requirements and opt-out clauses and how this issue is viewed by parents and local officials.
Anxiety For Republicans, Not Just Democrats, As Supreme Court Considers Health Law
The Supreme Court’s reading of four words in the health law — “established by the state” — will have huge ramifications regarding whether the Affordable Care Act stands or crumbles.
More GOP-Led States Are Considering Medicaid Expansion
In Tennessee, pressure from businesses to embrace the expansion of the health care program for poorer Americans forced lawmakers to reconsider their staunchly anti-expansion stance. In Kansas, some lawmakers are readying legislation to adopt the expansion.
In other Capitol Hill legislative news, legislation to allow severely ill Medicaid kids get out-of-state care has bipartisan support.
Republican Lawmakers Set To Unveil Health Law Replacement Plan
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton declined to give details on the plan. Some Republicans are pushing tax credits and deductions for health care, and others are pushing the idea of “portable” health coverage — the ability to take your insurance from job to job.
House GOP Leads Charge (Again) To Repeal The Health Law
The House approved for the first time in the new GOP-controlled Congress a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Its outlook in the Senate, though, is unclear.
Obama Hosts Health Law Beneficiaries And Chides Republicans For Their Repeal Efforts
The White House event coincided with the House vote — the 56th so far — to repeal the president’s signature legislation.
