Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: January 23, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Obamacare Questions Persist; GOP Threats Ring Hollow; Abortion Bait And Switch
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: When A Patient Kills A Doctor; The Ebola Czar; Medicare’s Role In Costs
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
State Highlights: States To See More Funds For School-Based Care
A selection of health policy stories from North Carolina, Massachusetts, Texas, California, Kansas and Iowa.
67 Confirmed Measles Cases In California-Centered Outbreak
The outbreak, which public health officials say is the worst in the state 15 years, is focusing attention on the anti-vaccination movement.
Medicaid Pay Raise Boosted Access To Primary Care
A 10-state study found that Medicaid enrollees had an easier time getting appointments with primary care doctors as a result of the temporary pay raise which expired Dec. 31.
Where You Get Surgery Matters — Especially For Cost
Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers disclosed for the first time what they pay health care providers for surgeries. The result: wide gaps in what different providers charge.
Nursing Groups Seek More Training Funds
Nursing educators ask Congress for more money to train nurses, while the number of nurse practitioners nearly doubled in the last decade. Meanwhile, a coalition of 35 medical societies ask federal regulators to make big changes to the government’s electronic health records program.
Grassley Probes Nonprofit Hospital’s Actions After Reports About Care Of Poor Patients
The senator is writing to a Missouri hospital at the center of a recent NPR/ProPublica report. Also in hospital news, Kaiser Health News examines a program that offers bonuses and penalties to hospitals based on the quality of their care.
UnitedHealth’s Profit Benefits From New Obamacare Customers
The largest U.S. insurer Wednesday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings due, in part, to hundreds of thousands of new customers it added as a result of the health law.
A Guide To The Supreme Court’s Next Health Law Challenge
Also on Wednesday, lawyers for Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, sought to convince a federal appeals court that the health law had harmed him.
Administration Closes In On 9.1M Sign-Up Goal
Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers in Colorado target executive bonuses and demand a full audit of that state’s exchange.
Another Congress, Another SGR Patch?
Modern Healthcare writes about how, despite broad consensus on the need for a permanent doc fix, lawmakers cannot agree on how to pay for overhauling the Medicare pay formula. Other stories look at the uncertain fate of the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the fast-tracking of a veterans’ suicide prevention bill.
Sens. Hatch And Alexander Offer Bill To Repeal Health Law’s Requirement To Get Insurance
The senators have 20 other Republican co-sponsors for their legislation, which would get rid of the unpopular provision.
House GOP Drops Abortion Bill After Female Lawmakers Voiced Criticism
News outlets termed the move to be an “embarrassing setback” when Republican leaders pulled back the 20-week abortion ban legislation, which was expected to come up for a vote Thursday to mark the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
First Edition: January 22, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Defending The Health Law; ‘Bring Back The Asylum’; Growing Maternity Expenses
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
A selection of health policy stories from California, Missouri, Kansas, Arizona, Texas, Minnesota, West Virginia and Massachusetts.
Need A New Knee? That’ll Be $11K — Or $70K, Depending On Where You Live
A new report shows wide variation in what surgery costs in America, and sometimes wild discrepancy exists even inside the same city. Elsewhere, a study says teams of doctors make fewer mistakes than lone ones.
Higher Premiums, Controlled Medical Costs Drive UnitedHealth Profit Up
Earnings for the large insurer rose 6 percent, with revenue for the last quarter of 2014 topping $33 billion — beating Wall Street expectations.
