Must A Divorced Dad Cover Adult Kids; Will Medicare Pay For Infusion Therapy
By Michelle Andrews
August 12, 2014
KFF Health News Original
KHN’s consumer columnist Michelle Andrews explores a divorced mother’s efforts to get her ex-husband to keep their sons on his plan, one senior’s problems getting Medicare to cover his antibiotic infusion at home and what earnings one reader will have to count when applying for premium subsidies.
Actavis To Acquire Allergan — Purchase Price: $66B
November 18, 2014
Morning Briefing
By inking what’s being described as one of the year’s biggest deals, Actavis will be — based on sales — one of the world’s largest drug makers.
Some States Bristle At Lack Of Authority Over Medicare Advantage Plans
By Fred Schulte, The Center For Public Integrity
August 19, 2014
KFF Health News Original
When Congress created the option for beneficiaries to join the private Medicare Advantage plans, it gave oversight to federal officials, preempting state insurance laws and procedures.
Consumers Get $10B In Subsidies For Health Coverage, Study Finds
By Jenny Gold
March 27, 2014
KFF Health News Original
Americans have already qualified for about $10 billion in tax credits to help them purchase private health insurance this year through the Affordable Care Act, according to a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) That’s an average of $2,890 for each of the 3.5 million people […]
Some Colorado Doctors May Be Overcharging Medicare For Routine Visits
By Eric Whitney
May 22, 2014
KFF Health News Original
An analysis of newly available data may reveal fraud. But experts caution that the raw data alone could also make physicians who are doing nothing wrong look bad.
Chemo Costs In U.S. Driven Higher By Shift To Hospital Outpatient Facilities
By Roni Caryn Rabin
May 6, 2014
KFF Health News Original
The price of cancer drugs has doubled in the past decade, with the average brand-name cancer drug in the U.S. costing $10,000 for a month’s supply, up from $5,000 in 2003, according to a new report by IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, a health information, services and technology company. And those are just average prices; […]
Teresa Martinez: Waiting For Medi-Cal
By Heidi de Marco
April 21, 2014
KFF Health News Original
Teresa Martinez, 62, from East Los Angeles makes $10,000 a year working as a hairdresser in a Koreatown salon. With her modest income she is likely to be eligible for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act’s Medi-Cal expansion.
California Doctors Among Those Charging Medicare The Most For Office Visits
By Lisa Pickoff-White Lisa Aliferis April Dembosky
May 21, 2014
KFF Health News Original
Billing data show that some doctors charge the government much more than their peers in the same specialty by deeming almost all office visits “complex.”
Medicare Premium Holds Steady In 2015
October 10, 2014
Morning Briefing
The premium that most older people pay for outpatient, or “Part B,” care will stay the same in 2015 — $104.90 a month, while cost-sharing for hospital and skilled nursing stays will increase slightly, the government announced.
Study: Healthcare.Gov Costs Top $2B
September 25, 2014
Morning Briefing
The finding by a Bloomberg Government analysis exceeds the cost estimates provided by the Obama administration. Meanwhile, an administration official says efforts are “continuing, step by step” to improve the health insurance website, but also steers clear of specific pledges.
FAQ: High Court’s Hobby Lobby Ruling Cuts Into Contraceptive Mandate
By Mary Agnes Carey
June 30, 2014
KFF Health News Original
The court says closely held corporations may be exempted from the health law’s mandate that employer health plans cover certain types of contraception at no cost to the employee.
Cancer Care Giant Faces Medicare Billing Probe
November 14, 2014
Morning Briefing
The Justice Department is investigating whether 21st Century Oncology “knowingly billed for services that were not medically necessary,” reports The Wall Street Journal. Other stories look at the government’s withdrawal of a rule regarding the 340B drug discount program, double-digit increases in the prices hospitals pay for technology and the increase in plans covering gender reassignment surgery.
GOP To-Do List: Fix Health Law’s Medical Device Tax, Refine Work Hours Provision
November 7, 2014
Morning Briefing
Flush with the power of the majority, congressional Republicans plan to have a vote to repeal Obamacare, although the president has vowed to veto that. The “plan B” strategy will then be to undo some of the overhaul’s most unpopular provisions. News outlets also report on how congressional committees may deal with the Affordable Care Act and other health policy.
State Highlights: Mass. Gets $41B Deal With CMS; Huge Nursing Home Complaint Backlog In Calif.
November 3, 2014
Morning Briefing
A selection of health policy stories from California, Ohio, Massaschusetts, Oklahoma, Arizona and Kentucky.
What’s At Stake For Birth Control In Upcoming SCOTUS Decision
By Julie Rovner
June 13, 2014
KFF Health News Original
Many health plans could be affected by the coming high court ruling on cases challenging the mandate to provide specific types of contraception.
CBO Reports That Health Law Provision Called ‘Bailout’ By GOP Will Raise $8B
By Mary Agnes Carey
February 5, 2014
KFF Health News Original
New findings from the Congressional Budget Office may make it harder for Republicans to portray a provision in the health law designed to limit insurers’ losses and gains as a “bailout” for the industry. The House Oversight and Government Reform panel is scheduled to have a hearing Wednesday examining the law’s “risk corridors,” which limit […]
Justices To Weigh Contraceptive Mandate Against Religious Freedom Claims
By Stuart Taylor Jr.
March 20, 2014
KFF Health News Original
Two businesses are challenging the health law’s birth control coverage requirement on religious freedom grounds.
Can Congress Put An End To Annual Medicare Payment Ritual?
By Susan Jaffe
March 17, 2014
KFF Health News Original
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Congress is still searching for money to avoid a 24 percent cut in pay for doctors who treat Medicare patients. But seniors are already paying their share of the cost in premiums, as if the pay cut — scheduled to kick in on April 1 — […]
Obama Signs $16.3B Overhaul Of Vets’ Health Care System
August 8, 2014
Morning Briefing
Military veterans who have been suffering long waiting times for medical care or live significant distances from VA facilities should be able to turn to private doctors almost immediately as a result of this law, which President Barack Obama signed Thursday. The measure also provides funding to hire new health care professionals. Already, though, some say that recruiting physicians to come into the system will present a challenge.
How Will Hepatitis C Drug Affect Health Care Spending?
June 24, 2014
Morning Briefing
Elsewhere, pharmaceutical companies are upset over new rules for a drug discount program — known as 340B.
