Study Models Three Big Changes To Medicare
By Ankita Rao
May 7, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Lawmakers are looking for ways to tackle the growth of Medicare spending, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will account for 24 percent of the federal budget by 2037. But some strategies to cut program costs could leave millions of beneficiaries without coverage. A study from the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, compared the […]
Hospital CEO Bonuses Reward Volume And Growth
By Jay Hancock
June 16, 2013
KFF Health News Original
As the country tries to rein in skyrocketing health costs, hospital leaders are still rewarded for expansion and profits. A KHN investigation, in collaboration with ABC News, looks at employment contracts and incentive pay at nonprofit hospital systems.
Bid To Cover Abortion After Rape For Peace Corps Volunteers
By Ankita Rao
April 25, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) introduced a bill Thursday that would provide health insurance coverage for abortions to Peace Corps volunteers in the case of rape or incest. The Peace Corps Equity Act of 2013 echoes the Shaheen Amendment, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2012. That law provides military women coverage for abortions […]
Medicaid Expansion Continues To Make Political And Policy Waves In The Carolinas, Pennsylvania
September 9, 2013
Morning Briefing
While South Carolina works on its own “plan b” to pursue instead of the health law’s Medicaid expansion, a North Carolina hospital plans to close its doors. Its parent company blames the state’s decision against the expansion.
What’s The Price? Simple Question, Complicated Answer In Medicare
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
March 8, 2013
KFF Health News Original
I wrote to Medicare a while back, asking for a price. I know nothing is simple in the world of health care costs, but I just needed one number, a number Medicare uses all the time, I supposed, to calculate payments to doctors and hospitals. Here’s what I wanted to know: How much does Medicare […]
Bipartisan Center Offers Plan To Reduce Health Spending
By Mary Agnes Carey
April 19, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Medicare beneficiaries would have access to better coordinated medical care and the current Medicare physician payment formula would be scrapped as part of a health care cost containment plan the Bipartisan Policy Center unveiled Thursday. The plan offers more than 50 recommendations that would cut the federal deficit by about $560 billion over the next […]
Hospitals In 5 States Clamp Down On Delivering Babies Before 39 Weeks
By Phil Galewitz
April 8, 2013
KFF Health News Original
When hospitals commit to stopping the delivery of babies before 39 weeks gestation unless there is medical cause to do so, they can dramatically lower rates that can put babies at increased risk for serious health problems. A study published Monday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology showed a group of 25 hospitals in five states were able to cut their […]
Bloggers See Own Reflections In Oregon Medicaid Study
By Jordan Rau
May 3, 2013
KFF Health News Original
This week’s study of Oregon Medicaid recipients has quickly become a Rorschach test for how partisans and health policy wonks view the health care law. To recap, that study compared the health care of the winners and losers of a lottery held by Oregon in 2008 to decide who could enroll in the limited spots in the […]
FDA Approves Plan B Pill, Ends Long Fight
June 21, 2013
Morning Briefing
The FDA on Thursday approved over-the-counter sales without age restriction for the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill, ending a decade-long fight over the pill.
Feds Help States Qualify For More Medicaid Dollars
By Phil Galewitz
February 1, 2013
KFF Health News Original
The Obama administration on Friday released guidance to states on how they can increase their Medicaid funding by eliminating copays for certain preventive services, including immunizations. The provision of the Affordable Care Act was slated to take effect Jan. 1. States that implement the changes can apply for the funding retroactive to that date. The specified preventive services […]
State Highlights: Medicaid Pilot Project Costs $32B More Than Expected
July 24, 2013
Morning Briefing
A selection of health policy stories from the District of Columbia, New York, Georgia, Minnesota, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado and California.
Complications Emerge To Administration’s Plan B Proposal
June 14, 2013
Morning Briefing
NPR reports on Judge Edward Korman’s response to the Obama administration’s Plan B proposal while CNN Money explores how the “conscience clause” creates challenges for drugstores as they sell the morning-after pill over the counter.
Eye Lift Surgery Increasingly Billed To Medicare
By Joe Eaton and David Donald, Center for Public Integrity
May 28, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Despite rules against Medicare coverage for cosmetic surgery, eyelid lifts billed to Medicare have more than tripled over a decade.
Worries Mount About Enrolling Consumers In Federally Run Insurance Exchanges
By Jenny Gold
April 7, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Few consumers know what they’ll need to do to sign up for the new health insurance marketplaces. Advocates worry about the outreach strategy and funding in states that defaulted to the federal government to run the exchanges.
State Highlights: Minn. Health Plans Stockpile Nearly $2B In Cash
July 16, 2013
Morning Briefing
A selection of health policy stories from Minnesota, California, Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Obama Administration Changes Course On Plan B
June 11, 2013
Morning Briefing
Monday afternoon, the Justice Department announced it would accept recent court rulings and begin putting into effect a judge’s order to have the Food and Drug Administration certify the Plan B pill for use without prescription and without age restrictions on sales.
3 Hill Panels Examining Changes To Medicare
By Mary Agnes Carey
February 25, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Updated at 12:10 p.m. With $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts set to take effect on Friday and predictions of economic disruption, much of official Washington is focused on the “blame game.” Publicly, there has been no sign that Congress or administration officials has made any progress on averting these cuts or finding common […]
‘Morning After’ Pill Advocates Seek Another Look At Age Rules
By Julie Rovner, NPR News
December 7, 2012
KFF Health News Original
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Friday marks a not-so-happy anniversary for some of President Obama’s biggest supporters: It’s exactly one year since Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius decided not to lift the age restrictions on availability of the so-called morning-after pill, Plan B. But now, with the election safely behind them, backers of […]
First Edition: June 11, 2013
June 11, 2013
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including coverage of the Obama administration’s decision to drop the fight to keep age restrictions in place for Plan B emergency contraceptive pill sales.
Questions Emerge As Dust Settles Surrounding Plan B Policy Change
June 12, 2013
Morning Briefing
News outlets offer day-after coverage of the Obama administration’s reversal on the morning-after contraceptive pill.
