A Former ‘Young Invincible’ Looks Forward to Health Insurance
By Sarah Varney
October 3, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Brad Stevens, 54, learned the hard way that being uninsured was risky as accidents and illness took a toll. Soon, he’ll qualify for California’s expanded Medicaid program.
Schizophrenia, Suicide And One Family’s Anguish
By Jeff Cohen, WNPR
July 24, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Homer Bell was 54 years old when he committed suicide in April in a very public way — he laid down in front of a bus in his hometown of Hartford, Conn. It was the culmination of three decades of suffering endured by Bell and his family because of his illness, schizophrenia. Harold Schwartz, the […]
Research Roundup: ACA ‘Can Survive’ Low Enrollment; Rural/Urban Differences In O.B. Care; Teaching Residents Cost Consciousness
December 20, 2013
Morning Briefing
Today’s studies and briefs come from the Urban Institute, JAMA Internal Medicine, the California HealthCare Foundation, Medical Care, BMJ, EBRI and Health Affairs.
Medicare Part B Premium Costs Will Hold Steady in 2014
October 29, 2013
Morning Briefing
For the upcoming year, premiums will be $104.90 a month. In 2013, beneficiaries experienced a $5-per-month increase.
Federal Judge Strikes Down Restrictions On Morning-After Pill
By Scott Hensley, NPR News
April 5, 2013
KFF Health News Original
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. A federal judge in Brooklyn, N.Y., has ruled that the morning-after pill for emergency contraception must be made available over the counter to girls 16 and under. The ruling could end a more than decade-long battle over how easy or difficult it should be for teenage […]
Employers To Get An Extra Year To Implement Health Law Requirement On Coverage
By Mary Agnes Carey
July 2, 2013
KFF Health News Original
In announcing the delay, the administration says it will give businesses time to comply and allow the government to consider simpler solutions.
HHS Seeking $1.5B In Funding To Run Federal Health Insurance Exchanges
By Mary Agnes Carey
April 11, 2013
KFF Health News Original
The administration budget request also includes $2 billion in grants to states for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
Five Ways The President’s Budget Would Change Medicare
By Mary Agnes Carey
April 15, 2013
KFF Health News Original
President Obama’s 2014 budget plan includes a number of money-saving changes to Medicare, some of which have triggered concern from patient and provider groups.
Immigrants Contribute More To Medicare Than They Take Out, Study Finds
By Jordan Rau
May 29, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Immigrant workers are helping buttress Medicare’s finances, say researchers, because they contribute tens of billions of dollars a year more than immigrant retirees use in medical services.
‘Will My Family Be Eligible For Subsidized Coverage?’
By Michelle Andrews
June 4, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Health insurance columnist answers questions about coverage subsidies for families in the health law, Medigap and rules for workers whose companies operate in more than one state.
Slowdown In Medicare Spending Extends Trust Fund
By Mary Agnes Carey
May 31, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Slower growth in spending is helping extend the life of Medicare’s hospital trust fund to 2026, two years beyond last year’s estimate, officials said Friday. They also reported, however, that Social Security’s disability trust fund, which pays monthly benefits to disabled workers and their families, is expected to be exhausted by 2016. Social Security will begin to […]
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.