Today’s Headlines – April 27, 2012
By Stephanie Stapleton
April 27, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Happy Friday from Kaiser Health News. Here are today’s top headlines: Los Angeles Times: Obama Healthcare Reforms Lead To $1.3 Billion In Insurance Rebates U.S. consumers and businesses will receive an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates from insurance companies this year, according to a new study quantifying a key early benefit of the healthcare law […]
Today’s Headlines – May 4, 2012
By Stephanie Stapleton
May 4, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Happy Friday! Here are your end-of-week headlines! The Washington Post: Poll: Obama Leads Romney As Campaigns Converge On Virginia The Democratic president has a key advantage in his bid for re¬election: The coalition of Virginians that helped propel him to victory in 2008 — young voters, suburban Washingtonians, women and African Americans — is largely […]
HHS Says Billing Rule Will Cut Red Tape For Doctors, Save Up to $9B
August 8, 2012
Morning Briefing
Officials say the interim rule, published Tuesday, will streamline electronic billing for doctors and save time and money.
Some Women’s Groups See Another Agenda In Attacks On Contraceptive Coverage
By Judith Graham
April 18, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Opponents of the Obama administration’s contraception coverage mandate emphasize religious freedom, but others say the real issue is birth control.
CMS: Doughnut Hole Provision In Health Law Has Saved Seniors $4B
July 26, 2012
Morning Briefing
According to the Obama administration, seniors have saved on average $629 on their medications during the first half of this year.
Feds OK Oregon Medicaid CCOs, Ready $1.9B In Funding
July 10, 2012
Morning Briefing
The federal government has granted Oregon a waiver to run Medicaid coordinated-care organizations and will provide enhanced Medicaid money — $1.9 billion over five years — for the program.
Health Literacy’s Effect On Costs
By Jessica Marcy
March 22, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reads from around the Web. Huffington Post: Women’s Health Care Is Stronger Thanks To The Health Care Law In many families, women are the health care decision makers. When children go for their checkups, we are often the ones who make the appointment and sit in the room […]
GlaxoSmithKline Agrees To Plead Guilty, Pay $3B Settlement
July 3, 2012
Morning Briefing
Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges and pay $3 billion in total — with some money going to nearly every state — for promoting its bestselling antidepressants such as Paxil and Wellbutrin for unapproved uses, failing to report safety data about a top diabetes drug and improperly marketing other drugs.
Webcast Replay: Deconstructing The Supreme Court’s Historic Health Law Arguments
March 29, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Our panelists, who answered questions from readers that even the justices didn’t ask, includes KHN Senior Correspondent Mary Agnes Carey; Stuart Taylor, attorney, author and KHN legal analyst; Tom Goldstein, Goldstein & Russell, P.C., and publisher of SCOTUSblog; and Julie Rovner, health policy correspondent, NPR.
If Mandate Is Overturned, Obama Could Need Help To Salvage The Health Law
By Jordan Rau
March 28, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Should the Supreme Court throw out the requirement to carry insurance, the administration might need assistance from Congress or the insurance industry to complete the overhaul.
Document: GOP Payroll Tax Bill – Summary, Text Of Health Care Sections
December 11, 2011
KFF Health News Original
On Friday, Dec. 9, House Republicans unveiled the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act,” which avoid the scheduled cut to Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians – the “doc fix.”
Today’s Headlines – March 5, 2012
By Stephanie Stapleton
March 5, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Good Monday morning! Here are your headlines: The Wall Street Journal: Romney Advances As Obama Gains The resurgence of Mr. Romney, who hadn’t led the Journal poll since November, lays the path for a potential matchup against a president whose own position is strengthening. President Barack Obama’s approval rate hit 50% in the poll, its […]
Illinois To Cut $1.6B In Health Costs; Medicaid Advocates Protest
June 15, 2012
Morning Briefing
The changes include eliminating some popular programs, raising some co-pays and creating a system for hospital exemptions from taxes.
Obama Announces $3B Food Initiative For Africa
May 21, 2012
Morning Briefing
In a Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security on Friday, President Barack Obama “announced a plan to accelerate investments in developing world agriculture to meet rising food demands and improve nutrition, calling the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition a moral, economic and security imperative,” IIP Digital reports (Porter, 5/18). The new program, unveiled “in conjunction with African leaders from Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania, will parlay more than $3 billion in private assistance into a public-private partnership with an ambitious goal: lifting 50 million people from poverty over 10 years,” according to USA Today’s “The Oval” (Wolf, 5/18). The initiative “will constitute the next phase of a groundbreaking program begun during the 2009 G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy,” Inter Press Service writes (Brion, 5/18). More than 45 companies have pledged to invest in the initiative, Devex notes (Ravelo, 5/10). A fact sheet on the New Alliance is available on the White House website (5/18).
State Roundup: Mass. Health Cost Control Bill Could Save $8B To $34B
May 2, 2012
Morning Briefing
News outlets report on health policy issues in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Oregon.
Today’s Headlines – March 6, 2012
By Stephanie Stapleton
March 6, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Good morning, here are your morning headlines to get your day started: The Washington Post: In Ohio, Santorum Blasts Romney For Ad Spending, Says Voters Don’t Trust Him On health care, Santorum made the claim that Romney — because of his overhaul of Massachusetts’ health-care system while governor, which included an individual mandate to purchase […]
Today’s Headlines – March 19, 2012
By Stephanie Stapleton
March 19, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Good morning! Another week starts and more health policy news for you to read: The New York Times’ The Caucus: Health Care Debate Returns With Intensity This week is the two-year anniversary of Mr. Obama’s health care law, and Republicans in Washington are planning to celebrate with a series of attacks. Next week, the Supreme […]
Today’s Headlines – December 9, 2011
By Lexie Verdon
December 9, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Happy Friday! Here are your morning headlines: The Los Angeles Times: Boehner Defies Obama Veto Threat With New Payroll Tax Plan The package Boehner has been compiling for more than a week was not made publicly available, but it includes the payroll tax holiday as well as an extension of long-term unemployment benefits, which also […]
Seniors Get a Break On Medicare Part B Premiums
By Mary Agnes Carey
October 27, 2011
KFF Health News Original
KHN staff writer Mary Agnes Carey reports that most beneficiaries face only a small boost in their monthly premiums next year, and some will enjoy decreases, Obama administration officials announced.
Bishops Will Sue Feds Over Contraception Rule
By Shefali S. Kulkarni and Mary Agnes Carey
January 20, 2012
KFF Health News Original
The federal rules, which the Obama administration reaffirmed Friday, require health insurers to provide women with a range of preventive health services, including birth control, without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible.