Health Law Adds New Expense For Farmers: Insurance For Field Workers
By Sarah Varney
August 21, 2013
KFF Health News Original
California’s mild climate means that farm work is a year-round business, and come 2015, the Affordable Care Act will require farm labor contractors to offer health insurance to field workers for the first time.
Advocates Urge More Government Oversight Of Medicaid Managed Care
By Jenni Bergal
July 5, 2013
KFF Health News Original
The health law’s expansion of Medicaid is putting a spotlight on how regulators monitor the performance of privately-run plans.
Kansas’ Great Hope: Managed Care Will Tame Medicaid Costs
By Jim McLean, KHI News Bryan Thompson, KPR
February 6, 2013
KFF Health News Original
Starting this year, the state — hoping to control costs and improve quality — has moved almost all of its Medicaid recipients into managed care plans.
Nursing Home Patients Returning To The Community
By Jenni Bergal
October 22, 2012
KFF Health News Original
A federal program is helping thousands of elderly and disabled patients transition from nursing homes to more independent living.
Medicare Seeks To Cut Number Of Seniors Denied Nursing Home Coverage After Hospital Stays
By Susan Jaffe
August 10, 2012
KFF Health News Original
The government is testing new hospital payment rules to see if fewer beneficiaries will be classified as observation patients, which can be a costly designation for seniors.
Table: Caring for Migrant Farmworkers
June 6, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Details about the 156 health centers that get federal funds to provide primary care to migrant and seasonal farmworkers regardless of immigration status.
States Encounter Obstacles Moving Elderly And Disabled Into Community
By Jenni Bergal
May 24, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Some states are moving faster than others in getting people out of nursing homes and institutions as part of an ambitious federal program.
Ill. ACO Showing Promise On Lowering Hospital Readmissions
August 6, 2012
Morning Briefing
The program, set up by Advocate, covers 380,000 enrollees, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Meanwhile, other outlets look at health law implementation efforts in Massachusetts and California.
Few Americans Think Health Is Improving In The U.S.
By Jordan Rau
November 7, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Public skepticism about health isn’t confined to doubts about last year’s health care law: Most Americans also think the overall health of the public isn’t improving, according to a new poll commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The poll found that 45 percent of people thought the health of Americans had become worse during […]
House GOP Budget Cuts Social Programs
May 7, 2012
Morning Briefing
As Congress returns after a weeklong recess, House Republicans will advance legislation to trim almost $380 billion from the federal budget, with social programs bearing the brunt of the cuts. On the Senate side, lawmakers will work on legislation to prevent the doubling of interest rates on college loans. The real issue continues to be how to pay for the fix: whether to use the health law’s prevention trust fund or increase Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes for high earners.
The Wealth Of Children’s Hospitals
September 25, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Details on revenues, spending and total assets of 39 children’s hospitals from around the country.
Insurers See Growing Risks As Well As Revenues In Medicaid Managed Care
By Christopher Weaver
August 29, 2011
KFF Health News Original
At least 20 states are expanding their Medicaid managed-care programs in an effort to contain health spending and prepare for a huge expansion of the program beginning in 2014.
Medicaid Managed Care Expands In California As State Adds Many Seniors And Disabled
By Christopher Weaver
June 1, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Even critics of managed care are warming to the idea of including nearly 400,000 seniors and disabled person now receiving health care through the traditional Medi-Cal program. The shift to managed care begins today and will be phased in.
Finding A Path Through The Health Insurance Market ‘Gobbledygook’
By Lisa W. Drew
April 21, 2011
KFF Health News Original
In her search for a health plan, Lisa Drew discovered that her ZIP code was a black hole for individual coverage.
2 New Provisions In Health Law Will Help Seniors
By Michelle Andrews
July 27, 2010
KFF Health News Original
A look at the new health law’s long-term-care program and the plan to close the Medicare drug doughnut hole.
Health On The Hill: Insurance Coverage For Young Adults Moves Forward
May 10, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Today the Obama administration issued proposed regulations to implement a provision in the health care law that would allow adult children to stay on their parents’ health insurance policy until age 26.
Two Tiered Medical Care for Haves and Have Nots
By Adam Graham-Silverman, The Fiscal Times
May 19, 2010
KFF Health News Original
A growing number of physicians are leaving traditional insurance-based practices to offer VIP treatment.
Community Health Centers Providing Return On Investment
By Andrew Villegas
February 17, 2010
KFF Health News Original
The federal stimulus package that sent nearly $2 billion to community health centers appears to have paid off in economic returns.
Analysis Of Medicare Costs Knocks McAllen, Texas, Off Its Expensive Perch
By Kate Steadman
December 2, 2009
KFF Health News Original
An independent advisory board has a new way to evaluate geographical differences in Medicare spending. Now, McAllen, Texas is no longer considered as one of the top two expensive areas in the country.
Liberals Brace For Fight Over Scope Of Health Legislation
By Jordan Rau Eric Pianin
July 13, 2009
KFF Health News Original
House Democratic leaders are preparing to unveil a sweeping health overhaul plan that will set the stage for a fight over the most contentious issues. The bill embraces liberal principles even as moderates and conservatives in both parties argue for changes in areas such as taxation and the role of the government in providing insurance.
