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‘Oy Vey’: Jewish Republicans In South Florida See Little To Like In Health Care Law

By Phil Galewitz January 30, 2012 KFF Health News Original

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. —  Waiting for Newt Gingrich to arrive at a Republican Jewish Coalition rally here late afternoon Friday, Connie Cestari, 80, said health care will be a top issue for her in November. She said she’s voting Republican in part to make sure the 2010 health overhaul gets overturned, because it gives the government too big a role in health. […]

Alaska To Spend $200K A Year For Each High Risk Pool Member

By Phil Galewitz January 17, 2012 KFF Health News Original

Alaska has long been known as one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. Those higher costs extend to health care services as well. A high risk pool set up under the federal health overhaul to help the uninsured who have pre-existing medical conditions expects to spend $10 million this year […]

‘Almost Heaven’ Meets ‘Paradise’ — Virgin Islands and West Virginia Discuss An Exchange

By Phil Galewitz January 9, 2012 KFF Health News Original

One place,  known for its Appalachian Mountains and rich coal supply,  was immortalized in John Denver’s 1970s hit, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The other has white sandy beaches, rum distilling and an average January high temperature of 86 degrees that attracts millions of tourists each year. From economy to climate, West Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands […]

The Supreme Court, The Individual Mandate, And Eating Your Broccoli

By Phil Galewitz January 6, 2012 KFF Health News Original

One of the major arguments against the individual health insurance mandate in the federal health overhaul is this: If Congress can force most Americans to buy health insurance, can’t it also require people to buy broccoli? It’s a question a senior Obama administration official faced Friday in a briefing with reporters an hour before the Justice […]

9 States Seek Help For High-Risk Pools

By Phil Galewitz January 5, 2012 KFF Health News Original

Nine states have asked the federal government for more money to make sure their new high-risk pools that provide health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions don’t run out of money before 2014, the Obama administration said Thursday Two of the states — California and New Hampshire  — have already been promised additional money. The […]

Final Medical Loss Ratio Rule Rebuffs Insurance Agents

By Julie Appleby December 2, 2011 KFF Health News Original

The Obama administration issued a rule today that is sure to disappoint insurance agents: Fees paid to brokers and agents won’t count as medical care, under limits imposed on insurers in the 2010 federal health law. That’s key because under the health law, insurers must spend at least 80 percent of their premium revenue on medical […]

Feds Bolster High Risk Insurance Funds In Two States

By Phil Galewitz December 22, 2011 KFF Health News Original

The federal government this month increased funding to New Hampshire and California to make sure their new high-risk pools that provide coverage to uninsured people with pre-existing condition don’t run out of money before 2014. Because nationwide enrollment has been far less than expected, overall federal funding for the program established under the health overhaul appears […]

Berwick Calls Republicans ‘The True Rationers’

By Phil Galewitz December 8, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Don Berwick, who left his job last week as head of the Medicare and Medicaid programs after sustained opposition from Senate Republicans who accused him of supporting rationing, struck back Wednesday with a blistering attack on his critics. “The true rationers are those who impede improvement, who stand in the way of change, and who […]

Study: Florida Leads Nation In Getting More Kids Insured

By Phil Galewitz November 29, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Florida leads the nation in reducing the number and rate of uninsured children, according to a study released Tuesday. From 2008 to 2010, the number of uninsured children in Florida fell by more than 160,000 to 506,934, says the report by researchers at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The state’s rate of […]