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Medicare Cuts Home Health Pay

By Phil Galewitz November 1, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Medicare will cut payment rates to home health agencies by 2.3 percent in 2012 — the sixth consecutive annual decrease in fees to the industry. The decision, which will lop off an estimated $430 million from the program next year, follows concerns by a congressional advisory panel that the agencies are overpaid. Home health advocates […]

Nixon’s HMOs Hold Lessons For Obama’s ACOs

By Phil Galewitz October 21, 2011 KFF Health News Original

The Obama administration acknowledges its highly touted accountable care organization program will have a modest early impact on the U.S. health system — with only 4 percent of Medicare beneficiaries affected by 2015 Perhaps the Obama White House is taking a lesson from the last time a U.S. president kicked off a major new program designed […]

Washington Shuffle: John Rother And Ralph Neas

By Marilyn Werber Serafini September 8, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Updated at 10:30 a.m. John Rother, who around Washington is considered the heart of the seniors group AARP, is moving on. After 27 years there, Rother, who has been a key advocacy strategist at AARP, will become president and CEO of the National Coalition for Health Care. Ironically, he’s changing jobs just months before he […]

No Health Help for NGA Dues Shirkers

By Phil Galewitz October 11, 2011 KFF Health News Original

The National Governors Association is a bit of a misnomer these days. Sure, it still represents the interests of governors from all 50 states, but it no longer provides “technical assistance” to four states that have failed to pay their annual dues. Those states — all of which have Republican governors — are Florida, Texas, Idaho and […]

16 States Fall Short On Health Plan Appeal Systems

By Phil Galewitz October 10, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia don’t meet new requirements under the federal health law for consumers to appeal health plans’ decisions to a third party, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As a result, by 2012, these states will have to contract with three “independent review organizations” to handle consumers’ […]

Potato Fight In The Capital

By Phil Galewitz October 5, 2011 KFF Health News Original

When the potato lobby speaks, it always puts its best spuds forward. Today, at a National Press Club lunchtime briefing to promote the nutritional value of the vegetable, that meant a full bar of baked potatoes, french fries (baked, not fried) and all the requiste trimmings — sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes, spinach and broccoli. Yes, according […]

Forget HMOs And ACOs, Oregon Is Pushing CCOs To Save Medicaid

By Phil Galewitz October 4, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, wants to prove his state can contain soaring Medicaid costs without reducing services to recipients or slashing fees to doctors and hospitals. And when he’s done, he wants to apply this same strategy to saving Medicare. Kitzhaber is in Washington this week meeting with top federal health officials about his state’s […]

Survey: ‘Super Committee’ Has Yet To Earn Americans’ Trust

By Phil Galewitz September 23, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Americans have little faith the bipartisan congressional “super committee” will reduce the federal deficit, according to a survey released Friday. Sixty-two percent of respondents said they either trust the super committee “just a little” or “not at all” to make the right recommendations to cut the deficit, according to the poll by the Kaiser Family […]

Nearly 1 Million Young Adults Get Insurance Under Health Law

By Phil Galewitz September 21, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Nearly 1 million young adults have gained health coverage this year following the passage of the health overhaul law, which lets them stay on their parents’ insurance up to age 26, according to a federal report released today. The report’s findings show the number of people getting coverage is running ahead of the administration’s estimate […]

In Pennsylvania, It May Really Pay To Be On Medicaid

By Phil Galewitz September 20, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Pennsylvania is considering paying Medicaid recipients – in some cases as much as $200 – as an incentive to visit higher quality and lower cost hospitals and doctors. Experts say the strategy has never been tried by other states. Gary Alexander, the state’s Medicaid director, said his agency hopes to launch the plan by early […]

Medicare Advantage Premiums Falling 4% In 2012

By Phil Galewitz September 15, 2011 KFF Health News Original

For some Medicare beneficiaries, the good times seem to keep rolling along. For seniors enrolled in private Medicare plans, premiums will drop by an average of 4 percent in 2012 while benefits remain stable, Obama administration officials said today. Last year CMS projected an average 1 percent drop in 2011 premiums, but the actual drop was 7 […]

Recount: Census Changes How It Estimates The Uninsured

By Phil Galewitz September 13, 2011 KFF Health News Original

Oops. Last year, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated there were 50.7 million uninsured Americans in 2009. Today, it revised the figure for 2009 down to 49 million after adjusting the way it counts. What gives? For years, researchers have complained that the Census Bureau overestimates the number of uninsured because of the way it accounts […]