Head Of Major HMO Sees Openings For Accountable Care Organizations-The KHN Interview
By Joanne Silberner
July 25, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Permanente’s George Halvorson says that despite the complexity of ACO regs, some versions have the potential to save money and improve care.
Insurers Sometimes Reject Neonatal Intensive Care Costs
By Michelle Andrews
January 4, 2011
KFF Health News Original
In these specialized units for premature infants or babies with special needs, the doctors and other personnel may not be under contract with an insurer’s network even though the hospital is covered.
Growing Size And Wealth Of Children’s Hospitals Fueling Questions About Spending
By Gilbert M. Gaul
September 25, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Many of the largest children’s hospitals have grown into big businesses with substantial assets and millionaire CEOs.
Aetna Sues N.J. Doctors, Pricing Central Issue
March 25, 2011
Morning Briefing
Bloomberg reports that the lawsuits could help determine the pricing limits insurance companies could place on physicians who remain out of network.
PlusNews Examines HIV/AIDS In Laos
December 6, 2011
Morning Briefing
PlusNews examines HIV/AIDS in Laos, writing, “Out of a total population of 6.3 million, the national prevalence of 0.2 percent among 15-49-year-olds puts the 8,500 reported HIV/AIDS cases in Laos nearly a decade behind that of its neighbors.” However, the news service notes that, “as the socialist country increasingly opens its borders, health workers are bracing for a potential concentrated, ‘catastrophic’ outbreak in a country where HIV prevention is not yet a priority.” Kinoy Phongdeth, director of the Lao Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, said, “It is true that in Laos there are not so many people living with HIV and AIDS, but we are still people and we need help,” PlusNews reports (12/2).
Insuring Your Health
January 25, 2011
KFF Health News Original
In a new KHN feature, Michelle Andrews writes about the coming changes to health care. Please send comments or ideas for future topics to questions@kffhealthnews.org See 2011’s Insuring Your Health stories. Looking At The Changes 2011 Brings December 22, 2010 Michelle Andrews speaks with KFF’s Jackie Judd about changes in lifetime insurance limits, keeping children insured, […]
Doctors Advocating Less Care; Addiction As A ‘Disease’
By Jessica Marcy
August 19, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. The Daily Beast: One Word Can Save Your Life: No! These physicians are not anti-medicine. They are not trying to save money on their copayments or deductibles. And they are not trying to rein in the nation’s soaring health-care costs, […]
Oregon Program Builds On British Model
By Jessica Marcy
July 7, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. American Medical News: HIV In Primary Care: Treating An Aging Epidemic Of the 3,155 U.S.-based members of the HIV Medicine Assn., 45% are older than 50, according to a March 17 Institute of Medicine report on HIV screening and access […]
Hospitals Look For Disney Magic To Make Customers Happy
By Phil Galewitz
July 21, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Medicare payments soon will partly reflect patient satisfaction, so hospitals are seeking advice from the entertainment kingdom.
A Medicare Compromise; Improving Mental Health Policies
By Jessica Marcy
June 30, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. Time: What If There Was A Reasonable Compromise On Medicare? Sen. Joe Lieberman has found an ally for the middle-of-the-road Medicare reform proposal he laid out a few weeks ago. On Tuesday, the independent Senator from Connecticut and conservative Republican […]
Today’s Headlines – July 28, 2011
By Stephanie Stapleton
July 28, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Good Morning! Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the ever-growing U.S. health care tab and about the petition filed by a conservative legal center to bring their health law challenge to the Supreme Court. The Washington Post: Boehner, Other GOP Leaders Ramp Up Pressure On Republicans To Pass Debt Plan […]
Managed Care Enters The Exam Room As Insurers Buy Doctor Groups
By Christopher Weaver
July 1, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Large health insurers are trying to curb rising costs by gaining control over those who provide care: doctors.
Appealing An Insurer’s Denial Is Often A Good Strategy
By Michelle Andrews
June 20, 2011
KFF Health News Original
GAO finds most claims problems come from billing and eligibility issues, and beneficiaries often win when they appeal.
Glossary
February 23, 2011
Page
The most important terms in health care policy, from A to Z. The main sources for this glossary are the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Other sources include: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Internal Revenue Service, University of California, San Francisco, U.S. Department of Labor, […]
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.
Doctors In Small Practices Slow To Dump Paper Records
By Susan Jaffe, iWatch News
July 7, 2011
KFF Health News Original
Despite carrots and sticks from the federal government, some physicians are leery about moving to electronic health records.
Untouchable! Vets’ $52 Billion Health Care Plan
By Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times
May 12, 2011
KFF Health News Original
The military is trying to figure out ways to slow down the rapidly rising cost of care and the Obama administration’s 2012 budget calls for the first changes since 1996.
N.Y. Revoking Medicaid From One Clinic Network
August 11, 2011
Morning Briefing
The N.Y. Health Department moves against a network of clinics run by a former N.Y. state senator while federal officials threaten to cut off funds to a well-known public hospital in Texas. In other hospital news, Dartmouth-Hitchcock hospital system in New Hampshire announces buy-outs as it tries to deal with a $96 million deficit, and nurses at a nonprofit hospital in Quincy, Mass., object to the proposal to sell the facility to a for-profit company.
