Physician-Owned Hospitals Racing To Meet Health Law Deadline
By Christopher Weaver
October 28, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Nationwide, new physician-owned hospitals are scrambling to open by the end of the year. Beginning Jan. 1, the health law bans them from taking part in Medicare, making it hard for the facilities to survive.
Yeah, Those Emergency Rooms Are Crowded
By Harold Pollack
October 21, 2010
KFF Health News Original
The real problem facing our emergency care system is not overuse, it’s the lack of a financial and administrative infrastructure to properly support it.
Text: The Obama Administration’s New ‘Patient’s Bill Of Rights’
June 22, 2010
KFF Health News Original
The White House today released a “Fact Sheet: The Affordable Care Act’s New Patient’s Bill of Rights,” the Obama administration’s summary of new regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Big Bills For A Small Heart: The Lemacks’ Story
January 19, 2010
KFF Health News Original
A Virginia family got permission for out-of-network care for their son’s heart defect but still ended up drowning in debt.
The Price They Paid
By Jordan Rau
January 19, 2010
KFF Health News Original
The Lemacks got permission for out-of-network care for their son Joshua’s heart defect, but the Virginia family still ended up drowning in debt.
State Regulators Recommend New Health Insurance Rules
By Julie Appleby
October 21, 2010
KFF Health News Original
State insurance regulators have defined one of the thorniest provisions of the new health overhaul law: the requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of revenue on direct medical care.
As They Consolidate, Hospitals Get Pricier
By Julie Appleby
September 26, 2010
KFF Health News Original
The health reform law is likely to spur more hospital mergers, fueling a trend that experts say has led to higher hospital prices and insurance premiums.
Families Fight To Care For Disabled Kids At Home
By Joseph Shapiro, NPR News
November 9, 2010
KFF Health News Original
In states like Illinois, parents can provide at-home care for children with severe illnesses and Medicaid foots the bill. But the funding disappears the minute they turn 21, forcing families to make a painful choice: Find the money to pay for sometimes exorbitant health care costs or send their children to a nursing home.
Tomorrow’s Medicare: The Efficient Hybrid?
By Austin Frakt
September 9, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Since Medicare began, how to best pay for beneficiaries’ medical services has been a persistent question.
Returning To The Argument: Can Health Reform Reduce Costs?
By Jonathan Cohn
September 27, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Health reform critics cite recent developments regarding insurance premium cost increases as proof that their suspicions about the overhaul were on target. But are they right? Don’t be so sure.
Debunking Medicare Myths
By James C. Capretta
September 2, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Critics say Medicare Advantage plans are inefficient and costly. But those same critics oppose vouchers for Medicare — even though that approach would set up a direct competition between the private plans and the traditional fee-for-service program.
Changes Wrought By Health Reform? Well, Maybe Not
By Jonathan Cohn
October 13, 2010
KFF Health News Original
The Obama administration has issued McDonald’s (among others) a waiver on some regulations in the health law. But that hasn’t stopped the McDonald’s story from becoming propaganda in the campaign to discredit and, eventually, repeal health care reform.
Seniors Finding Long-Term Care Close To Home
By Jennifer Ludden, NPR News
August 23, 2010
KFF Health News Original
In neighborhoods across the country, groups of people are banding together to help the elderly stay in their homes. These non-profit “villages” help provide seniors with security, practical help and companionship.
Coordinated Care System Helps Physicians Meet More Patient Needs
By Michelle Andrews
September 21, 2010
KFF Health News Original
In medical home model, a primary-care doctor leads a team responsible for coordinating and managing all of your care, whether it’s making sure you’re on top of routine lab tests to keep your diabetes in check or being available in off hours to handle unexpected problems.
Riding An Elevator With Boehner: What Would You Say?
By KFF Health News Staff
November 4, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Less than 24 hours after Republicans won control of the House, soon-to-be-speaker John Boehner denounced the new health care law, saying it would “kill jobs in America, ruin the best health care system in the world, and bankrupt our country” — and renewed his vow to try to repeal it. Kaiser Health News asked people around the country to answer the following question: “If you ended up in an elevator with Rep. Boehner, what single thing would you urge him to do about health care in this country?”
Doctor Discounts For The Asking
By Lisa Zamosky
August 2, 2010
KFF Health News Original
It takes some work, but patients can help control health care costs by avoiding unneeded care and negotiating prices, among other things.
Keeping An Eye On The Health Care Prize
By Brian Klepper, PhD, David C. Kibbe, MD, MBA
September 20, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Many reformers undoubtedly believe that passage of the health overhaul law laid the issue to rest. But policy’s wheels continue to turn, and the process is anything but over.
The New Momentum Behind Electronic Health Records
By Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
August 26, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Today, in almost every other sector besides health, electronic information exchange is the way we do business. Health care providers may agree with the benefits of electronic health records. But they’ve also believed that adopting them was too difficult and expensive.
Three-Day African Food Security Forum Opens In Accra
December 15, 2010
Morning Briefing
The 26th Annual Meeting of the Food Crisis Prevention Network , “which serves as the platform for deliberation on food production and food security in Africa,” opened on Tuesday in Accra, Ghana, the Ghana News Agency reports. The three-day forum will examine “the agricultural and food situation for the 2010/2011 cropping season and come out with measures on tackling food crises,” according to the news service. Food security officials from the Sahel and West Africa are attending the forum, in addition to representatives from international groups, including the Economic Community Of West African States, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Oxfam, UNICEF and the World Food Program.
Medicaid Rescissions Worse than Private Insurers
By John Goodman
August 12, 2010
KFF Health News Original
Lawmakers have largely avoided discussion of Medicaid rescissions and Medicaid abuses in the debate over health reform.
