The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Lawmakers have a deal to stop scheduled Medicare physician payments for one year. Meanwhile, in Texas a new study shows that the state would lose $15 billion of federal funds in one year if it left the Medicaid program.
The future trajectory of health reform will be shaped far more by interest group agendas and state-level actions than by the new House leadership’s stated plans.
Five large health insurers are shopping for a public relations firm as they build a coalition to influence implementation of the health law and congressional action on it.
KHN interviews Dr. Arthur Garson, Jr., on health care sound bites and myths. He says that the massive amount of confusion plaguing reform efforts confirms just how pervasive such myths can be.
Lawmakers are close again to delaying a 25 percent cut in reimbursement to doctors who serve Medicare patients. It’s the fifth time this year Congress has faced down the cuts, which could have dire consequences for the program if enacted.
Lawmakers have a tentative deal to stop scheduled Medicare physician payments for one year. Meanwhile, in Texas a new study shows that the state would lose $15 billion of federal funds in one year if it left the Medicaid program.
Already facing a record budget shortfall, Texas has received more bad news: The portion of state Medicaid costs paid by the federal government is about to drop.
Maryland hospitals and regulators are teaming up in an experimental payment plan to reduce unnecessary admissions while improving patient care.
McAllen, Tex. spends more on Medicare patients than almost any other part of the country. But a new study contradicts the assumption that McAllen, Texas doctors over-treat everyone.
Adults need vaccines to protect against serious diseases, including shingles, pneumonia and hepatitis. The health reform law, with its emphasis on prevention, will expand coverage to improve vaccination rates, currently too low.
A ruling is expected this month from a Republican-appointed judge on the heart of the new health law – the mandate to buy insurance. It could illustrate the growing prevalence of party-line judging in this country.
The project, designed to aid research into costs and trends, will collect claims filed by federal workers and others. OPM says privacy will be paramount, but some advocates are worried.
A new survey from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) finds doctors aren’t actually following through on threats to drop seniors from their patient rosters – at least not yet.
Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, is making a “paradigm shift” in his division to focus more on care-at-home cases.
A ruling is expected this month from a Republican-appointed judge on the heart of the new health law – the mandate to buy insurance. It could illustrate the growing prevalence of party-line judging in this country.
The new health law appears to threaten the future of many health insurance brokers, but they say the service they provide is worth the money.
One of the bigger debates raging in health policy circles at the moment is about the value of “mini-med” plans.
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its long-awaited report on recommendations to cope with the national debt, now and into the future, “The Moment of Truth.” Seven of the 66 pages concerned health care spending, especially focusing on Medicare.
The upper chamber’s recent consideration of legislation to repeal a small revenue-raising provision within the health overhaul offers insights into why a more sweeping repeal effort would be a very difficult task.
New documents reveal that the drug industry’s chief lobbyists, PhRMA, raised and spent at least $101.2 million in 2009 during the contentious health care debate.
