The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
The first big legal test of the constitutionality of the “individual mandate” that requires just about everyone in the U.S. to have health insurance starting in 2014 is going to get out of the starting gate.
It takes some work, but patients can help control health care costs by avoiding unneeded care and negotiating prices, among other things.
Ehealth Inc., a large Internet health insurance broker, has been named to help operate the new federal health website, making it one of the first private companies to get a major contract from the federal government under the nation’s new health law.
This week, HHS issued rules on high-risk health insurance pools as well as guidance on children’s coverage issues. Two new polls focused on seniors and health reform, and both political parties continued to position themselves for the fall elections.
During the health reform debate, people with pre-existing conditions lobbied for affordable health insurance. Now, HHS has issued new rules on how high-risk pools will work.
The Congressional Budget Office’s latest projections again make it clear that the nation is rushing headlong toward a fiscal crisis, and the health law does nothing to head it off.
A lot has changed since last summer’s town hall meetings. A new poll finds that, in the last month, the percentage of people viewing the health law unfavorably has fallen. But seniors continue to be more negative.
A small school that specializes in the most difficult children is the one hardest hit.
Deficit and debt drive cuts in jobs and services
Most men with low-risk prostate cancer get aggressive treatment, even though the therapies carry big risks, a new study finds.
A look at the new health law’s long-term-care program and the plan to close the Medicare drug doughnut hole.
This week’s health policy news was marked by new administration rules regarding the appeals process for denied health insurance claims and continuing state-level efforts to implement high risk pools.
The Obama administration issues regulations that will set some minimum requirements for the process, including allowing patients to appeal the insurer’s decision to an independent outside panel.
After a knee injury, patients often have immediate reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. A Swedish researcher found that exercise was just as good as surgery at helping patients recover.
Evidence shows the requirement for state residents to buy health insurance is working in Massachusetts — and we should it expect it to work in the new health overhaul as well.
Massachusett’s health reform has increased demand without increasing the supply of health care providers, it continues to keep people in the dark about the true cost of health care and health insurance, and has not changed incentives for people to seek more affordable options or for a truly competitive marketplace. Washington’s health overhaul law has the same structural flaws.
Lower numbers of donors, rare genes make finding a match less likely for blacks than for whites.
