The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Last night’s Republican presidential debate in Washington D.C. was centered around national security and foreign policy. But the subject of the super committee’s failure to deal with entitlements came up. CNN moderator Wolf Blitzer asked the candidates how they would work to fix the growth of the federal budget. Courtesy: CNN.
As a child, Randol Brock had a high fever that caused brain damage. Now 52, there are two things Randol loves more than anything else: tractors and his sister-in-law Doris, who helps take care of him.
A Minneapolis clinic gives its patients what they need to stay healthy: screenings, immunizations, prescriptions. And, in an uncommon twist, food.
Under the system, when a lawsuit is filed, a judge with expertise in medical matters becomes the point person for that case and helps broker a settlement.
They argue that if policies were less generous, seniors might reduce their trips to the doctor of find cheaper care, which would save the government money.
It’s a mixed verdict, however. Medicaid will be spared, and the Medicare hit will be limited to providers. But other programs, from disease prevention to public health surveillance, face big automatic cuts in 2013.
Politico Pro’s Matt DoBias and KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey examine what led to the super committee’s failure to cut a deal and discuss what it means for hopes of a permanent “doc fix.”
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the No. 3 Republican in the House, has made it clear that he wants President Obama’s health overhaul law repealed. But conservative lawmakers in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., and elsewhere in the state are expanding insurance coverage for low-income adults.
Georgia is not alone. A number of Republican states, including some in the South, are hedging their bets and planning health insurance marketplaces to avoid a version designed by Washington.
No matter what the super committee does, health groups expect another debate on spending after the election and they want to redirect the talks to costs’ root causes.
With Stuart Taylor as a guide, Kaiser Health News provides a decision tree to help readers see how the sweeping health law’s implementation could proceed – or not – based on each of the legal arguments the Supreme Court will hear.
