The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
In the long run, there’s no getting around the fact that Advantage plans will shrink in generosity and availability. Anything else would defy a fundamental law of economics that also happens to be a fundamental law of politics: you get what you pay for. And that might not be a bad thing.
Administration officials tout the Medicare drug rebate as an early and tangible benefit of health reform while Senate Democrats continue trying to advance a legislative package that includes the Medicare physician payment fix and, potentially, an extension of enhanced Medicaid funding for states.
Now that health reform is law, reporters covering this topic are shifting from political angles to the issues and questions surrounding how the law is implemented. This briefing for reporters discussed story ideas and approaches for reporting on health reform going forward.
More than 2.2 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, the most common heart arrhythmia, but treatment choices vary widely
Under the new health law, a nonprofit entity called the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute will be established to carry out a comparative effectiveness research agenda, starting in 2012. The law bars the government from using findings as the sole basis for decisions about what Medicare will cover.
New health plans must cover tests, supplements for pregnant women, and home visits for young mothers.
The health care industry is bulletproof when it comes to increasing spending or creating jobs as growth rates often double the rest of the economy.
Controversy erupted this week after the director of the Congressional Budget Office said the new health overhaul law won’t significantly reduce government speding on health care and a New York Times story critiqued Dartmouth research on health spending.
Much of this week’s major health policy news stems directly from Congress’ unfinished business related to the Medicare ‘doc fix’ as well as the House Democrats’ decision not to include enhanced Medicaid funding and COBRA benefit subsidies in their sweeping jobs bill.
The proposal to extend COBRA subsidies to those laid off through the end of the year is languishing in Congress. So the unemployed may soon pay more to remain on COBRA, look for insurance on the individual market, go on Medicaid or lose coverage altogether. And that could further tax a health system already struggling to keep up with the number of uninsured.
A new survey finds that, when it comes to their own health care, most people say “more is better, newer is better, you get what you pay for.” That’s frustrating for experts who say these things are often not true.
Gov. Chris Christie is cutting services and New Jersey’s anti-smoking program in order to reduce the deficit. Other states are feeling the pinch as well.
The law will extend health insurance to 32 million currently uninsured Americans by 2019, and will also have an impact on how nearly every American buys insurance and what insurance must cover.
Bowing to pressure from Democratic fiscal conservatives, House Democratic leaders scaled back health-related provisions in tax extenders legislation the House passed before beginning its Memorial Day recess.
Bowing to pressure from Democratic fiscal conservatives, House Democratic leaders scaled back health-related provisions in tax extenders legislation the House passed before beginning its Memorial Day recess.
A foursome of longtime industry watchdogs are helping steer the federal government’s effort to overhaul the private insurance market. Karen Pollitz, Steve Larsen, Jay Angoff and Richard Popper have top spots in the newly minted Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
Michelle Andrews’ latest consumer column explores the health care tax credit for small businesses, which is designed to help employers pay for insuring workers. But the credit has several conditions, and some are worried that it won’t provide enough help.
Challenges from conservative Democrats forced party leaders this week to cut some major spending programs, such as extending COBRA benefits for workers being laid off and providing extra money to state Medicaid programs.
The federal government sent a brochure to more than 40 million Medicare beneficiaries, “Medicare and the New Health Care Law – What It Means for You,” which is generating political controversy.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said federal officials are urging self-insured employers to keep young adults up to age 26 on their parents’ health plans before the deadline under the new health overhaul law. Self-insured employers, who pay the medical bills of millions of Americans, in many cases could wait until January to comply with the law.
