The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
More than three quarters of Americans older than age 50 have concerns that the insurance system as it stands now will not be able to continue to pay for medical treatment for them or that of someone they know, according to a poll released Wednesday by the AARP, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association.
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin discuss health care reform legislation prior to President Obama’s speech before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening.
When President Obama goes before Congress on Wednesday, he hopes to regain control over the health debate. When President Clinton tried to overhaul the system, he had to deal with Republican Newt Gingrich. In an interview, Gingrich discusses what advice he would give to Obama.
The roots of Medicare Advantage plans go back to the late 1970s, when health planners believed they could improve care while saving money. Now, health care reformers say the plans are too costly.
Part of the effort to cut health spending aims at Medicare Advantage programs, which often offer benefits that go beyond traditional Medicare. But Obama says they are unfair and inefficient.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has circulated this document to five other key Democratic and Republican negotiators in a bid to reach bipartisan agreement over a $900 billion health care overhaul bill. Instead of a government-run insurance option favored by House Democrats, this version would create a network of nonprofit cooperatives.
A look at Republican efforts to drastically change Medicare in the 1990’s shows that the Democratic health reforms plans aren’t the real threat to the program.
Policymakers are looking for ways to trim medical spending. In a single procedure, a cardiologist might throw away two heart stents that cost $2,000 apiece. That’s just part of providing proper care, the doctor says – it’s the economics of precision and technological advance. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
New rules being debated by Congress could mean consumers couldn’t be rejected because they have health problems and would include subsidies for lower-income people to buy insurance. But the rules won’t solve all the problems faced by those who don’t get insurance through their jobs.
Democrats are considering their options for a less ambitious overhaul plan, including a new proposal from Sen. Max Baucus. Meanwhile, President Obama is planning his address to Congress, in which he is expected to propose specific refinements to the current bills.
These documents, prepared by the House Committee on Ways and Means and obtained by KHN, show the maximum premiums and out-of-pocket costs low- and moderate-income people might face under the House health overhaul plan, called America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.
As lawmakers weigh trimming legislation, some consumers might end up burdened by medical and insurance costs.
These documents, prepared by the House Committee on Ways and Means and obtained by KHN, show the maximum premiums and out-of-pocket costs low- and moderate-income people might face under the House health overhaul plan, called America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.
These documents, prepared by the House Committee on Ways and Means and obtained by KHN, show the maximum premiums and out-of-pocket costs low- and moderate-income people might face under the House health overhaul plan, called America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.
Health care reform is the serious-minded media event of the summer, but one element of the story has inspired relatively little serious discussion: the role of nursing.
Doctors paid a salary, rather than per procedure ordered, shift their emphasis to prevention. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
What the uninsured are missing, plain and simple, is a group of individuals with the passion to organize them around the issue.
In 1974, President Nixon proposed universal health care, financial assistance for those who needed it and a way to control costs – a plan strikingly similar to those on Capitol Hill now.
Lawmakers look for a way to shift doctors’ incentives from monetary profit to healthy outcomes. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
The GOP has long said that many of the ills of the nation’s health care system can be remedied with a cap on medical malpractice suits. Democrats say limits on pain and suffering awards are not the answer. Could a compromise save the president’s health care initiative? This story comes from our partner NPR News.
