Q&A: Can I Request An Autopsy For A Loved One?
Michelle Andrews, KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” columnist, answers a question from a reader on what she can do after a doctor refused to authorize an autopsy for her mother-in-law.
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Michelle Andrews, KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” columnist, answers a question from a reader on what she can do after a doctor refused to authorize an autopsy for her mother-in-law.
The state has said its decision to eliminate adult day health care services as a Medi-Cal benefit — essentially shuttering ADHC centers and moving beneficiaries into managed care — is a cost-saving move. But there are questions about how much money it actually will save.
At least 20 states are expanding their Medicaid managed-care programs in an effort to contain health spending and prepare for a huge expansion of the program beginning in 2014.
A coaltion of Massachusetts public employee unions recognized that municipal health care costs were a problem and engaged with other stakeholders in the effort to develop a solution. In the end, nobody got they wanted and that’s what a genuine compromise looks like.
These local jurisdictions, in the face of serious budget constraints, have repeatedly pushed for legal relief that would enable them to decrease the burden of public employees’ and retirees’ health benefit costs. Meanwhile, public employee unions have battled to protect what they believe their members have earned through their collective bargaining rights. In this state-policy drama, key players managed to come to a compromise that neither side loves, but both view as a solution.
Earlier this summer, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a new law reforming the way that cities and towns design health insurance plans for their employees. As local governments across the country continue to confront the harsh political and fiscal issues of spiraling employee and retiree health costs, the story of how this law came to be is worth examining.
Republican presidential candidates are often careful to not reveal during primaries how they would change health care in America, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry is no exception. But examining Perry’s legislative record gives a glimpse into just what he’d change if elected.
Even as skeptics dismiss the “super committee” as a prescription for more gridlock, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is seen by many seasoned observers as a key figure in helping bridge the partisan divide and facilitate the chance for a deal.
The Republican former senator talks with KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey about the politics of deficit-cutting commissions and what it will take to tackle the ballooning federal deficit.
Subscribe to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.
Noticias en español
© 2026 KFF