The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
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.
With the new health law’s requirement that young adults be able to remain on their parents’ health plans until they turn 26. But when exactly the new benefit begins, who exactly is eligible and who decides all have the same answer: It depends.
Caught up in the congressional politics swirling around a pending tax bill are proposals that affect health care for newly laid-off workers as well as Medicare and Medicaid patients.
The new health overhaul law will encourage employers to stop offering health insurance. We should welcome this, provided the decline in employer coverage is gradual and good alternatives exist. The upside is that it will make more visible the biggest looming health care problem: costs.
A new report says federal funding will not cover the insurance needs of all the people who now have trouble getting coverage because of preexisting conditions. But HHS officials disagree with the findings.
More than $2.5 billion in government-backed loans to doctors, dentists and other health care providers is helping to stimulate the economy and help patients, but some health experts say the money could increase health costs.
A funny thing happens when a computer challenges orders for medical scans that aren’t likely to help diagnose patients: Doctors often drop the test requests.
The House of Representatives may vote on legislation this week that would stop a scheduled June 1 payment cut for doctors who accept Medicare physicians.
The House of Representatives may vote on legislation this week that would stop a scheduled June 1 payment cut for doctors who accept Medicare physicians.
Caring for a sick or disabled elderly relative exacts a toll — physical, emotional, financial — on any family member, but being a spousal caregiver brings particular challenges.
College health plans – used by students who aren’t covered by family insurance plans or whose parents are uninsured – can offer only limited protection. The new health law may help.
The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services has suspended voluntary admissions to the state’s three hospitals for the mentally ill because they are full.
Family caregivers now administer arsenals of medications and undertake procedures, from wound care to dialysis, that were once the province of medical professionals.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, said he was “alarmed” by Berwick’s admiration of the NHS. Senators Jon Kyl of Arizona and Pat Roberts of Kansas say Berwick advocates the “rationing” of care. Of course, as Berwick pointed out, our system already rations care by income and medical status. Apparently this is not so alarming to McConnell and the rest of the GOP.
David Blumenthal is guiding the deployment of up to $27 billion in federal stimulus money to help doctors and hospitals implement health information technology. Proponents say the shift is critical to achieving goals of medical care quality and cost control.
Confusion from the primary elections this week punctuated the Obama administration’s progress on implementing the new health law.
Some parents, hoping that their young adult children could get insurance soon, are finding that many large employers aren’t planning to offer the new benefit early.
