The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Small business organizations are encouraging members to make their views about health overhaul proposals known through emails, letters, phone calls and personal visits to Capitol Hill. But small business, a powerful constituency in every congressional district, no longer speaks with one voice on health care.
Hospital officials today agreed to federal-payment cuts to help pay for a health care overhaul. They hope their concessions will build good will with the Obama administration and Democratic lawmakers. They’re pressing for action on a host of other issues, including Medicaid reimbursements and funding for graduate medical education.
The Obama administration has endorsed a new government social insurance program that would help people put aside money to pay for the high costs of long-term care.
Alzheimer’s is thought of as a disease of the elderly, but hundreds of thousands of cases are in men and women under 65. Because the disease makes it difficult to work, these people often lose their jobs – and their health insurance.
Donna Smith is a cancer survivor whose personal experience with insurance has driven her to become a full-time advocate for a single-payer health system, which would replace private insurers with a single, tax-funded government program.
Largely ignored by lawmakers and administration officials, advocates of a government-run health system nevertheless are doggedly campaigning for a regime they say would be less expensive and more efficient-as well as morally superior-to the changes being debated in Congress.
The hospital industry is nearing a deal with the White House and congressional Democrats to accept Medicare and Medicaid cuts. Such an agreement, coming on the heels of one with the drug industry, would increase momentum for overhauling the health care system by providing additional funds to finance the effort.
Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico and Jeffrey Young of The Hill discuss health care reform as Congress returns from its July 4th recess.
Today, we feature a reporter roundtable with Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Julie Rovner of National Public Radio and Jeffrey Young of The Hill.
Mary Agnes Carey of KHN, Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico and the Hill’s Jeffrey Young discuss details of health overhaul bills in the House and Senate as Congress pushes towards having legislation on the floor before the August recess.
Sen. Ted Kennedy’s long-term care insurance proposal leaves an important question unanswered: How much would the the premium be?
Much of the health care reform debate centers on the Democratic push to create a government-run insurance option for working age Americans and their families. But shouldn’t policymakers take a hard look at Medicare–the largest health insurance program in the country–before moving ahead to create something similar for everyone else?
Exclusive: The hospital industry is nearing a deal with the White House and congressional Democrats to accept Medicare and Medicaid cuts. Such an agreement, coming on the heels of one with the drug industry, would increase momentum for overhauling the health care system by providing additional funds to finance the effort.
While lawmakers are targeting rising costs and growing numbers of uninsured, a new crop of health care-focused documentaries offer a darker, more conspiratorial view: Powerful vested interests lusting for profits are responsible for the country’s medical malaise.
The idea of insurance co-ops is gaining ground as an alternative to a government-run plan.
Medicaid’s role in health reform is emerging as a flash point, exposing policy and political rifts not only between the two parties but also among Democrats themselves.
Medicaid is front and center in the debate on overhauling the U.S health system and expanding coverage to the uninsured. With 60 million enrollees, Medicaid dwarfs other insurance programs, including its cousin, Medicare, which covers 44 million elderly and disabled people. Here’s a chance to test your knowledge of Medicaid.
Patients who are readmitted to the hospital soon after they’re discharged cost the health care system billions of dollars a year in unnecessary spending. These “frequent fliers,” as doctors sometimes call them, illustrate the worst aspects of poorly coordinated care. Innovative programs may serve as models for fixing the problems.
A new report proposes a fail-safe mechanism to ensure that any health care overhaul wouldn’t add to the federal deficit.
Some experts think incentives will encourage doctors to deliver quality care with fewer resources.
