Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health Law May Benefit More Small Businesses In The Fall
Special online markets weren’t widely available in Obamacare’s first year.
Urgent Care Centers Opening For People With Mental lllness
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Hoping to keep more people with mental illness out of jails and emergency rooms, county health officials opened a mental health urgent care center Wednesday in South Los Angeles. The goal of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Mental Health Urgent Care Center is to stabilize and treat people in immediate crisis […]
Freestanding ERs Target Suburbs, Rural Panel Told
Freestanding emergency departments have been proposed in Georgia as a potential solution for struggling rural hospitals.
Health Law Spurs Focus On Faster Drug Development
The Cures Acceleration Network’s mission is to fund research that can be speedily transformed into treatments and to streamline the drug-approval process.
CBO Projects Lower Medicare and Medicaid Costs
Reduced costs for medical services and labor have trimmed the 10-year projected cost of Medicare and Medicaid by $89 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. Medicare spending is projected to drop by $49 billion — or less than 1 percent — from 2015 and 2024, while Medicaid spending is expected to drop by $40 […]
One-Third Of Georgia’s Medicaid Applicants Still In Limbo
The state has one of the largest numbers of children who are Medicaid-eligible but still uninsured.
Report: Health Law Ups Taxes On Insurers With Big Pay Packages
While average compensation for top health insurance executives hit $5.4 million each last year, a little-noticed provision in the federal health law sharply reduced insurers’ ability to shield much of that pay from corporate taxes, says a report out today. As a result, insurers owed at least $72 million more to the U.S. Treasury last […]
Operator? Business, Insurer Take On End-of-Life Issues By Phone
Fear keeps many patients and doctors from talking to each other about end-of-life care. One company, hired by insurers, has made a rather unusual business fostering those conversations.
Affordable Care Act Exemptions Mean Millions Don’t Have To Sign Up
Exemptions allow medical bill-sharing groups to help members pay costs – without Affordable Care Act insurance.
New Head of Healthcare.gov Is Connecticut’s Counihan
Kevin Counihan, the head of Connecticut’s health insurance marketplace, will be the new CEO of healthcare.gov, the website that 36 states use to sell insurance under the Affordable Care Act, the administration announced at noon Tuesday.
Federal Officials Order Medicaid To Cover Autism Services
Advocates applaud the move, but some states are concerned about the costs of providing such therapy.
New Birth Control Rules Appear To Track Supreme Court Suggestion
But some critics complain that the rules don’t broaden the religious employer exemption.
KHN Video: Transgender Surgery Covered By Insurance
After being uninsured, Palm Springs resident Devin Payne signed up for a Covered California plan under the health law. In May, the 43-year-old single parent underwent gender reassignment surgery and is looking forward to being reimbursed by her insurance company.
With Coverage Through Obamacare, Transgender Woman Opts For Surgery
The nation’s health law opens the door for transgender people to gain coverage for gender reassignment surgeries they previously could not afford.
Obamacare Still ‘Red Meat’ For GOP Candidates But Focus Of Attacks Shift
Rather than simply calling for repeal, Republicans argue the law is hurting consumers, taxpayers.
Pediatricians In Florida Could See Relief From Low Medicaid Payments
A possible resolution of a lawsuit against Florida health and child-welfare officials could mean that physicians will receive what they consider to be adequate compensation.
Some Insurers Refuse To Cover Contraceptives, Despite Health Law Requirement
Most plans must cover all FDA-approved birth control methods, but consumer advocates say it is still common for women to face rejection for some forms.
El Largo Camino Hacia La Cobertura De Medi-Cal
Se supone que aproximadamente 800,000 personas en California son elegibles para el programa recién ampliado, pero falta la aprobación final. Para una peluquera de Los Ángeles y otros como ella, significa que citas médicas tienen que esperar.
Illinois To Boost Medicaid Funding For Contraception
Officials seek to increase access to services since the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the health law’s birth control mandate for some employers.
Are Your Medical Records Vulnerable To Theft?
Here’s what you need to know if your records are stored electronically (and they probably are).