Latest KFF Health News Stories
Should Medicare Pay The Same No Matter Where The Patient Gets Care?
That question was the focus of a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday, and it’s an important issue in the context of the debate over ending the Medicare SGR. Mary Agnes Carey and CQ HealthBeat’s John Reichard discuss.
ACA And The Children’s Health Insurance Program
The Affordable Care Act offers subsidies for low-income families who currently qualify for the federal-state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), forcing states to make a decision on CHIP’s future.
California Doctors Among Those Charging Medicare The Most For Office Visits
Billing data show that some doctors charge the government much more than their peers in the same specialty by deeming almost all office visits “complex.”
Medicare May Be Overpaying Hospitals For Short-Stay Patients
A congressional panel has held its first hearing on a controversial rule that governs the admission status of Medicare patients.
Employees: No Work At Obamacare Processing Centers, And Bosses Knew
Company and government supervisors knew that employees at the tax-funded ACA processing center in Wentzville were being paid to do little or no work, former employees said.
Patients Lose When Doctors Can’t Do Good Physical Exams
Reviving bedside medicine is becoming a new priority at some medical schools after technology has hurt some doctors’ abilities to use physical exams to make accurate diagnoses.
What Happens To A Consumer Who Gets Exchange Plan Buyer’s Remorse?
KHN’s consumer columnist looks into issues raised by readers about health law coverage.
Study: Limited Competition Raised Obamacare Prices
Many insurers only dipped a toe into the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplaces for their first year. Cigna, one of the country’s largest insurers, offered 2014 plans to individuals in fewer than half a dozen states. Humana is only in a little more than a dozen states. The biggest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, didn’t offer any policies […]
Texas Nurse Practitioners Look to Ease Supervision Rules
Texas lawmakers loosened some supervision requirements during the last legislative session, but nurse practitioners are still battling for increased autonomy in the state Medicaid program.
Gaps In Kids’ Dental Coverage A Trouble Spot
New data indicate that difficulties persist despite the health law’s efforts to expand pediatric dental insurance.
A Reader Asks: Will Using Electronic Cigarettes Affect My Insurance Rates?
Whether e-cigarettes are subject to the tobacco surcharge is a matter of debate.
Leaving Jail Doesn’t Have To Mean Losing Health Care
California is among 25 states to open Medicaid to childless adults, including thousands of ex-offenders. Covering this group is expected to save money and perhaps reduce recidivism.
By The Numbers: Mental Illness Behind Bars
There are now three times more people with serious mental illness incarcerated in the United States than in hospitals, and the types of behavioral and mental health problems among inmates are becoming more severe.
Survey: Many Women Unaware How Health Law Benefits Them
A large number of women face significant barriers to health care, and while the health law will likely help them get services, some are unaware of the benefits already in effect, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) Intended as a […]
Medicare Reverses Denial Of Costly Treatment For Hepatitis C Patient
Walter Bianco, an Arizona man denied access to new drugs to cure his hepatitis C infection, will get the costly medications after all. After Kaiser Health News and NPR described his plight in a story that aired Monday, federal Medicare officials said they would look into the case. Bianco’s appeal of an earlier denial had […]
Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Expansion To Require 723 New Workers
The number of state workers needed to expand the federal-state health care program for poorer Americans is far higher than most states have needed — typically in the dozens, not hundreds.
Workers At Obamacare Processing Center Have Little To Do, Says Ex-Employee
The allegations have spurred members of Missouri’s congressional delegation to call for investigations of the taxpayer-funded center that processes paper applications for the new health care law.
Study: Diabetes Afflicts 1 In 3 Hospitalized Patients Over 34 In California
In California, roughly one in three hospitalized people over 34 years old has diabetes, increasing the complexity and cost of their care, according to a report released Thursday. Hospitalizations for patients with diabetes on average cost about $2,200 more than for patients who didn’t have the disease, regardless of the reason they were admitted, according […]
Old-Fashioned Company With New-Fangled Problem: Obamacare
AmeriMark Direct, based in Cleveland, is seeing a jump in insurance costs and is debating whether to drop coverage for its 700 workers.
For Medicaid Patients, Access To Primary-Care May Not Be As Advertised
A survey conducted in Seattle found that half the time, primary-care providers listed as accepting new patients on Medicaid managed-care organization websites, in fact were not accepting new patients.