Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health Law Presents Options, Challenges For Colorado Small Businesses
About half of small businesses in Colorado are seeing double-digit premium increases under the ACA.
Public Overwhelmingly Supports Law’s Contraceptive Mandate, Poll Finds
By a nearly two-to-one margin, the public supports the health law’s requirement that private health plans cover prescription birth control without cost-sharing, according to a poll released Tuesday. The provision, which is at the heart of a case being weighed by the Supreme Court, was endorsed 61 to 32 percent and was most popular among women, younger […]
Emanuel: Although ‘Not A Perfect Law,’ ACA Is Protecting Patients
The former White House adviser talks about his new book and some of his surprising predictions about health care in the next decade and beyond.
From Zero To 3.3 Million Sign-Ups: How California ‘Won’ The Obamacare Race
No state signed more people up for health law coverage in the first health law enrollment period, but a sometimes faulty website and spotty customer service often frustrated the process.
Study: Costly Breast Cancer Treatment More Common At For-Profit Hospitals
Older breast cancer patients who received radiation treatment after surgery were more likely to undergo a more expensive and somewhat controversial type of radiation called brachytherapy if they got their care at for-profit rather than nonprofit hospitals, a new study reports. Among the oldest group studied — women in their 80s and early 90s who are […]
Oregon Raises White Flag Over Its Health Exchange
Oregon has been “all in” on health reform. Its embrace of the Affordable Care Act includes a very successful Medicaid expansion, a $2 billion federal experiment to show the state can save money by managing patients’ care better, and, of course, the state’s own online marketplace to sell Obamacare insurance. But that last point has been […]
Low T Business Is Booming, Despite Questions About Risks
Testosterone prescriptions in the U.S. more than tripled in the last decade, but recent studies raise serious safety and financial concerns.
Health Plans Scramble To Calculate 2015 Rates
There’s a lot riding on these cost calculations for insurance companies, consumers and even the health law’s future.
First-Aid Training For Mental Health Could Aid At-Risk Veterans
When done right, first aid quickly identifies a problem and triages patients so the more urgent cases get treated first and followed up on. Now, with federal aid, that same strategy will apply to the pressing problem of veterans’ mental health. A push for new funding — and the use of existing funds — may soon make […]
Some Surprising Findings About Young Adults And Health Care
Insured or uninsured, young adults seem to spend about the same out-of-pocket for health care over the course of a year. With 2009 federal data on patient spending, researchers examined how often adults up to age 25 used and paid for health care. While an awful lot has changed since then – the Affordable Care […]
Consumers In Federal High-Risk Pools Get Special Enrollment Option For Marketplace
Participants in the federal high-risk health insurance pool who haven’t yet signed up for other coverage can qualify for a 60-day special enrollment period that begins May 1, the Obama administration announced late Thursday. In a notice posted on the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan website, officials said that participants in the high-risk program who have not […]
With Medical Debts Rising, Doctors Are More Aggressive About Payments
Between 2008 and 2012, multispecialty practices saw their bad debt go up 14 percent, according to a recent survey, and some have begun to change their business practices in response.
Medical debt is worrisome and embarrassing, but more importantly, it can have long-term financial consequences. Here are some tips that may be helpful to avoid or alleviate medical debt.
What Obamacare? Meet 4 People Choosing To Remain Uninsured
Despite a surge in enrollment in the two weeks before the April 15 deadline to enroll for insurance under the health law, many more Californians have not signed up.
A Reader Asks: If Our Income Changes, Can We Change Plans?
KHN’s consumer columnist says people who qualified for premium and cost-sharing subsidies but later have earnings that put them over that limit can switch to less expensive plans.
RAND: Medicare Should Weigh Cost In Coverage Decisions
The agency that oversees the Medicare program should be able to consider the cost effectiveness of drugs and medical devices when making coverage determinations, according to a new report by the RAND Corporation. But study authors acknowledge that this recommendation — a significant change from current practice in which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is barred from […]
Rural Hospitals Face Tough Choices On Computerized Records
Hospitals in remote places are making tradeoffs to adopt electronic medical records. Some are joining larger systems, sacrificing their independence. Others are going it alone, carefully.
Most States To Rely On Federal Website For 2015 Enrollment
Tight deadlines and technical challenges dampen enthusiasm among states to set up their own online insurance marketplaces.
In Seattle, Insurers And Hospitals Complain About New Rules
State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says rules will help consumers see which providers are in-network and ensure they get the coverage they have paid for.
Florida Blue: Health Law Enrollments ‘Exceeded Expectations’ But Premiums May Rise In 2015
Many of those in Florida who bought insurance plans on the health law’s federal marketplace were previously uninsured — one of the reasons premiums will likely rise in 2015, a senior executive for insurer Florida Blue says.