Latest KFF Health News Stories
Early Drug Claims Suggest Exchange Plan Enrollees Are Sicker Than Average
But experts say it’s too early to draw conclusions about the impact on premiums.
Primary Care Shortage? Not For The Insured, Study Shows
Researchers posing as nonelderly adult patients made nearly 13,000 calls to primary care practices across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and eight other states between fall 2012 and spring of last year. What they found may provide some comfort amid growing concerns of doctor shortages, especially as more people gain coverage through the Affordable Care Act, potentially […]
Oregon Medicaid Plan Sees High Demand
Trillium Community Health Plan is scrambling to take care of many more new customers than it expected in the first months of Affordable Care Act coverage.
Report: Jails House 10 Times More Mentally Ill Than State Hospitals
In 44 states and the District of Columbia, at least one prison or jail holds more people with serious mental illnesses than the largest state psychiatric hospital, according to a report released Tuesday by the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriffs’ Association. Across the country, an estimated 356,268 people with mental illnesses including bipolar […]
Clients Save, Insurers Get Boost From Affordable Care Act
As enrollment continues for some, insurers like Independence Blue Cross in Pennsylvania are busy trying to show new customers how to use their policies.
Nevada Offers Rare Bet: Year-Round Sales Of Health Plans
It is the only state to mandate that insurers who sell individual plans outside the online marketplace must keep sales open throughout the year. The health law allows insurers to offer individual plans even outside the open enrollment period, but in most areas few companies appear interested.
Obama Administration Retreats On Private Medicare Rate Cuts
But insurers still contest the claim that rates will rise slightly after arriving at their own calculations of the originally proposed cuts.
Kit Bond Works Missouri Capitol’s Halls On Medicaid Expansion
The former governor has been meeting with legislators, some of whom weren’t born when he first came to Jefferson City as state auditor in 1970.
When Connecting With A Dentist Doesn’t Mean An Office Visit
Teledentistry experiment in California aims to bring care to needy patients in schools and nursing homes. Consulting with dentists over the Internet, hygienists and dental assistants offer preventive treatment and education.
Teledentistry Boosts Kids’ Dental Treatments
Teledentistry is changing the dynamics of dental care delivery to children in low-income communities. Mireya Rodriguez, a dental hygienist in alternative practice, conducts dental screenings at Head Start preschool centers in Los Angeles,
Decoding The High-Stakes Debate Over Medicare Advantage Cuts
In high-visibility ad campaigns, insurers maintain that reduced payment rates, which are expected to be announced Monday, will do real harm. What should beneficiaries expect?
Los Angeles County Audit Finds Backlog Of Nursing Home Complaints
The Los Angeles County Auditor/Controller determined that there were more than 3,000 open investigations, including 945 that have been open for more than two years.
Medicaid Enrollment Increased By 3 Million From October To February
The number of low-income people enrolled in Medicaid rose by 3 million to 62.3 million from October through February as more Americans joined the state-federal insurance program through state and federal online insurance marketplaces, according to a report released Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services. States that expanded Medicaid eligibility under the […]
A Reader Asks: Does My Swedish Health Plan Meet ACA Requirements?
KHN’s consumer columnist reports that foreign insurance policies must meet HHS standards for “minimum essential coverage” to be considered a replacement for marketplace plans.
State Exchange Executives Face Tough Questions From House Subcommittee
For some states, like California, things have gone well. But the rollout in states like Maryland and Oregon has been rocky. Mary Agnes Carey and CQ Roll Call’s Emily Ethridge discuss what we’ve learned about why some did better than others.
Top Boston Hospital Begins To Tackle Readmissions Problem
One Boston hospital uses a Medicare fine, soul searching, and a plan for follow-up to reduce its alarming readmissions rate.
Why Some Don’t Pay Their Obamacare Premium: It’s Not What You Think
A new analysis finds that many people who signed up for a Covered California health insurance exchange plan are likely to drop the coverage for a good reason: They found insurance elsewhere. Researchers at the U.C. Berkeley Labor Center released estimates Wednesday showing that about 20 percent of Covered California enrollees are expected to leave […]
Co-op Health Insurance Plans See Early Success
Montana’s health insurance co-op is encouraged by its strong enrollment and plans to expand into Idaho next year. But some caution that it will be difficult for co-ops to grow beyond a niche player.
As Insurance Enrollment Exceeds 7M, Obama Says Health Law ‘Here To Stay’
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1 The Obama administration took a victory lap Tuesday as enrollment through the health law’s exchanges topped 7 million, a goal previously thought untouchable when the website healthcare.gov sputtered and crashed as sign-ups began last fall. In a statement in the Rose Garden, President Barack Obama, said, “The debate over repealing this law is over. The Affordable Care […]
Obama: ‘The Affordable Care Act Is Here To Stay’
It a statement in the White House Rose Garden, the president Tuesday touted over 7 million sign-ups for health insurance on the health law’s marketplaces.