Latest KFF Health News Stories
Obama Administration Proposes 1.9% Cut In Medicare Advantage Payments
Insurers claim the cuts are deeper and are campaigning to stop them, saying they will hurt seniors.
Impact Of Medicare Advantage Cuts On Seniors Sharply Disputed
Experts say that costs may rise for some enrollees, but rates have been largely stable for most.
40 Percent Of Enrollees Through eHealth Website Are Young Adults
Whether enough young people are signing up for insurance coverage under the health law remains a point of debate among its critics and supporters. Now both sides have some new data. Private online marketplace eHealth reported that the percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 34 who applied for coverage through the firm’s website […]
Medicare Data Show Wide Differences In ACOs’ Patient Care
The first public evaluation of how 141 networks of doctors and hospitals performed looks at five quality measures for patients with diabetes and heart disease.
Quick Update Of State Insurance Exchanges: Still A Mixed Bag
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. With a bit more than a month left for people to sign up for health insurance plans set up under the Affordable Care Act, the federal website known as healthcare.gov finally seems to be working smoothly — in 36 states. But what’s happening in the 14 […]
A Reader Asks: Can My Doctor Charge Me For ‘Chronic Disease Management’ In My Annual Physical?
KHN’s consumer columnist says that even though many preventive care services are covered without cost to the patient, “evaluation and management services” can be billed separately.
Health Centers See Threat From ‘Private Option’ Medicaid
Shifting Medicaid enrollees into private plans could mean less money for clinics treating the poor.
Latino Insurance Enrollment Picks Up In California, But …
Enrollment in health insurance plans through Covered California in the first two weeks of February maintained the same pace reported for the last two weeks of January, while Latino enrollment jumped significantly in January, according to state data released yesterday. About 100,000 people signed up during the first two weeks of February, almost exactly matching […]
California Faces Steep Challenges As Obamacare Launches, Report Finds
As it prepares to offer coverage to its millions of uninsured residents through the Affordable Care Act, California faces daunting challenges and provides useful lessons for the rest of the nation, according to a survey and analysis released Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s report, based on a survey of 2,500 adult Californians before enrollment began […]
Corbett’s Final Medicaid Expansion Plan: Gentler, But Still An Outlier
The plan by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett would use federal money to buy private insurance for newly eligible Medicaid enrollees and require work searches or job training.
Missouri House Republican Files Medicaid Expansion Bill
A Republican House member has filed a bill to expand Missouri’s Medicaid program.
Dental Services Are Coming Back For California’s Low-Income Adults
Patients face serious challenges, however, including a shortage of dentists and restrictions on treatment options.
Insurance, Not Injuries, May Determine Who Goes To Trauma Centers
A new Stanford University study shows that patients with critical injuries are less likely to be transferred to trauma centers if they have insurance.
Why Is There Such A Difference In What Health Insurance Costs?
KHN’s Jordan Rau was on NPR’s Morning Edition Wednesday morning talking about why there’s such a difference among places with the most expensive and least expensive health coverage. Listen below:
Colorado’s Elusive Goal: A Complete, Useful Health Care Price List
Making health care prices available to the public is difficult and expensive, and Colorado and several other states are in jeopardy of losing funding for their efforts unless Congress intervenes.
Bipartisan Group Of Senators Concerned About Medicare Advantage Cuts
Some Democrats have now joined their Republican counterparts in asking the Obama administration to moderate scheduled Medicare Advantage payment cuts for 2015. In a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, a bipartisan coalition of 40 senators urged the administration “to maintain payment levels that will allow [Medicare Advantage] beneficiaries to […]
California Bill Would Extend Health Coverage To All Residents
In a push to cover immigrants excluded from the nation’s health reform law, a California state senator has proposed legislation that would offer health insurance for all Californians, including those living here illegally. The bill would extend state-funded Medi-Cal to low-income immigrants who, because they are in the country without permission, are now eligible only for emergency and […]
Some Plans Refuse To Cover Medical Costs Related To Suicide Despite Federal Rules
Under the health law and 2006 regulations, insurers can’t deny medical coverage for an individual’s injuries because they resulted from medical condition such as depression, even if it was not diagnosed before the injury.
Tips For New Obamacare Coverage: Stay In Network, Avoid Out-Of-Pocket Costs
Consumers who obtain insurance through the health law’s marketplaces will now have to figure out their plans’ specifics.
A Reader Asks: If I Am On COBRA, Do I Have To Buy A New Marketplace Plan?
KHN’s consumer columnist says cheaper deals may be available on the state exchanges, but consumers don’t have to ditch their COBRA policies.