Latest KFF Health News Stories
Can I Get My Insurance To Pay For An IUD Removal?
KHN’s consumer columnist says the procedure is considered preventive and should be covered by most health plans.
California Marketplace Among First to Post Customer Health Plan Ratings
Californians shopping for insurance policies through the state’s online marketplace can now compare plans based on customer quality ratings as well as cost. Covered California assigned star ratings to the health plans based on member survey responses. The surveys were taken before the insurance marketplace opened, so they only compare plans that had a track […]
Health Law Is A Tough Sell To Uninsured
Uninsured Americans — the people that the Affordable Care Act was designed to most aid — are increasingly critical of the law as its key provisions kick in, a poll released Thursday finds. This month’s tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 47 percent of the uninsured said they hold unfavorable views of […]
Expensive Hospitals: Strong Reputations But Little Evidence Of Better Care, Study Finds
A study of autoworker claims found that hospitals with the highest prices tended to have the strongest reputations and tight holds on their local markets yet showed little evidence of providing better quality care. The actual prices insurers pay hospitals are closely guarded secrets in health care. That has made it hard for health researchers […]
WellPoint Discloses Big Sign-Ups Through Health Exchanges
The biggest player in the Affordable Care Act’s online insurance marketplaces delivered encouraging news to Obamacare supporters Wednesday. After weeks of uncertainty about how many people have been applying for coverage that started Jan. 1, their age spread and whether or not they’re paying premiums, WellPoint disclosed higher-than-expected early membership growth and said it expects to make […]
Parsing The President’s 9 Million Enrollees
Nine million. That’s the number President Barack Obama touted last night as having signed up for health insurance. That total is important to supporters as a sign that the law is working — and as an indication of the difficulties Republicans would face to rescind the law or roll back certain provisions. Critics have pointed out […]
To Schedule A Doc Visit, Get In Line
Need to see a doctor? You may have to wait. A survey of physician practices in 15 metropolitan areas across the country, which was taken before the health law expanded coverage, found that the average wait time for a new patient to see a physician in five medical specialties was 18.5 days. The longest waits were […]
Video: Obama Says 9 Million Have Enrolled Under Health Law
President Obama used Tuesday night’s annual State of the Union address to urge more Americans to enroll in the new insurance exchanges.
Ex-Microsoft Exec Brings Lists And Whiteboard To Overhaul Of Obamacare Website
Former software engineer Kurt DelBene restores and races cars when he’s not looking under the hood of big computer systems.
We’ve had a lot of response from readers and listeners to our story on NPR’s Morning Edition on Monday, The Clubfoot Correction: How Parents Pushed For Better Treatment. Readers wrote that they or their children had received casting and boots-and-bars treatment for clubfoot. Some happened many decades ago—some fairly recently. We thought some more explanation […]
GOP Senators’ New Health Overhaul Plan Would Tax Some Workers’ Benefits
A health care overhaul plan released Monday by three Senate Republicans may reveal how the party will handle the issue for the 2014 elections and beyond. Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Richard Burr of North Carolina unveiled a legislative framework that would scrap much of the 2010 health law, replacing those provisions […]
Readers Ask How Divorce, Student Status Will Affect Marketplace Applications
KHN’s consumer columnist reassures a consumer who is divorcing that subsidies can be based on new income projections, not what was earned jointly the year before and offers suggestions about what exchange out-of-state students should use.
Medicaid Waivers’ Role in Innovation, Coverage Expansion
Medicaid waivers, as cumbersome as they are to achieve, present a path to coverage expansion and innovation in Medicaid in the states — though only a handful have or are seeking them.
HHS Releases Poverty Guidelines For 2014
The federal government has released slightly higher poverty level guidelines for 2014, but those won’t alter the income thresholds that are being used now to determine what kind of financial assistance is available to buy insurance under the health law. The guidelines will be relevant in the fall, when people look to buy coverage for […]
Local Governments In Texas Pursue Marketplace Signups
Local government officials and community-based organizations are working together to incorporate new rules, maximize their resources and educate uninsured Texans on how to take advantage of the federal health law.
The Clubfoot Correction: How Parents Pushed For A Better Treatment
Just a decade ago, 90 percent of babies born with clubfoot had extensive surgeries to correct it. Those surgeries often led to a lifetime of chronic pain. That has been replaced by a cheaper, noninvasive casting technique, championed by parents.
Florida’s Decision Hurts County With Highest Uninsured Rate
Many Hendry County residents earn too little for federal subsidies but are ineligible for Medicaid since state lawmakers opted against expanding the program.
Minnesota’s MNsure Exchange Weighs What To Do Next
Officials with Minnesota’s troubled online insurance marketplace heard from the authors of a scathing independent report and began weighing the crucial question of what do do next. “Is it irreparably broke?” MNsure‘s chairman of the board Brian Beutner asked during the insurance marketplace’s board meeting on Thursday. Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, prepared the […]
KHN’s Jenny Gold was on Boston’s WBUR’s On Point Thursday to talk about the latest developments with the health law — how many people have signed up and what they’re encountering in the process. Listen to audio of the conversation below or download it here.
Philadelphia-Area Blues Struggle To Match Customer Service To Demand
The region’s two largest health insurers faced a rush of new customers leading up the ACA deadline. Now both face a surge of customer service complaints.