Latest KFF Health News Stories
In Western N.C., Getting Health Coverage Means Getting Creative
A navigator helps people, like John Martin (above), who fall into coverage gap in Appalachia figure out ways to qualify for and receive Obamacare insurance subsidies.
Texas Imposes New Rules On Health Insurance Navigators
The state’s top insurance regulator softened some provisions, but will require that navigators receive additional state training and undergo background checks and fingerprinting.
Solo Coverage For $430 A Month? For This Enrollee, It’s A Deal
This post is Randy Dotinga’s latest update on his efforts to secure health insurance as a single, freelance writer with pre-existing conditions. You can also read his earlier installments, Taking A Risk To Secure Health Insurance and My Other Pre-Existing Condition: Unstable Insurance. After 13 years of being an insurer’s worst nightmare, I just heard some wonderful words: The insurance company will […]
8 Things To Know About Obamacare In 2014
Having a hard time making sense of what the health law means for you this year? We have answers — and pictures.
Wyden Plan May Be Vision For Future Medicare Reforms
Key members of both parties and both chambers of Congress stand before the podium to introduce their bipartisan Medicare proposal. Insurers and health care providers welcome it. Seniors’ groups are on board, too. If Congress is ever going to overhaul Medicare, it will almost certainly have to happen this way. Sen. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat widely […]
Consumers Expecting Free ‘Preventive’ Care Sometimes Surprised By Charges
Patients sometimes find that they are expected to pay for associated services, such as facility fees or anesthesia, and health law advocates say more federal guidance is needed for billing the procedures.
As HHS Moves To End Overload Of Medicare Claims Appeals, Beneficiaries Will Get Top Priority
New requests from hospitals, doctors and other providers have been suspended for two years as officials try to get through a backlog of 357,000 cases.
Health Law Spurs State Shift in Long-Term Care
Many states are taking advantage of a $3 billion health law program meant to help older Americans avoid nursing homes and instead get long-term care in their own homes — something many of them prefer.
Michigan Republicans Rethink Medicaid Expansion
Michigan is one of only a handful of Republican-led states that is expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. It did it by forging a plan that worked for both political parties, business interests, doctors and hospitals.
Miami Children’s Hospital Part Of A Trend: Revealing Some Price Information
Hospital executives will list adjusted charges to more accurately reflect what Miami Children’s collects from insurers, so consumers can estimate their out-of-pocket costs.
Is The Health Law’s Insurance Website Not Spanish Friendly?
KHN’s Daniela Hernandez joined CNET en Espanol’s Laura Martinez on NPR’s Tell Me More Friday morning to talk about how Spanish speakers are struggling with the federal website to buy health insurance. Listen to audio of the conversation below:
Washington State Goes After The Young And Uninsured
So-called “young and invincibles” are not rushing to sign up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, so officials are going to find them at concerts, festivals and social-media sites.
A Reader Asks: Do Couples Have To Buy The Same Level Health Plan?
KHN’s consumer columnist reports family members can opt for separate plans and still qualify for premium subsidies, but they need to consider some other important details.
Signing Up The Homeless, One At A Time
Skid Row clinics in Los Angeles and other locations around the country are educating and enrolling homeless people in new health coverage, but mental illness and drug addiction pose challenges.
Explaining Healthcare.gov’s Problems
Gary Cohen, the head of the federal online marketplace, answered questions on Capitol Hill Thursday about the rocky rollout of healthcare.gov. Mary Agnes Carey and CQ Roll Call’s Melissa Attias discuss.
How Much To Deliver A Baby? Charges Vary Widely by Hospital
Hospital charges for labor and delivery vary so widely from one California medical center to another that some facilities charge women eight to 11 times more than others, according to a new study. Comparing nearly 110,000 uncomplicated births and Caesarean sections, researchers found the lowest charge for a vaginal birth involving an average woman was […]
State Snapshots Of Obamacare Enrollment Numbers
Enrollment in the health law’s marketplaces surged in December, and the administration’s report on the numbers made headlines on Monday — but the national story isn’t the whole story. Health care is delivered in 50 different state markets, and each state is implementing the health law with varying degrees of success and failure, enthusiasm and […]
Congress Is Poised To Change Medicare Payment Policy. What Does That Mean For Patients And Doctors?
Capitol Hill committees appear close to replacing the controversial physician payment system that rewards doctors for volume with one that offers incentives for quality and coordination of care.
Check Your Blood Pressure, (Unwittingly) Sell Your Contact Information
SoloHealth, a company that puts health screening kiosks in supermarkets, partners with insurers looking to sign people up with Affordable Care Act polices.
Oregon To Feds: Give Tax Credits To Shoppers Who Bypassed Troubled Exchange
Two officials from the Oregon governor’s office were on a mission in D.C. Tuesday — trying to get a federal go-ahead to compensate individuals who purchased insurance on their own because of the breakdown of the state’s health care exchange. Sean Kolmer, the governor’s health policy adviser, and Dan Carol, director of multi-state and strategic […]