Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘National Dialogue’ Urged On Cost Of New Hepatitis C Drug
The outcry continues over the $1,000-a-pill hepatitis C drug made by California-based Gilead Sciences. While the drug is a significant advance over older treatments for the viral liver disease, the price set by the company “represents an abuse of market power,” said John Rother, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, which […]
Can Employers Dump Workers To Health Exchanges? Yes, For A Price
How to expand Americans’ health insurance choices under the Affordable Care Act without sabotaging employer coverage? The Obama administration is still working to get the balance right. The latest tweak from the Internal Revenue Service essentially prohibits employers from giving workers tax-free dollars to buy policies in the online public marketplaces created by the health law. […]
7 Things You Should Know About The Next Big Benefit Change
“Reference pricing” has the blessing of the Obama administration. What is it and how might it affect your health insurance?
Too Early To Calculate Success Of ACA Marketplaces
Did taxpayers get a bargain or a boondoggle on the Obamacare exchanges? Economists agree it is still too soon to tell for most of the exchanges set up under the health law.
States Consider Using Medicaid To Pay College Health Plan Premiums
Advocates say that the option will provide more flexibility for students who are eligible for the state-federal health program for low-income people.
Safety Net Hospitals Already Seeing More Paying Patients – And Revenue
Many inner-city hospitals in Medicaid-expansion states report big drops in the number of uninsured people for whom they provide care.
A Reader Asks: Are Insurers Required To Cover HIV Prevention Medication Recently Recommended By CDC?
Federal health officials urge anyone at substantial risk of HIV to start an expensive prescription drug regimen that can prevent infection. But that doesn’t mean it qualifies for coverage without any cost sharing under the health law.
Temporary Fee On Big Businesses Funds Obamacare
Large companies like Sherwin-Williams, based in Cleveland, aren’t likely to use the individual insurance marketplace created by the health law, but they will help pay for it.
Minnesota, Not Florida, Not Hawaii, Is Healthiest State For Seniors
“Minnesota Nice” might be the key to good health for seniors. America’s Health Rankings Senior Report rated Minnesota the healthiest state in the nation for adults aged 65 and over — beating out Hawaii. And that retiree and snowbird haven, Florida? It came in 28th. What could put Minnesota, which just weathered arguably the harshest winter […]
Some Colorado Doctors May Be Overcharging Medicare For Routine Visits
An analysis of newly available data may reveal fraud. But experts caution that the raw data alone could also make physicians who are doing nothing wrong look bad.
The Politics Of Health In 2014 Aren’t What You Think
Some embattled Democrats see Medicaid expansion as a winning issue.
Single-Payer Advocates Hit Capitol With New Sense Of Reality
Advocates for a single-payer “Medicare for all” health system are fanning out across Capitol Hill this week, lobbying members of Congress. But years of mostly fruitless struggles – and watching the intense opposition to the much less sweeping Affordable Care Act – appears to have left them with a much more clear-eyed view of what […]
Should Medicare Pay The Same No Matter Where The Patient Gets Care?
That question was the focus of a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday, and it’s an important issue in the context of the debate over ending the Medicare SGR. Mary Agnes Carey and CQ HealthBeat’s John Reichard discuss.
ACA And The Children’s Health Insurance Program
The Affordable Care Act offers subsidies for low-income families who currently qualify for the federal-state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), forcing states to make a decision on CHIP’s future.
California Doctors Among Those Charging Medicare The Most For Office Visits
Billing data show that some doctors charge the government much more than their peers in the same specialty by deeming almost all office visits “complex.”
Medicare May Be Overpaying Hospitals For Short-Stay Patients
A congressional panel has held its first hearing on a controversial rule that governs the admission status of Medicare patients.
Employees: No Work At Obamacare Processing Centers, And Bosses Knew
Company and government supervisors knew that employees at the tax-funded ACA processing center in Wentzville were being paid to do little or no work, former employees said.
Patients Lose When Doctors Can’t Do Good Physical Exams
Reviving bedside medicine is becoming a new priority at some medical schools after technology has hurt some doctors’ abilities to use physical exams to make accurate diagnoses.
What Happens To A Consumer Who Gets Exchange Plan Buyer’s Remorse?
KHN’s consumer columnist looks into issues raised by readers about health law coverage.
Study: Limited Competition Raised Obamacare Prices
Many insurers only dipped a toe into the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplaces for their first year. Cigna, one of the country’s largest insurers, offered 2014 plans to individuals in fewer than half a dozen states. Humana is only in a little more than a dozen states. The biggest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, didn’t offer any policies […]