Latest KFF Health News Stories
P.R. For Obamacare Stalls In Illinois, Missouri
While Cover Missouri and Get Covered Illinois are staying active on social media, they’ve put mass media advertising efforts on hold until the federal government’s website is fixed.
FAQ: How The Health Law Impacts Federal Employees’ Health Benefits
Congressional staffers are among those most likely to experience changes in their coverage options as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
How Much Is That X-Ray? Still Hard To Say, Even In Massachusetts
A new state law requires price transparency, but it is still a days-long quest for one reporter to find out how much a simple back X-ray costs.
Detailing Long-Awaited Mental Health Parity Law Regulations
The Obama administration released the final rules Friday for 1996 and 2008 laws that expanded the kinds of mental health and substance abuse care insurers must cover. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and CQ HealthBeat’s Rebecca Adams discuss.
Conn. Governor To Feds: Get Your Act Together On Healthcare.gov
Gov. Dannel Malloy said the rollout of Obamacare in Connecticut has been a success — but it would be a bigger success if the federal health marketplace weren’t doing so badly. “I hope that the federal folks get their act together in the remainder of the month, because I’m tired of sharing their bad news […]
A Reader Asks: Can Adult Children With An Offer Of Family Coverage Instead Get Subsidies?
The answer: Yes, if their parents have not claimed them as tax dependents.
Enrolling In Obamacare In Alaska Is Possible
Lara Imler finally got through on healthcare.gov, but it took both motivation and expertise. She has a chronic condition and a programming degree.
Make Tax Day Also Enrollment Deadline, One Health Expert Says
With one small fix, the administration could satisfy calls from some members of Congress to extend the time people have to enroll in new health insurance through online marketplaces, a health policy expert says. The fix would not create problems in the industry and would move the deadline to a point when many people have […]
Retail Clinics Boom, But Still Small Part Of Overall Market
Convenience. Accessibility. Peace of mind. Those were the things Reza Marashi was looking for a year ago when he was searching for a new medical provider. As the 32-year-old sat in the One Medical Group waiting room in Washington, D.C., for his annual check-up, he said that the ease of making appointments and communicating with […]
Humana Exec Predicts Obamacare Open Enrollment Extension
Humana, one of nation’s largest health insurers, said Wednesday that it expects the Obama administration to extend open enrollment for its troubled online marketplaces beyond March 31. But a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Julie Bataille, said, “Consumers still have ample time to enroll in the six-month open enrollment period.” Millions […]
Democrats’ Frustrations With Health Law Grow Amid Website Problems
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a Senate hearing Wednesday that officials were advised to keep healthcare.gov open while fixing problems and also fielded criticism of President Obama’s promise that if Americans like their old health plans they can keep it. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and CQ HealthBeat’s Rebecca Adams discuss.
Popular Provision Of Obamacare Is Fueling Sticker Shock For Some Consumers
Barring insurers from rejecting people with medical problems or charging them more is the biggest of several factors affecting premiums.
Why New Medicaid Enrollment is Soaring
A Stateline survey indicates at least 1.5 million people have already signed up or have been pre-qualified for expanded Medicaid in the 19 states that have provided counts.
Labor Unions May Get Health Law Tax Relief
Unions want their plans exempted from the reinsurance tax, but the Obama administration may not do so until 2015.
Obama Administration Hoping 800K Enroll By End Of November
About 800,000 people are expected to enroll in the new online health insurance marketplaces by the end of November, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said Tuesday at a congressional hearing. A CMS official said later that estimate includes people signing up for Medicaid as well as private insurance. In a testimony […]
17 Million People Eligible For Premium Subsidies, Study Finds
Seventeen million people who are now uninsured or who buy their own health insurance will be eligible for tax credits next year to help purchase coverage on the health law’s online marketplaces or exchanges, according to an analysis released Tuesday. More than a third of those people live in just three states: California with nearly […]
Blue Shield of California Delays Cancellations for Some Individual Policyholders
Threatened with a legal action from the state, company says 80,000 customers can keep their plans through March 31.
Call Centers Got Big Contracts From Health Law, But How Big Is Unclear
The contractor running Connecticut’s call center for its health insurance marketplace doesn’t have to reveal how its pricing works.
Study Points To “Imbalance” In Spending On Doctor Training
Florida and New York have roughly the same population, but New York has five times as many Medicare-sponsored residency training positions and seven times the Medicare funding graduate medical education. The numbers give a glimpse into the “imbalance” in how Medicare distributes its $10 billion a year for graduate medical education (GME), according to a study […]
Oregon’s State Exchange May Be Worse Than Healthcare.gov
Not a single person is enrolled yet in Oregon, where 7,300 applications have been filed, all on paper.