Latest KFF Health News Stories
IG Report Findings Could Strengthen Nursing Home Inspections
Nursing home oversight may be moving toward more effective ways to detect poor care.
Obama Urges Latinos To Sign Up For Insurance Now
President Barack Obama appealed directly to Latinos on Thursday, telling them time is running out to sign up for health coverage this year and that they should enroll now to avoid problems. Open enrollment in the health law’s online health insurance marketplaces closes March 31 for coverage this year and that date won’t be extended, Obama said […]
Insurers Take The Lead To Reach Florida Latinos
For all of California’s troubles advertising to Latinos, that state has embraced the 2010 health law and is spending millions of dollars to get people to sign up. Florida is a different story. Florida has a high rate of uninsured Latinos — almost 10 percent of all the country’s uninsured Hispanics who are eligible for […]
Survey: Employers Less Confident Of Future Health Benefits
Big employers are pretty sure they’ll keep offering workers health care coverage. But they seem a lot less sure than they used to be, according to a survey released Thursday. Only one large company in four recently surveyed by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health is confident it will provide medical coverage […]
Marketing Mistakes Hurt Latino Enrollment In California
Research shows that certain sales strategies resonate with American Latinos, but California’s insurance exchange didn’t try any of them initially.
Changes To Health Law Rules Include Extra Month To Enroll In 2015
Some consumers will also get more time to keep plans that don’t meet all the law’s requirements.
Groups Make Final Push To Sign People Up For Obamacare
With less than four weeks to go before the deadline, ads and direct appeals take aim at young people, Latinos and others without insurance coverage.
L.A. County Health Officials Grilled Over Nursing Home Inspections
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously ordered an audit Tuesday of how the public health department oversees nursing homes.
HHS Seeks $600 Million For Health Law Enrollment Efforts
Republicans have refused in the past to fund the federal online marketplace so health officials are looking at other ways to get the money.
Health Workers’ Union Pushes Hospital Cost Control In California
The SEIU is gathering signatures to put two hospital questions to voters in November. The union wants hospital charges capped at 25 percent above costs and CEO salaries at nonprofit hospitals capped at $450,000 per year.
Washington State’s Insurance Ads: Quirky And Hip Or Offensive?
This story was produced in partnership with Are the new ads promoting health insurance for Washington state’s young people quirky, hip and funny — or are they insulting and offensive? Michael Marchand says it doesn’t matter. “I don’t care if people like or hate what I’m doing, so long as they get the URL right,” said […]
60,000 With HIV Left Uninsured In States Not Expanding Medicaid
The Affordable Care Act is generally a win for people living with HIV and AIDS, about 30 percent of whom are uninsured. It offers new health insurance options — both private and public — to a group that had been largely locked out of the individual insurance market because of rules about preexisting conditions. In […]
Tough Road for States Seeking Customized Medicaid Expansion
Each of the states currently weighing expansion of Medicaid has a different idea of what it would look like.
Health Law Provides No Guarantees Of Access To Midwives, Birthing Centers
The overhaul mandated maternity coverage, but some private insurance plans don’t include services.
L.A. County Officials Told Inspectors To Cut Short Nursing Home Probes
They say they were trying to help clear a California backlog of 9,000 cases. Elder care advocate calls the move “unconscionable.”
Three Key Changes Proposed For Medicare Part D
Among the elements of the proposal that consumers might notice are changes in what drugs will be “protected” so that they are more readily available to seniors, how many plans are offered and what pharmacies will be offering the best deals.
Administration Faces Opposition To Changes In Medicare Prescription Drug Program
Officials say proposed alterations would help seniors and save money but some patient groups and the drug industry are raising concerns.
There’s a Life-Saving Hepatitis C Drug. But You May Not Be Able To Afford It.
The price tag of the breakthrough treatment raises questions about the proper costs of pharmaceuticals.
A Reader Asks: How Do I Apply For Coverage For My Son In Another State?
KHN’s consumer columnist explains that parents can get a child-only policy for a dependent living elsewhere while still getting coverage for themselves at home.
Conn. Tries To Sell Its Obamacare Success To Other States
Selling Affordable Care Act insurance is going well in Connecticut, so the state is offering “Exchange In A Box” services to other states that are still stumbling.