Latest KFF Health News Stories
Navigators Say GOP Lawmakers’ Information Requests Are ‘Shocking’
Organizations that received federal grants to hire and train workers to sign up consumers for health insurance say lawmakers are asking for too much too soon.
Texas Minors Can No Longer Use Tanning Salons
As of Sept. 1, the state became one of about a dozen to ban indoor tanning by the young, citing research linking the practice to deadly forms of skin cancer.
Baltimore Ravens To Host Ads for Maryland Health Exchange
Updated 8:15 pm Tuesday. The National Football League backed away from promoting Obamacare insurance marketplaces this summer after a sharp warning from Republicans. But the Baltimore Ravens seem to have stepped — or at least edged — into the gap. By including health insurance ads on their Gameday TV show and other content, the Super […]
Nearly Half Of U.S. Births Are Covered By Medicaid, Study Finds
About half the births in the United States are paid for by Medicaid — a figure higher than previous estimates — and the numbers could increase as the state-federal health insurance program expands under the Affordable Care Act, according to a study released Tuesday. All pregnant women with incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, just […]
Washington Ranks 2nd In Nation In Uninsured Growth
This story was produced in partnership with With about 16 percent of its residents uninsured, Washington state falls solidly in middie of the pack, with Texas having the highest percentage of residents without health insurance: more than 25 percent. Massachusetts, where a state health-insurance mandate has been in place for years, has the smallest percentage […]
Complex Personal Issues May Cloud Decisions About Buying Insurance
Even the people trained to help consumers navigate the new online marketplaces may not have all the answers.
FAQ: How Will The Individual Mandate Work?
The controversial health law provision that requires most individuals to get insurance is still not well understood.
GOP Lawmakers Demand Information From Groups Getting Navigator Grants
In a letter that the administration described as a “blatant and shameful attempt to intimidate,” the Republican House members direct groups to provide a written description of the work they intend to do, the number of employees and volunteers, their duties and how much they’ll be paid.
Covered California Launches $80 Million Ad Campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP77OktlKGk Officials at Covered California — the Golden State’s health insurance marketplace — are placing a big bet on advertising to lure people to get health insurance. With a campaign boosted by $80 million from the federal government, they’ll tell people about the Affordable Care Act and encourage uninsured citizens to buy health insurance. Officials see the 15-month-long campaign — using […]
IRS Ruling On Same-Sex Couples Has Implications For Health Law
Thursday’s announcement that the federal government will give the same tax treatment to legally married same-sex couples as they do to heterosexual couples may have ripple effects for the 2010 health care law. The decision from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service means that the income of legally married same-sex couples will be […]
Some Hospitals Turn To Post-Discharge Clinics To Help Hold Down Readmissions
A study finds that a third of adult patients discharged from a hospital don’t see a physician within 30 days — and experts say this is a key reason so many of them need to come back in.
A Reader Asks: I Get Coverage Through My Estranged Husband. Can I Choose To Go To The Marketplace?
Consumer columnist offers caution about the financial implications of that switch.
Florida Is No. 2 In Nation For Rate Of Uninsured
Census data show that about 25 percent of state residents lack health coverage in a state that has opted against the health law’s expansion of Medicaid, the government health program for the poor and disabled.
Survey: Americans Have Low Health Insurance Literacy
Premium, deductible, copay, all basic health insurance terms many Americans don’t understand, according to a recent poll. More than half could not correctly define at least one of these common financial terms related to health insurance, according to poll results released by the American Institute of CPAs. Ernie Almonte, chair of the AICPA’s National CPA […]
HHS Will Allow ‘Unbanked’ People To Use Prepaid Debit Cards On Exchanges
At the urging of advocates for low-income consumers, the Obama administration said Wednesday that it is moving ahead with a rule requiring health plans accommodate households that do not have traditional bank accounts. One in four of the uninsured eligible for federal insurance subsidies does not have a bank account, according to a report released […]
Group Health Omits Abortion Coverage In Plans Sold On Washington Exchange
The Seattle-based insurer and health provider won’t cover abortions in plans it will sell in the new online marketplace but says women will be able to get the procedure without paying more.
AMA President Optimistic About A Fix For Medicare’s Doctor Payment Formula
Debated and despised, the Medicare physician payment formula may finally be on the way out — at least that’s what AMA President Ardis Hoven believes. Known as the “sustainable growth rate” or SGR, the formula routinely threatens double-digit payment reduction to doctors until Congress steps in at the last minute to stop the cuts. Currently a […]
Don Berwick’s Newest Phase: Candidate, But Still Dr. Quality
The former acting administrator of CMS, now running for governor of Massachusetts, explains his “Letter to the People of England,” a call for continuous learning to improve quality within Britain’s National Health Service.
ACOs’ Coordinated Care Savings May Be Contagious
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) may actually be the unicorns we’ve been waiting for, spreading their cost-saving magic throughout the health system. An early cost-sharing program in Massachusetts designed to cut costs for private Blue Cross Blue Shield patients also lowered costs for Medicare patients who were seen by the same providers, according to a study published […]
Survey: Big Business May Shift Retirees, Part-Timers To Insurance Exchanges
The National Business Group On Health’s annual survey of large employers asked whether they expected various groups currently covered by their plans to choose the health law’s new coverage in 2014.