Latest KFF Health News Stories
Americans Hear More About Health Law, But Not From Most-Trusted Sources
The public’s awareness of new marketplaces is growing, but potential customers are getting much of their information about the health law from sources they don’t trust very much, according to a poll released Wednesday. Starting Oct. 1, people lacking insurance can begin enrolling in plans through online marketplaces, also called exchanges, which will be run by the […]
Pennsylvania Blues Plan Pinpoints Potential Customers Using Data
With less than five weeks before the online exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act open for enrollment, insurers are using tools pioneered by political campaigns to identify potential customers and analyze their needs.
Administration Releases New Rules To Implement Health Law’s Individual Mandate
As congressional Republicans push for a delay in the 2010 health law’s individual mandate, the Obama administration Tuesday announced final regulations implementing the requirement that most Americans have health insurance coverage by Jan. 1 or pay a fine. The document from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service is in addition to regulations the Department of […]
CDC Study: Schools Are Getting Healthier
Nowadays, the hub for developing healthy habits isn’t just the gym or home. For kids, at least, it’s increasingly their schools, according to a study released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School districts across the country are demonstrating a range of improvements in terms of nutrition, exercise and tobacco policies. For instance, after […]
Many Breast-Feeding Moms Unaware Of Health Law Help
This story was produced in partnership with New moms crave information, whether it’s car-seat safety ratings, the pros and cons of pacifiers or how best to sooth a colicky infant. So it’s a little surprising that many moms aren’t up to speed on how the Affordable Care Act could benefit them. The law has specific […]
Colorado’s Insurance Commissioner Braces For Bumps In The Road
Colorado, which is preparing for the Oct. 1 launch of its new online insurance marketplace, expects bumps in the road as residents start enrolling in new health coverage options created by the Affordable Care Act. “We’re going to have 500,000 new customers,” said Marguerite Salazar, the state’s new insurance commissioner, during an Aug. 19 interview […]
Missouri’s Poorest Residents Won’t Benefit From Obamacare
In a twist that wasn’t intended by the authors of the federal Affordable Care Act, most of Missouri’s poorest, working-age residents won’t be eligible for government help because state lawmakers opted against expanding Medicaid.
Consumer columnist answers questions about marketplace operations.
Washington State Launches Ad Blitz Promoting Health Exchange
With five weeks left until Washington state launches its online health-insurance exchange, many residents may have heard little about the program designed to offer coverage to the uninsured. That’s begun to change. The state began rolling out the first phase of its ad campaign last week to let the public know about the exchange, a central part of the […]
How Will Obamacare Affect Employee Health Coverage?
KHN’s Jay Hancock was on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Monday morning taking questions about how the health law will affect employee health coverage offered by employers. Hancock reported recently that UPS has told employees it won’t cover their spouses if they can get coverage from their own employer. Read more: UPS Won’t Insure Spouses Of Some […]
Kids With Costly Medical Issues Get Help, But Not Enough
More than 2 million kids in the US are born with multiple chronic illnesses that often require frequent trips to the hospital, and the number of medically complex kids is growing about 6 percent a year. Medicaid usually steps in to help pay, but that can create logistical problems for families.
No Shopping Zone: Medicare Is Not Part Of New Insurance Marketplaces
Administration officials are planning campaign to convince millions of seniors that they don’t need to sign up for the online exchanges.
Bare Bones Health Plans Expected To Survive Health Law
Retailers, restaurant chains and others find they can continue to offer such coverage and avoid the health law’s heftiest fines.
Why Health Law’s ‘Essential’ Coverage Might Mean ‘Bare Bones’
But how can a law praised for expanding coverage — one that includes an “employer mandate” to offer “minimum essential coverage” — allow companies to offer insurance that might not even cover hospitalization?
Despite Additional Dollars, Texas Doc Shortage Is Hard to Fix
The medical community is concerned the state’s plans to produce more physicians to treat a surging population are insufficient.
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature that details readers responses to recent KHN stories.
Brokers Associated With More, Cheaper Health Coverage, Study Says
Health insurance agents, feeling threatened by the Affordable Care Act, will welcome research from the University of Minnesota that supports their longstanding argument that agents and brokers make insurance shopping easier and cheaper. A new paper by economist Pinar Karaca-Mandic and colleagues finds that small employers were more likely to offer medical coverage in markets with many brokers […]
States Use Out-Of-The-Box Approaches To Raise Awareness Of Health Exchanges
In the 16 states and the District of Columbia that have opted to run their own online health insurance marketplaces, catchy jingles, ad campaigns and cartoon characters are among the tools being used to make sure residents know the exchanges will be open for business Oct. 1.
UPS Won’t Insure Spouses Of Some Employees
Partly blaming the health law, United Parcel Service is set to remove thousands of spouses from its medical plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere.
Health Law Adds New Expense For Farmers: Insurance For Field Workers
California’s mild climate means that farm work is a year-round business, and come 2015, the Affordable Care Act will require farm labor contractors to offer health insurance to field workers for the first time.