Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
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?