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Latest KFF Health News Stories

‘Narrow Networks’ Trigger Push-Back From State Officials

KFF Health News Original

Criticism of limited provider networks is emerging in at least a half a dozen states as consumers realize that their Affordable Care Act insurance may not include the physicians or hospitals they’ve been seeing.

Sex Sells … Health Insurance?

KFF Health News Original

The Affordable Care Act is good for young adults because it’ll save them money on health care, leaving them more to spend on liquor and birth control. That’s one way to interpret the message from a provocative new ad campaign in Colorado. Not everyone is thrilled with it. In a federal hearing in October, Rep. […]

Obamacare Deadline For Jan. 1 Coverage Extended One Week

KFF Health News Original

Consumers will have an extra week — until Dec. 23 — to enroll in health insurance coverage that begins Jan. 1, Obama administration officials said Friday. Millions of consumers have been frustrated by their inability to sign up for coverage through healthcare.gov, the federal website for residents of 36 states, which went public Oct. 1.  While […]

Q&A: Sorting Out the Controversy Over Canceled Insurance Policies

KFF Health News Original

Where do states stand on approving President Obama’s plan to allow insurers to extend canceled health insurance plans under the health law? Many are still wringing their hands over whether they should comply.

Troubled Health Law Rollout Damages Public Support

KFF Health News Original

With its troubled rollout of the new insurance marketplaces, the Obama administration has achieved something Republicans have failed to do: seriously dent the popularity of the health care law, according to poll released Friday. Nearly half of Americans now hold an unfavorable view of the law and only a third like it, according to the […]

For Insurers, Obama’s Proposed Cancellation ‘Fix’ Changes Health Law Calculations

KFF Health News Original

Wellpoint and other insurers face a new set of decisions as a result of the Obama administration’s proposed “fix,” which would allow them to renew individual plans that don’t include all the benefits required by the overhaul.

Covered California To Canceled Policy Holders: You’ll Have To Buy A New Plan

KFF Health News Original

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California did not take President Obama up on his offer to extend canceled health policies.  The five-member board that oversees California’s health insurance marketplace, known as Covered California, voted unanimously Thursday to stay the course and cancel policies that didn’t meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The board’s decision had […]

‘Motor Voter’ Meets The Health Law

KFF Health News Original

New insurance marketplaces around the country are weighing whether to offer voter registration to people signing up for health insurance. The issue could cause political and legal fights across the nation.

Safety-Net Hospitals Lose More Under Medicare’s Quality-Based Payments, Analysis Finds

KFF Health News Original

Medicare’s effort to reward hospitals for quality is leaving many of the nation’s safety-net hospitals poorer, a new analysis finds. Dr. Ashish K. Jha, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, has found that hospitals treating the most low-income patients on average had their payment rates reduced by 0.09 percent in the latest […]