Latest KFF Health News Stories
Prevention For Profit: Questions Raised About Some Health Screenings
Tests offered by for-profit companies are mostly non-invasive and fairly affordable. But some of them are not recommended by national organizations because they can lead to further testing that does more harm than good.
Medicare Budget Woes Coming Sooner Than Experts Thought
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Americans are living and working longer than ever. And Medicare, the health plan that’s supposed to help senior citizens, is facing budget problems sooner rather than later. By 2023, about 70 million people will get health care paid for by Medicare, and their tab is expected to hit […]
Pennsylvania Governor Talks Up Plan To Expand Medicaid His Way
Only about half the states so far are planning to expand Medicaid coverage to thousands of low-income adults. Pennsylvania’s Republican governor has a plan to do that, with caveats.
Zients Vows Healthcare.gov Will Work Smoothly By End Of November
A subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, which built the federal data hub, will oversee the fixes.
Medical Schools See Record Numbers Of Enrollees
In the face of projected doctor shortages and debate about the future of medicine, a record number of students applied to, and started, medical school this year. About 20,000 students enrolled in medical school in 2013, around 2.8 percent more than the year before, according to the data distributed by the Association of American Medical Colleges […]
A Reader Asks: I Don’t Have Children, So Why Do I Have To Buy Pediatric Dental Insurance?
Insurance columnist explains that the essential health benefits that all new individual and small-group health plans must offer reflect a core package that experts thought everyone should have access to.
Administration Says 700,000 Have Applied For Obamacare Coverage
The Obama administration said Thursday that 700,000 people have completed applications for coverage in the health law’s new marketplaces — a key step before people can begin shopping for insurance plans. But a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services refused to break out how many of these applicants came through the 14 state-run […]
Lawmakers Challenge Healthcare.gov Contractors On Website Problems
For more than four hours in a Capitol Hill hearing Thursday, House Energy and Commerce Committee members grilled contractors who helped build the health law’s problem-plagued online insurance marketplace. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro’s Jennifer Haberkorn discuss the next steps.
Navigators Tread Water As Website Problems Continue
Updated: Dec. 19, 2013 Navigators in states relying on the flawed federal exchange healthcare.gov are focusing on bolstering excitement and education about the law as they wait for fixes to the website. “It’s slowed us down,” says Patsy Dowling, executive director of Mountain Projects Inc., a 130-employee nonprofit in Western North Carolina, which won a […]
Health Law Brings Changes In How Therapists Do Business
Mom-and-Pop shops give way to large group practices that often accept discounted rates from insurers.
Are Federal Call Centers Up To The Task Of Enrolling Millions In Health Plans?
Despite the president’s urging that frustrated consumers use call centers, advocates say they’re not “a realistic alternative” for comparing and selecting coverage.
The health law gives consumers until March 31 to sign up for health insurance, but it may be weeks before coverage begins. So the administration says it will not penalize anyone who signs up by that date.
Study: Low-Income Californians Want Better Health Care Information
For many low-income Californians, enrolling in health insurance is just one hurdle to overcome in getting the care they want. A new report says better communication with doctors and obtaining clearer information is also high on their wish lists. California is home to nearly 7 million uninsured people – 15 percent of the national total, […]
Judge Greenlights Legal Challenge To Health Law’s Subsidies
There are more days in court ahead for the health law. On Tuesday, a federal judge delivered a mixed decision, allowing a lawsuit to proceed that challenges whether the government can legally provide some health plan subsidies. The subsidies are being given to people who meet certain eligibility requirements to help pay for coverage purchased from the new […]
A View From The States: Health Care Continues Stumbling Startup
States are making some progress getting customers signed up for health insurance. But it isn’t pretty. Here is a roundup of dispatches from KHN’s radio partners at NPR member stations: Alaska averaged one sign up a day last week on the state’s new Affordable Care Act marketplace, where it was taking up to three hours […]
In Some States, Most Early Marketplace Enrollees Qualify For Medicaid
In several states, most of the people enrolling through new online insurance marketplaces are signing on to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor. The reason? Many of the uninsured are poor, and applicants don’t have to pay anything to sign up for Medicaid. Shoppers applying for private health coverage through the marketplace […]
Online Insurance Brokers Stymied Selling Obamacare Policies
Websites like eHealthInsurance.com that were planning to start selling new, subsidized Obamacare policies on Oct. 1 still can’t offer them to customers.
Oregon Experiment Puts Therapists On Primary Care Teams
Medicaid patients can see different kinds of doctors in one visit, and the hope is it will provide better patient care, eventually at less cost to the state.
New Health Policies Will Expose Many Missourians To Higher Premiums, More Risk
Using health law subsidies, many will be able to afford health coverage for the first time. But the insurance they’ll be buying comes with caveats.
Readers Ask About HSAs, Infertility Treatment And The Consequences Of Not Buying Insurance
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers questions about the insurance landscape under the new health law.