Latest KFF Health News Stories
FAQ: What Is The ACA’s ‘Reinsurance Tax’?
This little-known provision of the health law has been –at times — in the Senate negotiations on the budget.
Colorado Insurance Exchange Week One: Few Enrollments, Lots Of Interest
Despite a relatively low number of people buying coverage in its first week, the board in charge of Colorado’s health insurance exchange is generally pleased with how it’s running. Connect for Health Colorado, which is branding itself as C4HCO, says it had 162,941 unique visitors to its website October 1-7. Of those, 226 purchased health […]
Obamacare Enrollees Become Urban Legend
This story was produced in partnership with the Will the Floridians who have enrolled for Obamacare please stand up? Nearly two weeks after the federal government launched the online Health Insurance Marketplace at healthcare.gov, individuals who have successfully used the choked-up website to enroll for a subsidized health insurance plan have reached a status akin […]
Seniors Cautioned To Pay Close Attention To Details As Enrollment Begins In Medicare Plans
Costs, coverage details of different Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plans can vary significantly, so beneficiaries should weigh their options and consider switching plans for a better deal.
Health Insurance Co-Ops Offer New Option For Some Marketplace Shoppers
The nonprofit “consumer oriented and operated plans,” or co-ops, are run by their members and were created under the federal health law to enhance competition on the exchanges.
South Floridians’ Biggest Question About Marketplace Plans: Will They Be Affordable?
Consumers of different ages, health and income levels make different calculations about the costs and benefits of buying health coverage.
Pay For Hospital CEOs Linked More To Technology, Patient Satisfaction Than Quality, Study Finds
Harvard researchers find no difference in CEO compensation between hospitals that rate well in providing good care and those that do poorly.
How Consumers Are Navigating The Marketplaces
KHN’s Julie Appleby was on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Monday discussing consumer issues with the new online insurance marketplaces that launched Oct. 1. Watch the video below. This is part of a regular Monday morning segment on Washington Journal. Tune in each week to stay informed about the latest developments in health policy.
New Options For Native Americans Under Health Law
Although tribal members are entitled to free health care, most Indian health facilities do not offer a full array of services.
Why Some Virginia Health Plans Cost So Much
How states resolve questions over whether to mandate coverage of specialized treatments, such as gastric bypass surgery, can have a big impact on premiums.
Geography Is Destiny When It Comes To Enrolling In Health Insurance Exchanges
The new health insurance exchanges are now in their second week, and almost across the board, it has been a rocky start. But just how rocky depends on what state you live in and how many navigators have been hired to help people sign up.
FAQ: What’s At Stake If Congress Repeals The Medical Device Tax
Getting rid of the tax, which helps raise money to fund the health law, might help break the budget battle logjam.
Federal Shutdown Alarms State Health Officials
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has furloughed more than half its staff as a result of the federal shutdown. That worries states, particularly as the flu season begins.
Healthcare.gov Offers New Shopping Feature — Sort Of
With consumers in 36 states struggling to access a federal exchange website to compare health plans, the Obama administration launched a new online tool Thursday that lets users see premium estimates by state, health plan and two age categories. One of the biggest criticisms of healthcare.gov was that consumers had to create an account before they could even look to see what […]
California Working Overtime To Enroll Consumers On Marketplace — And To Train People To Help
Once consumers are primed to enroll, the hand-off to counselors has been rocky. Many counselors are still attending training or are awaiting background checks and state-issued licenses; some just need a computer log-in.
A Reader Asks: My Coverage Is Intermittent. Can I Do Better On The Marketplace?
A contract worker looks for more consistent coverage.
Mississippi Consumers Try And Try Again To Use Healthcare.gov
In Mississippi, one of 36 states dependent on the federally run health insurance marketplace, consumers continue to face long delays and other technical difficulties.
Looking For D.C.’s Best Hospitals? Here’s A Little Advice
A cottage industry of nonprofits and companies offer grades and rankings of hospitals. But they often measure different things.
Some Good News About Saving For Retirement Health Costs
Saving for health care after retirement is less costly than it was just a few years ago thanks to the slowed growth of health care spending. But that’s just part of the picture. A new report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that Medicare beneficiaries, who are 65 years or older, would need to […]
Hawaiians Still Unable To Shop On State Exchange
Hawaii, President Barack Obama’s birthplace, has the only online health insurance marketplace that has not yet launched. Ten days after the Hawaii Health Connector was supposed to allow consumers and small employers to shop and enroll for coverage, officials are using paper applications and referring people to insurers’ websites to check prices. About 100,000 people are uninsured in Hawaii. It is […]