Latest KFF Health News Stories
Tick, Tock: Administration Misses Some Health Law Deadlines
Programs to increase fees to Medicaid primary care doctors and to entice states to eliminate some Medicaid copays are delayed as feds focus on insurance markets.
If you could make one change to Medicare, what would it be? Ask three former directors of the program and you’ll get plenty of ideas. Bruce Vladeck, who was head of what was then known as the Health Care Financing Administration, or HCFA, for former President Bill Clinton, wants more market-based competition and less pricing […]
Fed Economist Steps Into Dispute On Geographic Differences In Health Spending
A new analysis concludes that things like the prevalence of smoking, obesity and diabetes best explain why Medicare spending in some regions of the country is higher, instead of how medicine is practiced, as other researchers believe.
Some Families Will Be Ineligible For Insurance Subsidies Under Final Rule
Some families with costly job-based health coverage may be ineligible for federal subsidies to help them buy less expensive coverage through new online insurance markets, under final rules released Wednesday by the IRS. The two rules, published by the Treasury Department here and here, uphold earlier proposals outlining what is considered affordable, employer-sponsored coverage. Under the federal health law, low […]
Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital Is Back, But Changed After Sandy
Doctors, staff and administrators at the large urban institution have had to improvise as they restore partial service to the community and repair the historic hospital’s damaged infrastructure at the same time.
Q&A: Contraception Coverage Under The Health Law
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about the health law’s provision on no-cost birth control.
For Medicare Innovations – Think Locally
Reforming Medicare – from changing the way doctors are paid to streamlining patient care – could benefit from a grassroots approach, according to experts and physicians at a policy summit held by National Journal Live in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. “We need to focus more on responding to and joining local initiatives,” said Len Nichols, director […]
Patient Loads Often At Unsafe Levels, Hospitalist Survey Finds
Nearly forty percent of hospital-based general practitioners who are responsible for overseeing patients’ care say they juggle unsafe patient workloads at least once a week, according to a study published Monday as a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine. In the study, researchers at Johns Hopkins University invited nearly 900 attending physicians, known as hospitalists, to […]
Long Waits For Consumers When Medicare Is ‘Secondary Payer’
A new law sets schedules for providing details about medical claims in cases where a beneficiary suffers a personal injury due to someone else’s negligence.
Kidney Sharing System May Change To Better Accomodate Older Patients
The United Network for Organ Sharing system for allocating kidneys is considering ranking the ages of donors and potential recipients. Kidneys with the lowest expected survival would be distributed more widely across the country, a move that would help older patients whose life expectancy is limited.
Kidney Donation Over Age 70? Desperate Patients Saying, ‘Yes, Please’
While most of the nation’s kidney transplant centers don’t have an upper age limit for recipients, more than three-quarters don’t accept the organs from people older than 70. Some doctors and patients are pushing to change that.
Nursing Moms Get Free Breast Pumps From Health Law
This story comes from our partner . Health insurance plans now have to cover the full cost of breast pumps for nursing mothers. This is the result of a provision in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), and the new rule took effect for many people at the start of this year. It’s led to a […]
Retiring Medicare Actuary Reflects On The Politics Of Health Care Spending And Why He Almost Quit
Richard Foster talks about the travails of trying to provide objective information to Congress and the White House.
Long-Term Care Ombudsmen Face Challenges To Independence
The advocates for elderly and disabled people living in nursing homes or assisted living centers responded to 204,000 complaints nationwide in 2011.
Q&A: Picking Health Insurance For Your Newborn
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about how expectant parents can choose the best insurance for their child.
TurboTax, Not Travelocity, May Be Better Analogy For Health Exchanges
Consumers in Colorado focus groups said they know very little about insurance and will need a lot of customer support to purchase coverage online.
Americans Want Deficit Addressed Without Medicare Cuts, Poll Finds
Most Americans want quick action to reduce the deficit, but almost six in 10 oppose cutting Medicare spending to achieve that goal, according to a new poll released today. Lawmakers should examine other alternatives, including requiring drug makers to give the government “a better deal” on medications for low-income seniors (85 percent) and making higher-income […]
Fighting Painful Misconceptions About Sickle Cell Disease In The ER
Sickle cell disease changes the shape of red blood cells from discs to sickles. Patients arrive at the emergency room with sudden onset of severe, excruciating pain, saying their blood feels “stuck.”
Report: States Making It Easier To Apply For Medicaid
Despite the reluctance of some Republican governors to expand Medicaid next year under the 2010 health law, most governors are making it easier for people to apply for coverage in the state-federal program for the poor, according to a study released today. Residents of 37 states — four more than the year before — can now apply […]
Q & A with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant
Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican elected in 2011, has been a vocal opponent of the 2010 health law. KHN correspondent Phil Galewitz sat down with him at his office in Jackson, Miss.