Latest KFF Health News Stories
How Will Obamacare Affect Your Medicare Benefits?
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey was on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Monday morning taking questions about how the health law will affect Medicare’s benefits. See related story: Medicare Is Not Part Of New Insurance Marketplaces. KHN reporters will be returning to C-SPAN’s Washington Journal each Monday throughout the summer. Tune in each week to stay informed about […]
Checking The Facts Behind Obamacare Claims
FactCheck.org has gotten lots of questions about the law and has found that there’s a lot of wrong information out there.
Colorado Exchange Watchdog Likes What It Sees
Colorado lawmakers overseeing the set-up of the state’s health insurance exchange are generally pleased with how it’s going, but they are worried some residents will still be “left out in the cold,” without insurance even if the exchange works well. Colorado is one of 16 states and the District of Columbia that chose to set up […]
Nurse Practitioners Try New Tack To Expand Foothold In Primary Care
Advanced practice nurses say that despite growing need for primary care, they are stymied by insurers that won’t credential them.
Health Marketplaces Are Open To Nearly Everyone
But individuals who already have insurance through work, Medicare or Medicaid don’t need to shop there.
Minnesota Says Its Marketpace Rates Are Nation’s Lowest So Far
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota consumers will be able to buy a health plan for as little as $90.59 per month on MNsure, the new state health insurance marketplace, state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said Friday. Rothman said Minnesota has the lowest average rates for individuals and families compared to the other states that have revealed […]
Washington State Call Center Logs 900 Calls On 1st Day
This story was produced in partnership with The phones are already busy at the Washington State Exchange call center where customer service representatives are fielding hundreds of questions about the state’s new health insurance exchange, slated to open for enrollment Oct. 1. The call center, located in Spokane, opened on Tuesday and took 900 calls that day. […]
How Will Immigrants Fare Under Obamacare? It’s Complicated
What benefits, if any, immigrants get under the health-care overhaul depends on several factors: their immigration status, income, length of stay in this country and – in limited cases – their country of origin.
A Reader Asks: When I Retire Can My Husband Get Coverage On The Marketplace?
Consumer columnist says he likely can, but the bigger question is whether he will qualify for subsidies to help defray costs.
Physician Recruitment Trends: Demand Continues For Primary Care Docs
Doctors are reacting to changes in the health care system — and their job placements are proof. Merritt Hawkins, a national health care consulting and recruitment firm, shed some light on the situation through the company’s annual look at physician recruitment trends. The 2013 review was based on a survey of 3,097 permanent doctor and […]
Bill Clinton Calls For Obamacare Opponents And Supporters To Work Together
This story comes from our partner Stateline, the daily news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Former President Bill Clinton Wednesday championed the new Affordable Care Act, but urged Congress and the states to fix its worst problems. Speaking to an invitation-only audience at his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., Clinton touted the law’s […]
Washington State Panel OKs 7 Insurers For Exchange
This story was produced in partnership with In the end, it was a calm affair. The Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board met in a special session Wednesday afternoon to vote on the certification of health plans for the state’s new online health insurance marketplace in 2014. In less than an hour, the board voted unanimously […]
‘A Calling’ To Care For The Poor At St. Louis’ Grace Hill Community Centers
Some of the funding for Grace Hill and smaller community health centers in St. Louis may be in jeopardy, even as the number of people seeking discounted care or free is increasing in a state that will not expand Medicaid under the health law.
Navigators Say GOP Lawmakers’ Information Requests Are ‘Shocking’
Organizations that received federal grants to hire and train workers to sign up consumers for health insurance say lawmakers are asking for too much too soon.
Texas Minors Can No Longer Use Tanning Salons
As of Sept. 1, the state became one of about a dozen to ban indoor tanning by the young, citing research linking the practice to deadly forms of skin cancer.
Baltimore Ravens To Host Ads for Maryland Health Exchange
Updated 8:15 pm Tuesday. The National Football League backed away from promoting Obamacare insurance marketplaces this summer after a sharp warning from Republicans. But the Baltimore Ravens seem to have stepped — or at least edged — into the gap. By including health insurance ads on their Gameday TV show and other content, the Super […]
Nearly Half Of U.S. Births Are Covered By Medicaid, Study Finds
About half the births in the United States are paid for by Medicaid — a figure higher than previous estimates — and the numbers could increase as the state-federal health insurance program expands under the Affordable Care Act, according to a study released Tuesday. All pregnant women with incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, just […]
Washington Ranks 2nd In Nation In Uninsured Growth
This story was produced in partnership with With about 16 percent of its residents uninsured, Washington state falls solidly in middie of the pack, with Texas having the highest percentage of residents without health insurance: more than 25 percent. Massachusetts, where a state health-insurance mandate has been in place for years, has the smallest percentage […]
Complex Personal Issues May Cloud Decisions About Buying Insurance
Even the people trained to help consumers navigate the new online marketplaces may not have all the answers.
FAQ: How Will The Individual Mandate Work?
The controversial health law provision that requires most individuals to get insurance is still not well understood.