Latest KFF Health News Stories
Senior Correspondent Mary Agnes Carey Discusses What 2013 Will Hold For Health Care
KHN reporters preview some of the big issues coming in the new year: KHN Senior Correspondent Mary Agnes Carey discusses how Medicare could be center stage if the national debate continues to center on the federal debt and spending.
In a new KHN feature, Michelle Andrews writes about the coming changes to health care. Please send comments or ideas for future topics to questions@kffhealthnews.org Read 2010’s Insuring Your Health stories. See Andrews answer your health insurance questions via video. $6.8 Billion Spent Yearly On Unnecessary Medical CareNovember 1, 2011 The conclusion comes from a […]
Florida Facing Huge Medicaid, ‘Obamacare’ Decisions In 2013
State leaders could move forward with a long-awaited overhaul of the Medicaid system and likely will decide how to carry out the federal health law, affecting the health care of millions of poor and uninsured Floridians.
School Cafeterias Join Fight Against Childhood Obesity
Kathy Del Tonto started cooking school food 30 years ago in the Montrose school district at the foot of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Back then, the cafeteria workers made everything from scratch. “My first kitchen that I managed was a little country school out south of town, and we made our own ketchup and everything,” she […]
Connecticut Health Agency Fights Desperation Among the Insured
Connecticut was one of the first states to establish a health care advocacy agency, a response to the numerous complaints lawmakers were receiving at that time from constituents about their managed care plans.
HHS Stops Short Of Calling For Safety Regulation Of Digital Records
The Obama administration Friday urged cooperation between software companies and caregivers to prevent patient harm caused by faulty electronic records. But it stopped short of calling for regulation or a federal requirement to report computer mistakes that pose a risk to patients. “We are saying to the vendors: Step up and prove your ability to […]
Feds Approve Minn. Exchange, Insurers Scramble To Develop Health Plans
The federal government’s conditional approval Thursday for Minnesota to operate a health insurance exchange means insurers have just a few months to develop new health plans.
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection.
Today’s Headlines – Dec. 21, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the House Republicans’ failure to pass Speaker John Boehner’s tax and federal debt plan. The New York Times: Boehner Cancels Tax Vote In Face Of G.O.P. Revolt Speaker John A. Boehner’s effort to pass fallback legislation to avert a fiscal crisis in less […]
Health Law Seen Boosting Xerox, HP
Data companies are poised to profit from the expansion of Medicaid.
Medicare Discloses Hospitals’ Bonuses, Penalties Based On Quality
Under a program set up by the health law, payments to 1,557 hospitals will be increased, while 1,427 will drop.
How Hospitals’ Quality Bonuses And Penalties Were Determined And How To Use The Data
Payments to hospitals are adjusted to reflect how they follow standards of care and patients’ ratings of their experiences.
Interactive Chart: Bonuses And Penalties For U.S. Hospitals
This chart shows the effect, by hospital, of Medicare bonuses and penalties based on how well they performed on quality measures.
By State: Hospital Quality Bonuses and Penalties
This chart shows the average effect by state of the value-based purchasing program on hospitals’ Medicare reimbursements per hospital stay for the federal spending year that runs from last October through September 2013.
The Gun Lobby’s Favorite Part Of The Health Law
Updated at 12:00 noon. Did you know the Affordable Care Act stands up for gun rights? The “Protection of Second Amendment Gun Rights” section (page 19 in this PDF) says the health law’s wellness programs can’t require participants to give information about guns in the house. It also keeps the Department of Health and Human […]
Today’s Headlines – Dec. 20, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news about the efforts to reach a deal on curbing the federal deficit. The New York Times: Obama And Boehner Diverge Sharply On Fiscal Plan Hopes for a broad deficit-reduction agreement faded on Wednesday as President Obama insisted he had offered Republicans “a fair deal” […]
Health Insurance Executive: ‘Incorporating All The New Regulations’ Will Be Challenge In 2013
Blue Shield of California chairman and CEO Bruce Bodaken discusses his views on the health law and the current state of the insurance industry.
Today’s Headlines – Dec. 19, 2012
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the “fiscal cliff” negotiations. The New York Times: Hospitals Fear They’ll Bear Brunt Of Medicare Cuts As President Obama and Congress try to thrash out a budget deal, the question is not whether they will squeeze money out of Medicare, but how much […]
Colorado Gov Pitches Plan To Mend Mental Health Safety Net
In a grim coincidence, just days after the mass killing in Newtown, Conn., Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is proposing an $18.5 million plan to strengthen the state’s mental health system. The proposal is the result of five months of work by a group of advisors convened by Hickenlooper in the wake of a mass shooting in July at an […]
Spending, Taxing Remain Sticking Points As ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Looms
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey speaks with Jackie Judd about negotiations on Capitol Hill to avoid the “fiscal cliff” and just how close — or far apart — Democrats, Republicans and the White House seem to be on cutting spending and letting some tax cuts for the rich expire.