Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s Headlines – Jan. 8, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including coverage of a government report concluding that U.S. health-care spending grew at a record low pace for a third consecutive year. The New York Times: Growth Of Health Spending Stays Low National health spending climbed to $2.7 trillion in 2011, or an average of $8,700 […]
Connecticut, The Insurance Capital, Moves Ahead With Exchange Plans
Five health plans — including all the major insurers in the state’s individual and small group markets — have told Connecticut’s health insurance exchange that they plan to offer policies in the state’s new online marketplace this fall. Exchange officials said Monday that Aetna, United Healthcare, Anthem, ConnectiCare and a new nonprofit co-op owned by the Connecticut […]
Under Tight Budgets, Public Health Spending Falls For First Time
Policymakers took heart from another year of relatively slow health-spending growth in 2011, documented by government statisticians and disclosed in a report Monday. But one aspect of moderating health expenditures — and the only category showing outright decline — could cost more than it saves. Hit by recession and tight budgets, spending on public health by federal, state and local governments […]
Study: Doctors Give In To Patient Demands For Brand-Name Drugs
Doctors are more likely to prescribe brand-name drugs over lower-cost generics when patients request them and when physicians have contacts with drugmakers, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine Monday shows. The researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston analyzed data from a survey of 1,891 doctors in 2009 and found that 37 percent of […]
Florida’s Gov. Scott, Chief Opponent Of Health Law, Meets With HHS Chief Sebelius
Gov. Rick Scott visited Washington to press HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for approval on the Florida’s Medicaid managed care plans. Afterward, he offered few details about their discussion on another major issue — how, or if, the state will carry out key parts of the Affordable Care Act.
When An Employer Drops Coverage, Workers Lose Their Tax Advantages
Insurance columnist answers readers’ questions, including how alternative medicine might be treated under the health law, and offers more details about coverage for adult children.
Today’s Headlines – Jan. 7, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news about entitlement spending in the context of the debt debate, as well as reports regarding the health insurance industry. The Associated Press/Washington Post: White House, GOP Draw Red Lines In Debate On US Debt Limit, Vow Not To Budge Republicans say they are willing […]
Triage System Helps Colleges Treat Mentally Ill Students
Colleges and universities across the country have seen an influx of students with mental health needs.
Today’s Headlines – January 4, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that the Department of Health and Human Services gave seven more states the thumbs up to run their own health exchanges. NPR: Bargain Over Fiscal Cliff Brings Changes To Health Care The bill that prevented the nation from plunging over the fiscal cliff did […]
Rural Hospitals Get Relief In Fiscal Cliff Deal
It’s not just another New Year’s Day in Wellsville, N.Y., as rural hospitals get financial relief from Congress.
Colorado Will Expand Medicaid, Governor Announces
Gov. John Hickenlooper said Colorado will expand its Medicaid program as much as the federal health care law calls for, and he said the state won’t have to spend any extra money to make it happen. The federal health overhaul law requires states to significantly expand the health care program for the poor, but when […]
Behind The Fiscal Cliff Deal, A Prolonged Hospital Finance Fight
Hospitals complain they are bearing the brunt of sustaining payment levels for doctors but the changes in Medicare were a long time coming.
Today’s Exchange Surprise: Republican-Led Utah Gets Thumbs Up From HHS
The Obama administration’s announcement Thursday that it has given Utah a conditional okay to run its own state health insurance marketplace came as a surprise to many exchange watchers. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, had resisted making major changes to the state’s existing market, which was built before passage of the health care law […]
Today’s Headlines – Jan. 3, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including more analysis of how the “fiscal cliff” deal impacts health programs as well as what the upcoming deficit talks might have in store for entitlement spending. The Washington Post’s Wonkblog: The Fiscal Cliff Cuts $1.9 Billion From Obamacare. Here’s How. The fiscal cliff deal is, […]
Consumers May Draw Wrong Conclusions From Medical Prices
Some health policy experts and consumer advocates are pushing for greater transparency in the pricing of medical good and services. If consumers know the price of an item, so the thinking goes, they’ll make smarter decisions about whether they need it. But a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that consumers’ perceptions […]
Fiscal Deal Kills New Funding For Health Law’s Co-Ops
Going, going, gone. The fiscal cliff deal, approved by Congress on New Year’s Day, eliminates most of the more than $1.4 billion in remaining funding from the federal health law for new nonprofit, customer-owned health plans designed to compete against the major for-profit insurers. That means the Obama administration won’t be able to approve loans […]
Counting Health Care Changes In The ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Deal
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro’s Jennifer Haberkorn detail the deal struck between President Obama and Congress to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” and what the compromise means for hospitals and doctors who serve Medicare patients.
Today’s Headlines – Jan. 2, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a number of reports about congressional efforts to avert the “fiscal cliff.” The New York Times: Amid Pressure, House Passes Fiscal Deal Ending a climactic fiscal showdown in the final hours of the 112th Congress, the House late Tuesday passed and sent to President Obama […]
‘Doc Fix’ In ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Plan Cuts Medicare Hospital Payments
Updated at 9:30 a.m. on January 2. Legislation passed by Congress New Year’s Day to avert the dreaded “fiscal cliff” would stop a scheduled payment cut in Medicare physician payments. But hospitals, which have to bear a major part of financing for that “doc fix,” are not happy. The bill would require that, over the […]
When Employers’ Health Plans Disappear, Workers Often Have Few Options
Unexpected events, such as a corporate bankruptcy or sale or a decision by an employer to discontinue insurance, can undermine the security of on-the-job coverage.