Latest KFF Health News Stories
Need A Price For A Hip Replacement? Good Luck With That
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Let’s say your 62-year-old granny is feeling creaky. One of her hips has been giving her trouble, and her doctor tells her it’s time to get it replaced with an implant. There’s a catch. Grandma isn’t old enough for Medicare and she doesn’t have health insurance. She […]
Observation Units Can Improve Care But May Be Costly For Patients
Sometimes patients who are kept in the hospital to monitor their condition are not formally admitted and must pick up a bigger share of the cost.
Study: One-Third Of Individual Plans Exceed Law’s Out-Of-Pocket Cap
Consumers who buy their own health insurance will see the total amount they could pay out of pocket for medical care capped starting next year, but some will likely pay higher premiums as a result. That’s one conclusion that can be drawn from a new study showing more than one-third of health insurance plans currently offered to […]
Oregon May Provide Model For Restructuring Medicaid In Alabama
Alabama lawmakers will soon consider a proposal from Gov. Robert Bentley for a Medicaid overhaul based in part on Oregon’s groundbreaking “community care organizations.” Although Bentley has said he would not support an expansion of Medicaid “under its current structure,” the expected reforms are seen as paving the way for a possible expansion as early as 2015.
Feds Blame Mississippi Governor For Exchange Denial
One, Mississippi has become No, Mississippi. The Obama administration on Friday offered an explanation for why it rejected Mississippi’s bid to establish a state-based online health insurance marketplace, called One, Mississippi. In a letter, the federal government’s top exchange official said they had no choice because Gov. Phil Bryant would not allow the exchange to work with […]
Medicaid Transformation Watched Closely In Florida
The federal government gave the green light to Florida to put its long-term-care Medicaid patients into managed care. The big question now is: Will it work?
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We will edit for space, and we require full names.
HHS Denies Mississippi’s Bid To Run Its Own Exchange
Updated at 10:15 a.m. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who has been the driving force behind creating a state based exchange, got his answer from the feds Thursday: Sure can’t. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rejected Mississippi’s plan Thursday afternoon, making Mississippi the only state to have its exchange blueprint nixed by […]
Grassley Calls For Senate Consideration Of Tavenner’s Nomination
President Barack Obama Thursday once again nominated Marilyn Tavenner to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and a key GOP senator said the chamber should consider the nomination. “The Senate should give Ms. Tavenner every opportunity to show she is a worthy choice to lead the agency responsible for Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, […]
San Diego Hospice Files For Bankruptcy
After a federal investigation and the prospect of having to return Medicare reimbursements, the hospice
Despite Possible Ease In Regulations, Rural Hospitals Face Challenges
Rural health care administrators got some good news this week. The Obama administration Monday proposed to ease some Medicare regulations – a change that could save rural hospitals much-needed money by allowing for more flexible staffing requirements. But for about 450 health care professionals who attended this week’s National Rural Health Association Policy Institute in […]
HHS Delays Basic Health Plan Option Until 2015
The Obama administration has delayed by one year the rollout of a health program aimed at low to moderate-income people who won’t qualify for the expanded Medicaid program under the federal health law. Under the so-called Basic Health Program, some states had planned to offer government insurance to people who don’t qualify for Medicaid, but […]
Q&A: How Does Marriage Affect Health Coverage For The Young?
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about under-26 insurance coverage for newlyweds.
Study: Premium Increases To Be Offset By Subsidies, Better Coverage
How the federal health law will affect premiums is among the most asked – and most controversial – questions in the final months before new rules kick in requiring most Americans to carry coverage. A white paper out Wednesday considers how the law will affect premiums for people who buy their own coverage because they […]
Kansas’ Great Hope: Managed Care Will Tame Medicaid Costs
Starting this year, the state — hoping to control costs and improve quality — has moved almost all of its Medicaid recipients into managed care plans.
Aggressive Care Still The Norm For Dying Seniors
Although federal data show that fewer Medicare beneficiaries are dying in hospitals, new research suggests that doesn’t mean they’re getting less aggressive care in their final days. Researchers at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University and others reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association Tuesday that even as deaths in […]
Obama: ‘I’ve Offered Sensible Reforms To Medicare’
In a statement to the press Tuesday, the president emphasized the need to reduce the cost of health care in the U.S.
Long-Term Care Protection May Be Toothless
There aren’t many investments people make to protect themselves against something that may happen 20 or 30 years down the road. Yet that’s exactly what long-term care insurance purchasers do. But a provision in those policies that people rely on to help ensure their coverage will meet their needs decades hence may do nothing of […]
Florida Gets Green Light For Medicaid Managed Care
Medicaid-eligible seniors who need long-term care likely will start enrolling later this year in HMOs and another type of health plan known as a “provider service network.” The long-term care changes are the first phase of a controversial proposal to shift Medicaid beneficiaries statewide into managed care.
Insurance columnist answers readers’ questions about the new pregnancy benefits offered in the health overhaul, assurances that current insurance policies will be honored in the future and switching employer health plans.