Latest KFF Health News Stories
Consumer Groups Fear Patients Could Be Hit With Large Out-Of-Pocket Costs
The Obama administration’s decision to delay the health law provision setting a maximum payment cap for some plans spurs complaints from several dozen organizations.
Tavenner Fields Questions on Leaks, Premium Costs, Future Of Medicare
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., set the tone for a very-supportive Senate Finance Committee hearing on Marilyn Tavenner’s nomination to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But others questioned Tavenner, who is acting administrator, on a variety of other issues. Here are video excerpts of the hearing.
‘Remarkably Friendly’ Hearing For Acting Medicare Chief
Marilyn Tavenner, the acting head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and President Obama’s nominee to keep the job, found both Democratic and Republican support during a Senate Finance Committee hearing today. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about the hearing and when the Senate could vote on the confirmation.
After Expanding Coverage, Massachusetts Focuses On Taming Costs
As other states continue to debate the merits of the Affordable Care Act or race to implement it, the Bay State is moving on to the next big challenge: curbing health care costs.
Same-Sex Spouses Can Face Barriers On Health Care Under Federal Law
Even when states legalize gay marriage, couples may have to pay extra federal taxes on the value of health policies and not get some protections because the federal government is barred from recognizing such unions.
Hospitals In 5 States Clamp Down On Delivering Babies Before 39 Weeks
When hospitals commit to stopping the delivery of babies before 39 weeks gestation unless there is medical cause to do so, they can dramatically lower rates that can put babies at increased risk for serious health problems. A study published Monday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology showed a group of 25 hospitals in five states were able to cut their […]
Study: States Lag On Tracking Potential Obamacare Loophole
What if there were a way for even small employers to escape some Affordable Care Act rules blamed for driving up costs? Some see self-insurance for medical care, which is exempt from the law’s taxes, benefit rules and price restrictions taking effect next year, as just such an opportunity. Self-insured firms finance most worker health costs and […]
Worries Mount About Enrolling Consumers In Federally Run Insurance Exchanges
Few consumers know what they’ll need to do to sign up for the new health insurance marketplaces. Advocates worry about the outreach strategy and funding in states that defaulted to the federal government to run the exchanges.
VA Drive To Hire 1,600 Mental Health Professionals Hits Community Clinics’ Supply
Some experts say the pool of psychologists, psychiatrists and others is too small and the federal effort could jeopardize understaffed local centers.
Federal Judge Strikes Down Restrictions On Morning-After Pill
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. A federal judge in Brooklyn, N.Y., has ruled that the morning-after pill for emergency contraception must be made available over the counter to girls 16 and under. The ruling could end a more than decade-long battle over how easy or difficult it should be for teenage […]
Medicaid Expansion Will Open Doors To Care for Ex-Convicts
Extending benefits to ex-offenders will provide health coverage to a group that is generally in worse health than the overall population. Researchers say it could also keep some from sliding back into crime.
Insurers’ Efforts To Delay Health Law Compliance Could Affect Premiums, Benefits For Millions
By moving up renewal dates on plans sold directly to consumers, insurers could delay meeting law’s requirements for up to a year.
Immigrant Docs Help Ease California’s Primary Care Shortage
Jose Chavez Gonzalez was working construction but had eight years of medical training in El Salvador. A UCLA program finds its candidates working in warehouses, meat packing plants and behind the counter at McDonalds.
Texas Legislature Weighing 5 Key Proposals To Limit Abortions
Anti-abortion forces in Texas achieved a major triumph in 2011, the last time the state legislature convened. They passed laws requiring a 24-hour waiting period and requiring all women seeking an abortion to undergo a fetal ultrasound. The idea was to force down abortion rates by changing women’s minds. A follow-up study indicated that abortions […]
Walgreens Becomes 1st Retail Chain To Diagnose, Treat Chronic Conditions
Stores in 18 states to use nurse practitioners, physician assistants to expand services to include diagnosis and treatment for chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
GOP Members Call For Increased Spending To Cover Pre-Existing Conditions
Republicans who have spent the past three years blasting the health care overhaul as an overreach by the federal government said Wednesday the law didn’t allocate nearly enough money for a temporary program offering insurance coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. Citing financial concerns, the Obama administration last month stopped enrolling new people into the Pre-existing Condition Insurance […]
Despite Federal Delay, Minn. Vows To Have Small Business Options On New Health Exchange
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Workers at small businesses that buy health insurance on MNSURE — Minnesota’s new online marketplace — will have access to features that will be delayed in many other states. These marketplaces, also called exchanges, will offer health plans for individuals and small businesses, and they are being set up in each […]
In South Jersey, New Options For Primary Care Are Slow To Take Hold
A clinic in a Camden, N.J., apartment building makes slow progress persuading patients not to use hospital emergency rooms for primary care.
Why You May Want To Reconsider That Plan With A Health Savings Account
Health plan deductibles keep getting higher — the proportion of workers with a deductible that topped $1,000 for single coverage nearly tripled in the past five years, to 34 percent. Since high-deductible plans often mean you pay more out of pocket for medical care, it might seem like a no-brainer to sign up for a plan that […]
Death Rates Rise At Geographically Isolated Hospitals, Study Finds
These critical access hospitals, which are often in rural areas, get paid more generously by Medicare and are exempt from some federal reporting standards. But those exemptions may be hiding quality issues at the facilities.