Latest KFF Health News Stories
Happy Wednesday! Here are your headlines: The Washington Post: Gov. Walker Survives Recall In Wisconsin Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won a vote to keep his job on Tuesday, surviving a recall effort that turned the Republican into a conservative icon and his state into the first battleground in a bitter, expensive election year (Fahrenthold and […]
Mich. Medicaid Director: “A Struggle” To Meet Deadlines If Law Upheld
Michigan Medicaid Director Steve Fitton believes it will be a “struggle” for his state to be ready to implement the health law on schedule if the Supreme Court upholds the measure. But he’s confident that Michigan can handle the expected new enrollees in Medicaid.
Leavitt Talks Prevention, But Not Politics On Bipartisan Panel
Just a few days after he was tapped to be a part of presidential-hopeful Mitt Romney’s transition team, Michael Leavitt Tuesday took on a very different mission: obesity. Leavitt was one of four former cabinet officials presenting a report on the economic impact of the obesity epidemic at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. The […]
California Lawmakers Move Bills To Guarantee Health Coverage
Pre-existing conditions would not prevent a Californian from buying health insurance on the individual market in 2014, if state lawmakers succeed with a push to make sure the main tenets of the national health law survive in the state – no matter how the U.S. Supreme Court rules later this month. Last week lawmakers put […]
Today’s Headlines – June 5, 2012
Los Angeles Times: Congress Shifting Attention To Women’s Issues, Healthcare Congress returns its attention this week to women’s issues, with the Senate voting on legislation to ensure paycheck equity as GOP front-runner Mitt Romney tapped a Republican congresswoman to be his campaign liaison in the House. … The House this week is expected to take […]
Ahead Of Elections, GOP Readies Vote On Repealing Parts Of Health Law
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about two measures from the health law that the House GOP will attempt to roll back in votes this week. Republicans want votes on repeal now, Carey says, to make an economic argument ahead of elections.
To Curb Spending On Elderly, Hospitals Try New Business Models
Believe it or not, there is a silver lining to the massive storm cloud that is Medicare’s spiraling health care costs. The storm cloud, of course, is the out-of-control spending on health care for the elderly. For instance, more than 13 percent of all federal spending goes toward Medicare. Two thirds of that spending goes to the […]
Study: Hospital Observation Stays Increase 25 Percent In 3 Years
The number of Medicare patients who enter the hospital for observation rose dramatically even though Medicare enrollment and hospital admissions declined slightly, according to a study by gerontologists at Brown University in Providence, R.I. The researchers analyzed medical records and hospital claims for 29 million people in traditional Medicare from 2007 to 2009. They found […]
Kingsdale: ‘People Are Aware That There Are Huge Problems’
In the first installment of a KHN video series, Jon Kingsdale discusses the three strategies being taken by states in anticipation of the Supreme Court ruling and the fall election.
New Screening Tool Could Increase The Use Of Virtual Colonoscopies
Medical experts seek ways to raise the number of consumers who get tested, and a procedure that doesn’t include the normal preparation might be less troublesome.
Today’s Headlines – June 4, 2012
Good Monday morning! Here are your headlines: Reuters/Chicago Tribune: Looming Court Ruling Worries Some With Health Woes PCIP is a temporary government program set up to run until 2014, when the Obama healthcare law is due to take full effect and prevent insurance companies from the common practice of denying people coverage due to pre-existing […]
The New Normal In Health Insurance: High Deductibles
Supporters say high-deductible insurance can contain health costs by giving patients an incentive to take better care of themselves and to shop more carefully. Critics say the plans are just a way for corporations to shift costs onto workers, especially those dealing with chronic illness.
As Patients’ Records Go Digital, Theft And Hacking Problems Grow
Data breaches put HHS
Report Offers Glimpse of Health Law’s Impact On Washington State
Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is weighing in on the fate of the Affordable Care Act with a report released this week about what’s at stake for Washingtonians if the law is overturned by the Supreme Court. “There’s so much confusion and misunderstanding out there,” says Kreidler, a Democrat. “This is kind of a […]
Patients who had been asked to pay up while writhing in pain testify at a hearing called by Sen. Al Franken in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Cost Of Dying; Insuring Fertility
Every week, KHN reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni selects interesting reading from around the Web. Newsweek: Why Did Her Husband’s End-Of-Life Care Cost So Much? During those four days Terence had his blood drawn—eight times. Urine collected at least twice. There was a CT scan of his chest and an MRI of his brain. A physical […]
Today’s Headlines – June 1, 2012
June! Hope you had a great May, and it’s Friday! Here are your headlines: Los Angeles Times: Republicans Make New Offer In Student Loan Stalemate Under the proposal, Republicans suggested raising the amount federal employees contribute toward their retirements, a proposal Obama had included in his budget for the coming fiscal year, but is unlikely […]
Feds Seek To Reduce Disparities In Childhood Asthma Rates
What do agriculture, transportation and justice have to do with childhood asthma? More than you think. Federal public health officials today announced a new inter-agency task force designed to eliminate the racial and ethnic gap among children suffering from asthma. The Departments of Agriculture, Justice and Transportation — as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and […]
Ex-Medicare Administrator: Premium Support “Is Going To Have To Happen”
Former CMS administrator Thomas Scully urges both parties to take a second look at the premium support model for overhauling Medicare.
Video: Ex-Medicare Administrator Says Premium Support “Is Going To Have To Happen”
In an interview with KHN’s Marilyn Werber Serafini, former CMS administrator Thomas Scully urges both parties to take a second look at the premium support model for overhauling Medicare.