The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
As part of our series co-produced with NPR, Are You Covered? A look at Americans and Health Insurance, today we profile Rhonda Dorsey and her daughter Toni, 13, who feel lucky to have health care coverage that helps to pay for Toni’s diabetes medicine.
As part of our series, “Are You Covered? A Look at Americans and Health Insurance,” KHN and NPR examine the federal health benefits program, which is considered a model for the nation.
As the debate continues on what might happen if the government enacts a public health care option, Arizona’s experience may serve as a touchstone. The state has offered small businesses a public option since 1985 – and it has gotten mixed reviews. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
A number of insurers are replacing jargon with plain English. Aetna has published a book called “Navigating Your Health Benefits for Dummies.” CIGNA employees are taught, for example, that they should use “doctor” instead of “provider” in communicating with the public.
Insurers sometimes make it difficult for consumers to understand and use their benefits. One U.S. senator has drafted legislation to hold insurers to higher standards, but the industry is already moving to make changes.
The idea of creating a government-run health care plan to compete with regular insurance companies has received mixed grades among economists. The debate is over whether the plan would eliminate waste in the system as advertised.
Veteran health policy experts urged lawmakers to put aside ideological differences and take immediate action to create broad based changes in the nation’s health care system.
Vermont Governor Jim Douglas commented Thursday on the newly released Senate Finance Committee health reform measure, saying the parts of it that deal with insurance reforms and exchanges “still need work,” but that overall the bill is “headed down a path that seems workable.”
The White House released a transcript of President Obama’s remarks to a rally at the University of Maryland. He encourages the enthusiastic crowd to support his health care proposal.
One of the central issues in the health reform debate is how much Americans should be expected to spend on insurance before getting help from the government.
Democrats’ latest proposal includes some Republican-inspired provisions, though in a watered-down form.
The GOP’s plans
Bill raises questions among some Conservatives, who worry it creates a new bureaucracy.
The Indian Health Service serves as an example of “big” government health care that is lean and efficient.
The differing interests and preferences of seniors and near-seniors reflect the perils of incremental reform in reaching universal coverage.
The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., discussed his health proposal at a Capitol Hill news conference today. He acknowledged the lack of Republican support, but expressed confidence that some members of the GOP would sign on, saying: “At the end of the day, we all share a common purpose, that is to make the lives of Americans better tomorrow than they are today, and to get health-care reform done, which means the time to come for action is now.”
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey discusses Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ new health care bill, which was released today.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus unveiled a health care bill today that would require most people to have health insurance and would bar insurance companies from discriminating against people with medical problems.
Video Highlights Of The News Conference | Mary Agnes Carey Discusses What The New Bill Means
The following is a press release on Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ new health care reform legislation.
The Healthy San Francisco Plan, the city’s public health plan for the uninsured, has many of the elements currently under consideration in Washington, D.C. It was proposed as a stopgap measure until Congress moved ahead with universal coverage. Now, it’s being heralded as a public option that works and a model for reform.
