Latest KFF Health News Stories
N.Y. Governor Raps Insurers, Health Providers For ‘Unacceptable Opaqueness’ In Billing
Too often patients who thought they had all the right approvals from their insurers get hit with surprise bills for out-of-network medical costs, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says in a report that calls on insurers, doctors and hospitals to help craft reforms. Complaints about out-of-network costs were among the most common found in a state […]
New Insurer-Hospital ACO Touts Early Success
Illinois’ largest hospital system and biggest health insurer agreed in late 2010 to form an accountable care organization, a network in which the organizations would cooperate to boost quality and restrain cost increases, sharing in any savings. Chicago-based Advocate Health Care gambled that its portion would compensate for the lost revenue from the resulting empty beds. Now, with six months of operating […]
House Republicans Find Democratic Allies In IPAB Repeal Effort
Later this month, just as the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the 2010 health law, the House is expected to pass a measure that would repeal an advisory board created in the law to curb Medicare spending if it exceeds specific targets. But the debate is not shaping up like the usual House legislative fight […]
Oregon Emphasizes Choices At Life’s End
The state has been at the forefront of trying to make sure a person has as much control over the end of life as possible with a detailed directive that has been adopted by 14 other states.
Can GOP Deliver On Its Promise To Preserve Traditional Medicare?
Republicans say they can overhaul the entitlement program while still offering the current option. But it may not look the same as it does today.
GOP Presidential Hopefuls: Where They Stand On Health Care
An interactive chart shows where eight of the current and former candidates – Gingrich, Paul, Romney, Santorum, Bachmann, Cain, Huntsman and Perry – stand on major health care issues.
Today’s Headlines – March 8, 2012
Good morning! Grab your coffee, here are your early a.m. headlines to get your day going: The Washington Post: New Front In Birth Control Rule Battle: The Courts Since November, at least eight lawsuits have been filed in federal district courts across the country challenging the constitutionality of the rule, which requires employers, including church-affiliated […]
Coming Soon To Massachusetts’ Dental Offices-Maybe
Could the mid-level dental care providers now at work in Minnesota solve the access problem in Massachusetts and other states?
Health IT Chief Disputes Study On EHR Testing, Costs
A study published in the journal Health Affairs this week found that doctors who use electronic health records may order more diagnostic testing, and therefore drive up the cost of health care, despite claims to the contrary by the federal government and health IT industry. Now, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for health information technology, […]
Today’s Headlines – March 7, 2012
Good morning! Here are your headlines for Wednesday — halfway through the week! USA Today: Romney Takes 6 Of 10 Super Tuesday Contests Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, scored substantial wins in GOP primaries in Tennessee and Oklahoma and won easily in North Dakota’s caucuses, where Ron Paul finished a distant second and Romney finished […]
Super Tuesday Speeches: Santorum Attacks Romney, Obama On Health Care
On a day with 10 GOP primaries and caucuses, former Pa. Sen. Rick Santorum calls health care “the most important issue of the day.” Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney repeats pledge to “repeal Obamacare.”
Medicare Combats Fraud With Billing Statements That Beneficiaries Can Understand
New consumer-friendly statements urge seniors to report suspicious charges and make it easier to appeal denials of coverage.
For Tavenners, It’s All In The Family
Hospital administrators have to deal with Medicare and Medicaid almost every day. Not too many have their mom as head of the two government health insurance programs. Matt Tavenner does. Matt, assistant administrator at Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield, Ky., is the son of Marilyn Tavenner, whom President Barack Obama in December nominated to […]
Electronic Intensive Care Unit Expands In Alaska
A nurse, a doctor and six computer monitors help raise the standards of care for critically ill patients in Anchorage and in rural hospitals.
Study Finds Birth Control Saves Taxpayers’ Money
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. While the controversy continues to swirl around radio talkmeister Rush Limbaugh and his admittedly inappropriate comments about Georgetown Law Student Sandra Fluke, an analysis from the left-leaning Brookings Institution adds an economic twist to the debate over coverage for contraception. Love them or hate them, contraceptives […]
Video: Obama Fields Questions On Limbaugh, ‘War On Women’
During a Tuesday news conference, the president responded to questions about Rush Limbaugh and the heated debate over contraception coverage, and about whether Republican positions on these issues constitute a “war on women.”
House Moves Closer To IPAB Repeal Vote
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about the latest movement in House Republican efforts to repeal a key part of the health reform law — the Independent Payment Advisory Board. One House committee passed a repeal of IPAB Tuesday while another held a hearing on it. The full House is expected to vote on a repeal of IPAB as early as the end of March.
Wash. Bill Mandating Abortion Coverage Fails To Reach Vote
In yet another hurdle for a bill that would require insurers to provide abortion coverage, advocates were not able to get a floor vote in the Washington state Senate for the Reproductive Parity Act. But, according to the bill’s proponents, it isn’t entirely off the table yet. Under the bill, public and private insurers that offer health […]
Today’s Headlines – March 6, 2012
Good morning, here are your morning headlines to get your day started: The Washington Post: In Ohio, Santorum Blasts Romney For Ad Spending, Says Voters Don’t Trust Him On health care, Santorum made the claim that Romney — because of his overhaul of Massachusetts’ health-care system while governor, which included an individual mandate to purchase […]
Study: Medicare Quality Ratings Didn’t Reduce Patient Deaths
Medicare’s seven-year effort to spur quality improvements in hospital care by publishing key performance metrics on its Hospital Compare website has not resulted in fewer patient deaths, according to a new Health Affairs study. In 2005, Hospital Compare started rating more than 3,000 hospitals on how well they adhere to basic guidelines for clinical care, […]