Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s Headlines – May 14, 2012
Good morning and welcome to Monday: The Washington Post: Ryan Budget Still An Issue In Congressional Races The issue in question is the budget proposal issued by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and what it does to Medicare in particular. More than a year after the proposal’s initial release, Republican candidates continue to […]
Many Businesses Offer Health Benefits To Same-Sex Couples Ahead Of Laws
The desire to attract top employees is driving a long-term trend toward coverage. Last year, 52 percent of all employers offered domestic partner health benefits, with the percentage varying widely by region and industry. KHN’s Julie Appleby filed this story.
Doctors And Insurers Are Key To Fighting Obesity
IOM report says physicians need to be more rigorous in dealing with patients’ weight, and insurers should reverse stingy reimbursement policies and help develop evidence-based programs that can help curb the epidemic.
Final Rule Issued On Consumer Rebates And Notification
Most health insurers this year must at least inform policyholders that their coverage met the minimum spending threshold under the federal health law, even if they don’t owe consumers a rebate, a final rule out Friday says. The rule splits the difference between industry, which did not want to send any notice to those not owed a […]
More 20-30 Somethings Are Taking Care Of Elderly
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni selects interesting reading from around the Web. ABC News: Early Burdens: Eldercare Falls on Young Shoulders At 30, Suzette Armijo cares for her widowed 86-year-old grandmother, a retired National Park Service ranger in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease, while holding down a fulltime job, a […]
Today’s Headlines – May 11, 2012
Happy Friday! Here are your morning headlines! The New York Times: House Approves $310 Billion In Cuts, But Passage In The Senate Very Unlikely Of the savings, $23.5 billion came from Medicaid and children’s health care; $4.2 billion from hospitals that serve the poor and uninsured; and $33.7 billion from supplemental nutrition assistance. In all, […]
Which Hospitals’ Patients Cost Medicare The Most? A Top 10 List
New government data identify which hospitals’ patients cost Medicare the most. Below are the 10 hospitals whose patients cost Medicare the most–both during their stays and for all services in the month afterward. All hospitals are general medical and surgical hospitals unless noted otherwise. Medicare calculates a hospital rate as a ratio to the national […]
What’s In A Name: Health Exchanges, Marketplaces … Or Swap Meets
If a Medicare staff recommendation is approved, health insurance exchanges may be up for a rebranding.
Former CMS Chiefs: Medicare SGR Problem Can Be Fixed
The Senate Finance Committee convened a group of former Medicare administrators Thursday — Gail Wilensky, Bruce Vladeck, Thomas Scully and Mark McClellan — to discuss how they viewed the current crisis on physician fees and the Sustainable Growth Rate formula, the “doc fix” problem.
Reassessing McAllen’s Health Bill
Remember McAllen? It’s the Texas border town that during the health care debate became synonymous with wasteful medical spending. Even Barack Obama was talking about it. In part because of McAllen’s bad reputation, based on studies by the Dartmouth Atlas, Congress ended up instructing Medicare to start rewarding hospitals that provide care efficiently — and taking […]
Letters To The Editor: Readers’ Thoughts On Observational Care, Virtual Doctors, And More
Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature.
Today’s Headlines – May 10, 2012
Today’s headlines detail the fight at the Capitol over the budget and what automatic cuts could mean if allowed to take effect next year. NPR: House To Vote On GOP Bill Favoring Guns Over Butter Republicans who control the House want to block some $55 billion worth of automatic cuts to the Pentagon budget next […]
Study: Privately Insured Kids Get More Care In ED
Emergency departments are required to treat everyone who comes through the doors, but that doesn’t mean they treat everyone the same way. Insurance coverage may play a major role in the kind of care a young patient receives, according to a study published in the most recent edition of The Journal of Pediatrics. Children with […]
FDA Leans On Device Makers To Cut X-Ray Doses For Kids
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. The Food and Drug Administration has a proposition for the companies that make X-ray machines. Make sure your new equipment has settings and instructions that minimize radiation hazards for kids, or the agency will look to slap a label on the machines that recommends they not […]
Medicare Spotlights Hospitals With Especially Costly Patients
The new data, which include beneficiaries’ bills in the hospital and for 30 days afterward, are a first step toward using bonuses and penalties to encourage more efficient care.
Interactive Chart: Medicare Spending At Individual Hospitals
The Average Hospital Spending Per Patient measure in the chart below shows how much the federal program spends for the average patient admitted at a specific hospital, compared to how much Medicare spends per patient nationally. This measure includes all payments to doctors, hospitals or other facilities for services provided to a patient during the […]
Interactive Chart: Medicare Spending By State
The Average Hospital Spending Per Patient measure in the chart below shows how much Medicare spends per patient at hospitals in that state, compared to how much Medicare spends per patient nationally. This measure includes all payments to doctors, hospitals or other facilities for services provided to a patient during the three days before the […]
Lawsuit Challenges Medicaid Managed Care Decision In Missouri
Missouri’s efforts to winnow contracts for its Medicaid managed care business are being challenged by one of the companies left out in the cold: Molina Healthcare, which alleges the state changed the bidding rules in the middle of the process.
Today’s Headlines – May 9, 2012
Here are your morning headlines: Los Angeles Times: Senate Republicans Block Proposal To Keep Student Loan Rates Low Republicans also want to avoid raising the rate on college loans, but would pay for it by eliminating a public health fund in Obama’s new healthcare law. The stalemate comes as both parties turn routine legislative votes […]
Federal Budget: Health Care Politics Trump Policy
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Jackie Judd discuss the congressional wrangling over the federal budget and what’s ahead for the automatic cuts scheduled for January.