Latest KFF Health News Stories
Can Insurers Charge You More Due To A Pre-Existing Condition?
There is still confusion about whether pre-existing conditions matter when it comes to the cost of your health insurance premium.
The National Alzheimer’s Plan: An Opportunity For Action
Alzheimer’s expert Dr. Rachelle Doody writes that the recently released draft framework for a national Alzheimer’s plan is somewhat vague even as it contains excellent goals and begins to focus the minds and resources of key stakeholders on these issues.
Taking Steps To Overcome Alzheimer’s Disease
Robert Egge, the Alzheimers Association vice president of public policy, offers his take on why the current push to develop a national plan to combat Alzheimer’s represents a historic opportunity to strengthen the federal government’s efforts to overcome this disease.
Different Takes: The National Plan To Address Alzheimer’s Disease
Kaiser Health News talked to two experts about current efforts to craft a national plan to overcome Alzheimer’s disease.
Today’s Headlines – January 31, 2012
Tuesday is here. We have your headlines to get you through the morning: Los Angeles Times: Democrats In Congress Step Up Tax-The-Rich Efforts But after a year in which a tea-party-driven Republican Party proposed steep cuts to Medicare and other mainstays of the federal government, polls show that voters have reacted in part by taking […]
People In State High-Risk Insurance Plans Often Feel Left Behind
The federal health law set up new plans that are cheaper and more comprehensive than the older ones run by states but consumers need to go without insurance for six months to qualify.
Dream Of A Medical ‘Price List’ Dies In Florida Legislature
Imagine if finding out the cost of a particular treatment or procedure at a doctors’ office was as easy as locating the prices of entrees at a restaurant. The menu might read: school physicals – $40; office visit for a cold – $80; diabetes screening – $200. But to the dismay of some consumer advocates, this push for […]
Today’s Headlines – January 30, 2012
Good morning! Monday’s here, but don’t fret, here are your headlines: Los Angeles Times: GOP Leaders Pledge Quick Action On Payroll Tax Break House-Senate negotiators are expected to meet this week on extending the tax break, which amounts to about $20 a week for the average worker, as well as continuing unemployment benefits and preventing […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the state of Maryland have rated patient safety at hospitals in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
Doctor, Did You Check Your Checklist?
Thousands die in hospitals because of mistakes – often simple oversights – made by doctors and nurses. Here’s how hospitals can improve patient safety.
‘Oy Vey’: Jewish Republicans In South Florida See Little To Like In Health Care Law
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Waiting for Newt Gingrich to arrive at a Republican Jewish Coalition rally here late afternoon Friday, Connie Cestari, 80, said health care will be a top issue for her in November. She said she’s voting Republican in part to make sure the 2010 health overhaul gets overturned, because it gives the government too big a role in health. […]
Romney’s Defense Of The ‘Individual Mandate’ Praised By An Architect Of Mass. Law
When Mitt Romney vigorously defended Massachusetts’ decision to require that nearly every resident either have health insurance or pay a tax penalty Thursday night, some said it was the best support of the individual mandate made by any candidate so far this election cycle.
Bipartisan Report Highlights Gaps, Recommendations For Health IT
It’s been three years since Congress approved a nearly $30 billion plan to digitize health care records, yet much of the health care industry is still drowning in paper, a coalition of policymakers from the left and right said Friday. The Bipartisan Policy Center released a 43-page report detailing the gaps in health IT implementation–the biggest […]
Heavy Doctors Avoid Heavy Discussions
Research already demonstrates that physicians are sometimes uncomfortable talking about weight with their obese patients. Now, a new study shows that the doctors’ weight makes a difference too. Physicians who pack on the pounds discuss weight loss less frequently with obese patients than doctors who have normal body-mass indexes (18 percent versus 30 percent), according to […]
Controversial Amendments Injected Into Florida Vaccine Bill
Some Florida lawmakers want to allow pharmacists to administer shingles and pneumonia vaccines to seniors. Physicians are pushing back.
Today’s Headlines – January 27, 2012
Happy Friday! Here are your morning headlines: Politico: Health Care Reform: House GOP Waits For Supreme Court House Republicans have tried to repeal various pieces of President Barack Obama’s health reform law, but they haven’t touched the least popular piece: the individual mandate. One reason for that: They don’t want to give the Supreme Court […]
Santorum: Romney Wrong Man For GOP On Health Care (Video and Transcript)
Health care, especially the individual mandate, was the focus of a tense and angry exchange in Thursday night’s last debate before the crucial GOP Florida primary. In answering a question from the audience, all four candidates
Health Law Is A Family Affair For CMS’ Tavenner
Marilyn Tavenner, the president’s nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was already hoarse when she began her speech at the Care Innovation Summit in Washington D.C. today. However, that did not stop Tavenner, the agency’s acting administrator, from delivering a laundry list of the 2010 health law’s benefits and achievements, including a particularly personal one. An estimated […]
The Coming Nursing Home Shortage
Cuts in government payments for patient care and less construction of new nursing homes are taking a toll, and as baby boomers start to retire in great numbers, the timing couldn’t be worse.
Today’s Headlines – January 26, 2012
Good morning health policy world! Here are your morning headlines: The Associated Press/Washington Post: House GOP Leaders Want ‘Replace’ Bill Ready If Supreme Court Strikes Down Obama’s Health Law House Republican leaders are drafting a bill to replace President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul if the Supreme Court strikes it down this summer. Pennsylvania Rep. […]