Latest KFF Health News Stories
Explaining Medicare’s ‘Premium Support’
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. Washington Monthly: The Yaz Men: Members Of FDA Panel Reviewing The Risks Of Popular Bayer Contraceptive Had Industry Ties Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration convened a committee of medical experts to weigh new evidence concerning the potential […]
Bishops Will Sue Feds Over Contraception Rule
The federal rules, which the Obama administration reaffirmed Friday, require health insurers to provide women with a range of preventive health services, including birth control, without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible.
New Restrictions On Abortion Almost Tied Record Last Year
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. If it seemed like 2011 was a big year for laws restricting abortion, it was. In fact, according to “Who Decides? The Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights In the U.S.,” the 21stannual report compiled by the abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, the 69 laws enacted restricting […]
FDA Dilemma: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Nicotine
Supporters say dissolvables could help smokers “step down” from their nicotine dependence on cigarettes. Opponents say it’s not clear how consumers actually use the products and who is using them.
Today’s Headlines – January 20, 2012
Good morning and happy Friday to you! Here are your morning headlines post the GOP debate in South Carolina: The Associated Press/Washington Post: Obama To Press Congress to Revisit Last Year’s Failed Attempt At $1.2T Deficit Cut The proposal runs counter to the common wisdom in Washington that any major deficit reduction effort is unlikely […]
In a new KHN feature, Michelle Andrews writes about the coming changes to health care. Please send comments or ideas for future topics to questions@kffhealthnews.org Read 2010’s Insuring Your Health stories. See Andrews answer your health insurance questions via video. Some Hospitals Turn To Post-Discharge Clinics To Help Hold Down ReadmissionsDecember 20, 2011 A study […]
S.C. GOP Debate Gets Heavy On Health Care Issues: Video and Transcript
On CNN Thursday night, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rep. Ron Paul disputed each other’s positions on the health law and on abortion.
Kansas Tobacco Prevention Funds Diverted To Other Uses
Of the $745 million in tobacco lawsuit-settlement funds and $1.4 billion in tobacco taxes in the past 12 years, less than $11 million has gone specifically for anti-smoking programs.
CBO Report Card: Poor Grades For Some Medicare Cost Cutting Efforts
The underlying premise of some of the 2010 health law’s most ambitious changes to Medicare is using financial incentives to get doctors and hospitals to improve the quality of care and lower costs. Both accountable care organizations and the Value-Based Purchasing Program aim to give bonuses to hospitals that achieve such goals. But a new […]
No Easy Fix For Medicare Doctors’ Pay
If you were hoping for a quick resolution of the Medicare physician payment issue, think again. The “doc fix” issue is part of a broader and more complicated debate: how to finance an extension of the current payroll tax cut for the rest of the year and federal benefits for the long-term unemployed. Both parties want to stop […]
Today’s Headlines – January 19, 2012
Good morning! Here are your morning headlines: The Associated Press/Washington Post: White House Says Health Overhaul On Track In Many States, But Prepares Federal Backstop Anyway President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul is on track in many states, the White House asserted Wednesday. But officials said the administration is preparing a federal backstop anyway for […]
Vermont Moving Forward With Its Own Flavor Of Health Reform
Vermont lawmakers are taking steps to move the state toward a publicly-financed insurance program and craft a state health exchange, which is required by the 2010 federal health law and which state officials hope to use as the groundwork for their eventual move to a unique single-payer system. Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration this week offered […]
The KHN Conversation: ‘Innovation’ Advisors On Achieving CMS’ Triple Aim
In advance of their first Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services meeting next week, four of the newly named innovation advisors talked with KHN’s Christian Torres.
Details about the programs that four of the newly named “innovation advisors” plan to pursue.
Washington State Bill Would Require Abortion Coverage
“Personhood” has dominated the abortion debate in recent months, highlighted by the failure of a high-profile constitutional amendment in Mississippi. And while abortion rights advocates in several states continue to defend against other bills that would define an embryo or fetus as a person, advocates in Washington state are taking the offensive. Democratic members of […]
A Health Exchange Progress Report, Sort Of …
They’re making progress! Well, at least 28 of them and the District of Columbia are. That was the main talking point from the White House this morning during a press briefing revolving around a report stating that 28 states are “on their way” to establishing new marketplaces, called exchanges, where consumers can begin to shop for health insurance […]
States Ease Barriers To Medicaid, CHIP Enrollment, Survey Says
Updated at 10:55 a.m. Half the states last year made it easier for children and their parents to enroll in Medicaid by streamlining enrollment and using technology advances to verify citizenship requirements, according to a report released Wednesday. Medicaid is the state-federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled that covers about 60 million Americans. […]
Today’s Headlines – January 18, 2012
Good morning! Here are your headlines to get you going: The Wall Street Journal: Nearly Half Of U.S. Lives In Household Receiving Government Benefits The pool of Americans relying on government benefits rose to record highs last year as an increasing share of families tapped aid in a weak economy. Some 48.6% of the population […]
Retail Labs Give Patients Information, But Needle Doctors
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. You could call Michael Brooks a supplement junkie. He pops exactly six pills a day, three times a day, not to mention powders and shakes and chews. “A multivitamin, vitamin C, omega-3s, alpha lipoic acid,” he says. “I’m taking a digestive enzyme.” Brooks is a personal […]
Alaska To Spend $200K A Year For Each High Risk Pool Member
Alaska has long been known as one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. Those higher costs extend to health care services as well. A high risk pool set up under the federal health overhaul to help the uninsured who have pre-existing medical conditions expects to spend $10 million this year […]