Latest KFF Health News Stories
Report: Mass. Health Law No ‘Budget Buster’
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation finds that the state spends $91 million more per year, or 1.4 percent of the state budget, for near-universal health insurance coverage. “That’s a very tiny additional cost to taxpayers for huge benefits,” says MTF President Michael Widmer.
Diagnosing Autism In Minutes; Finding New Uses For Old Drugs
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. Time: Can Autism Really Be Diagnosed In Minutes? Autism is an extremely complex diagnosis. Parental insight, physician observations and hours of data can factor into determining whether a child actually has the condition or is just a little on the […]
Today’s Headlines – April 13, 2012
Happy Friday! Here are your morning headlines … Reuters/Chicago Tribune: Sebelius Seeks Civil Rights Support For U.S. Healthcare Law A top U.S. administration official asked civil rights activists on Thursday to help defend President Barack Obama’s embattled healthcare law, saying the reform package faces an “enemy” determined to set American health policy back half a […]
Massachusetts Health Reform, From The Front Lines
Massachusetts Medical Society President Dr. Lynda Young offers her views on how the practice of medicine has changed in the six years since the state’s health reform law took effect and how issues of health care costs continue to be an everyday concern.
Massachusetts On Track To ‘Crack The Code’ For Health Care Cost Control
As his state’s health reforms mark their sixth anniversary, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick explains how he hopes to confront the next health reform challenges — controlling health care costs and overhauling the payment system.
The Next Health Reform Move: Overhauling Payment Practices
As Massachusetts policy makers and stakeholders focus on efforts to control health care costs through payment reform, Health Care for All’s Paul Williams outlines the considerations that are crucial to ensuring that patients experience a higher quality of care, and the most vulnerable are protected.
Massachusetts Health Reform: On The Right Path
Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, outlines how tackling health care cost, payment and quality issues is the next necessary step in order to make the state’s reform achievements sustainable.
Different Takes: How Massachusetts Can Control Health Care Costs
Kaiser Health News asked Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick, Massachusetts Hospital Association President Lynn Nichols, Health Care For All’s Paul Williams and Massachusetts Medical Society’s Lynda Young about how the state can reform the health care payment system to control costs.
Today’s Headlines – April 12, 2012
The Washington Post: ‘Buffet Rule’ Vs. Ryan Plan: Who Should Chip In More The great moral debate of the 2012 campaign is turning out to be as inspiring as drunks arguing over a bar tab. The basic argument is this: “Who’s not paying their fair share?” Democrats have pointed the finger at millionaires, and this […]
Fast Food’s Slow Exit From Hospitals
On one side of a wall inside the Truman Medical Center cafeteria in Kansas City, Mo., the menu features low-calorie, low-fat and low-sodium meals. On the other side of the wall is a McDonald’s, featuring hamburgers and french fries. The pairing is a sore point for hospital CEO John Bluford who, as chair last year […]
Planned Parenthood Sues Texas Over Defunding
Planned Parenthood branches across Texas have filed a federal lawsuit to prevent Gov. Rick Perry’s administration from excluding them from a women’s health program. A month ago, Texas was dropped from a federal program that helps subsidize contraception and reproductive check-ups for poor women. Even though the program has nothing to do with abortion, Perry wanted […]
Q&A: Navigating Options For Long Term Care
There are many restrictions on purchasing long term care insurance. Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about other options.
Panel Proposes A New Tax To Pay For Public Health
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. It may sound counterintuitive, but a panel of experts from the Institute of Medicine has concluded that the best way to slow the nation’s breakneck spending on medical care is to impose a tax on every health care transaction. That tax — amount TBD, but possibly a […]
Today’s Headlines – April 11, 2012
Good morning! We have a few headlines on how the public feels about the health law this morning. Read on! The Washington Post: Poll: More Americans Expect Supreme Court’s Health-Care Decision To Be Political More Americans think Supreme Court justices will be acting mainly on their partisan political views than on a neutral reading of […]
Bloggers Stew Over Obama’s Warning On ‘Judicial Activism’
Nearly any comment from a sitting president can elicit negative feedback from opponents. But when a president takes on the Supreme Court — and raises questions about the proper role of the judiciary vis-a-vis Congress — the response can be swift and loud. That’s the case this week as the blogosphere reacts to President Barack Obama’s […]
Study: Dental Therapists Thrive On A Global Scale
More than 50 million Americans lack access to dental care, but only two states — Minnesota and Alaska — allow mid-level dental providers to practice basic dental services on low-income, low-access communities. Today a report released by the the W.K. Kellogg Foundation looks at 26 nations and territories’ experiences with mid-level dental therapists, and found that they […]
ACOs Multiply As Medicare Announces 27 New Ones
A key provision of the health law supports the creation of organizations intended to improve quality of care and to restrain rising costs.
Today’s Headlines – April 10, 2012
Happy Tuesday morning! Here are your morning headlines to get you going: The Washington Post: Health-Care Law Will Add $340 Billion To Deficit, New Study Finds President Obama’s landmark health-care initiative, long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation’s budget woes over the next decade, […]
Has The Saturation Point For Under-26 Coverage Been Reached?
Has one of the health law’s most popular benefits – the provision that allows children to stay on their parents’ insurance up to age 26 – hit a plateau? A recent survey suggests this might be case. According to a Gallup poll released last week, the uninsured rate among 18- to 25-year-olds has leveled off around 24 percent […]
Study: Higher U.S. Costs For Cancer Care May Be ‘Worth It’
Higher U.S. spending for cancer care pays off in almost two years of additional life for American cancer patients on average compared to their European counterparts — a value that offsets the higher costs –according to a study in the April issue of the journal Health Affairs. While previous studies have suggested U.S. cancer patients […]