Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s Headlines – December 20, 2011
Good morning! Here are your morning headlines to get you up and at ’em: The New York Times: House Set To Vote Down Payroll Tax Cut Extension A core group of conservative House members … have balked all year at short-term spending agreements, including proposed legislation to raise the debt ceiling and bills to increase […]
32 ‘Pioneers’ Selected To Test New Health Care Model For Seniors
Thirty-two groups were named Monday to test a new health care model, called for in the health care law, which is designed to improve care for seniors while reducing costs. The groups, which range from Boston-based Partners Healthcare, the largest health care provider in Massachusetts, to the doctor-led Healthcare Partners of southern Nevada, were selected […]
Generic Lipitor Now At Stores Near You
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. It’s here. The cholesterol-fighter Liptor, the biggest hit in the history of the pharmaceutical industry, is now widely available in generic form. The Pfizer drug finally lost its U.S. patent protection at the end of November, opening the door for cheaper substitutes (atorvastatin, generically) and ending […]
KHN Used CMS Readmission Rates And Patients’ Income For Analysis
The examination found that hospitals with the largest share of poor patients were 2.7 times as likely to have high readmission rates.
Medicare Penalties For Readmissions Could Be A Tough Hit On Hospitals Serving The Poor
Federal officials are seeking to make sure patients get the care they need after discharge. But the new policy is likely to disproportionately affect hospitals that treat the most low-income patients, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis.
The Revolving Door Of Readmissions
Ralph Rust’s decade-long struggle to stay out of hospitals involves some of the factors that cause patients to be readmitted frequently. For years he was hospitalized as often as three times a month.
Interactive: Readmission Rates And Poverty Levels For Individual Hospitals
This interactive chart compares the heart failure readmission rates and patient population poverty levels for more than 3,000 hospitals.
Today’s Headlines – December 19, 2011
Good morning! Here are your A.M. headlines to get you going: The New York Times: Extension Of Tax Cut Stalls In House As GOP Objects The once-seemingly sure deal, which allowed the Senate to recess for the year, was for a $33 billion package of bills to keep the Social Security tax paid by most […]
African American Women And The Obesity Epidemic
Four in five African American women are overweight or obese, and they start adding extra pounds years before their white counterparts. Research suggests the problem may have a lot to do with when girls give up regular exercise.
Feds Face Challenges In Launching U.S. Health Exchange
Technical, political and financial obstacles loom as clock ticks toward 2014 deadline for operations.
Cancer Vaccines, Top Health Stories Of The Year
Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web. Zocalo Public Square: How Doctors Die Years ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopedist and a mentor of mine, found a lump in his stomach. He had a surgeon explore the area, and the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer. … He went home the next […]
HHS Gives States Flexibility On Health Law’s ‘Essential Benefits’
States will be given wide latitude to decide what “essential benefits” insurers must offer in policies offered on new health exchanges come 2014, the Obama administration said Friday in a move that pushes off final federal rules on those benefits until sometime next year.
Early Exit For Early Retiree Insurance Program
This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes Minnesota Public Radio, and Kaiser Health News. The clock is winding down on a little known – but very popular – program created by the Affordable Care Act to help employers offer health benefits to early retirees. The $5 billion early retiree reinsurance program has […]
Today’s Headlines – December 16, 2011
Good morning and happy Friday! Here are your morning headlines. The Washington Post: Medicare’s ‘SGR’ Formula Has Snowballed To Budget-Busting Juggernaut It was adopted by Congress in 1997 almost as an afterthought — a new formula to keep Medicare spending on doctors from growing faster than the economy as a whole. But like a snowball […]
Gingrich Defends Record, Praises Ryan-Wyden Medicare Plan
Both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney welcomed the Ryan-Wyden plan, announced yesterday. Gingrich went on defense after Rep. Michele Bachmann questioned him on his record on abortion legislation while he was in the House of Representatives.
Both Perry and Obama can claim political victories with the Medicaid waiver the feds granted to the Lone Star state. But public hospitals have the most to gain from the new system.
Health Costs A Key Worry For Those Nearing Retirement
Americans express changing expectations toward retirement, with near-retirees feeling significantly more anxious than those who’ve already left the workforce about whether their income and savings will support them into their golden years. Those approaching retirement feel most concerned about whether they will be able to pay for their health care as they live increasingly longer, according […]
Bloggers Take To Keyboards On Wyden-Ryan Medicare Plan
Yesterday, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., rocked the health policy world with a new, bipartisan plan to reform Medicare. The two lawmakers propose to change the program for the elderly and disabled by giving beneficiaries a fixed amount to use on health insurance coverage. The plan would preserve traditional Medicare for […]
The Ryan-Wyden Medicare Plan In The Twittersphere
KHN reporters Christian Torres and Shefali S. Kulkarni collected photos and Tweets using Storify about today’s release of the Ryan-Wyden plan on transforming Medicare. Click through for the collection:
Analysis: Wyden-Ryan Plan Could Neutralize Medicare In 2012 Election
Supporting this new proposal may help congressional Republicans to distance themselves from an earlier, controversial plan.