Latest KFF Health News Stories
By The Numbers: Wisconsin’s High Risk Pool
This week the federal government touted the number of people who have enrolled in the high risk insurance pools created in every state. After a slow start, some 50,000 people with serious illnesses nationwide have signed up for the insurance plans created by the federal health law. But in Wisconsin and elsewhere that statistic doesn’t […]
Q&A: I Was Billed, But Aren’t Colonoscopies Free Under The Health Law?
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader who had a colonoscopy and was billed a 30 percent co-pay. The reader asks: Aren’t preventive services like that free under the health law?
Five Questions About The Health Law’s Mandate To Cover Birth Control
While controversy over one aspect of the Obama administration’s contraception rule
Electronic Health Records Program Advances to ‘Stage 2’
It’s time to take electronic health records to the next level. Federal officials on Thursday released their second-stage guidelines for “meaningful use” of electronic records, which advocates say have the potential to reduce medical errors and streamline care. The proposed rules require doctors and hospitals to significantly step up their usage, as well as better […]
Today’s Headlines – February 24, 2012
Happy Friday, world! Here are your headlines: Los Angeles Times: Debt Would Grow Under Most GOP Candidates’ Plans, Report Says The sober analysis shows how difficult it will be for any new inhabitant in the White House to shift the nation’s debt trajectory, and the need for long-term and bipartisan efforts to gain revenues and […]
Law Student Makes Case For Contraceptive Coverage
This story comes from our partner ‘s Shots blog. Congress is in recess this week, but that didn’t stop House Democrats from holding a hearing to take testimony from a Georgetown law student who was barred from testifying in last week’s hearing about President Obama’s policy on contraceptives, health insurance and religiously affiliated organizations. That […]
Different Takes: Maryland Advances An ‘Enterprising’ Plan To Eliminate Health Disparities
The University Of Maryland’s Dr. E. Albert Reece and The Heritage Foundation’s Stuart Butler discuss how health enterprise zones, a new take on an old economic development idea, might be used to improve the health of the state’s minority populations.
Using A New Twist On Enterprise Zones To Eliminate Health Disparities
Dr. E. Albert Reece, the dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, writes that the state’s General Assembly is considering a series of bold initiatives – including “Health Enterprize Zones” – to reduce and eliminate health disparities, especially in Maryland’s most underserved communities.
Maryland’s Health Enterprise Zones Need The Right Incentives And Rules
The Heritage Foundation’s Stuart Butler, an architect of the urban “enterprise zone” idea more than 30 years ago, offers his suggestions on how to make a recent proposal in Maryland to set up Health Enterprise Zones a successful endeavor.
Minnesota Exchange Grant Arrives In Politically Divided State
The federal government has awarded Minnesota $26 million to help it create a health insurance exchange, but Republicans in the GOP-led state legislature there are engaged in a bitter fight with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton on its planning and even its existence.
Today’s Headlines – February 23, 2012
Good morning! Here are your headlines to get you going this A.M.: The New York Times: The Caucus Blog: Study Finds Mixed Results In GOP Candidates’ Plans For Federal Debt All four would repeal the 2010 health care law, which would not save much money since the law includes spending cuts and tax increases to […]
Testy Santorum, Romney Tussle Over Mass. Health Reform
In the last scheduled Republican debate, candidates Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul attacked the Obama administration on its birth control stance. Santorum dovetailed the issue into an attack of the 2006 Massachusetts health reform law, which then-Gov. Romney endorsed. Here is a transcript of the health care portions of the debate:
Council Publishes Plan For Alzheimer’s Research, Care
Federal officials have taken another step toward their goal of better treatment for and even prevention of Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. On Wednesday, an advisory council convened by the Obama administration released a fleshed-out, draft version of its national plan to address Alzheimer’s. Much of the plan was already known from the draft framework published […]
Analysis: Is A New Federal Patient Safety Effort Doing Enough To Curb Medical Errors?
The Medicare program is betting on a new course of action to curb patient harm. The effort is pegged to the success of a little-known entity called a “hospital engagement network.”
More Exchange Money Headed to States
New federal money is headed to ten states to help them establish insurance exchanges through which individuals and small businesses can buy insurance beginning in 2014. The Department of Health and Human Services is sending a total of $229 million in exchange establishment grants to ten states, the agency announced Wednesday. Half are receiving this […]
Can Massachusetts Lead The Way On Controlling Health Costs?
As of April 1, base health insurance rates for small businesses will increase, on average, just 1.8 percent. Four prominent economists discuss why the state is having success keeping premium costs down.
Today’s Headlines – February 22, 2012
Good morning! The Associated Press/Washington Post: Supreme Court Adds 30 Minutes to Next Month’s Health Care Arguments, Up To 6 Hours Overall The Supreme Court has added another 30 minutes to upcoming arguments over President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. The sessions now will span six hours over three days in late March. The justices […]
Convenient Methods For Birth Control Aren’t Always Easy To Pay For
Free contraception has sure been a hot topic lately. But there’s still one facet that hasn’t received much attention. Religious leaders and politicians have debated whether requiring employers to cover prescription birth control for employees gratis — as required under the health care overhaul — tramples on religious freedom. But what about over-the-counter methods like […]
Feds Jump-Start Health Insurance Co-Ops With Loans
Seven organizations will receive a total of $639 million in federal low-interest loans to launch new health insurance plans in eight states, the federal government announced Tuesday.
Today’s Headlines – February 21, 2012
Good morning! Hope you enjoyed Presidents’ Day! Here are your morning headlines to get you back in the swing of things: USA Today: Court Action Could Prolong Health Care Fight Next month’s challenge to the Obama-sponsored health care law could affect the care available to most Americans, alter the balance of power between Washington and […]