Latest KFF Health News Stories
The GOP’s Health Policy Cynics
Although cynics may claim conservative credentials, their view of government is really nothing more than a quarrel about its cost. It brings to mind Oscar Wilde’s immortal phrase, “The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
Calorie Labeling For Restaurants Recommendations Coming Soon
The health law directs the FDA this month to issue proposed rules for restaurants and other food vendors to begin providing calorie-count information.
Ignoring Political Risk, Ryan Renews Push For Medicare Vouchers
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., says he will include “aggressive” changes to Medicare in his upcoming budget proposal.
Fixing America’s Health Care Reimbursement System
Addressing the current system by which physician payment is determined is a challenge that demands attention beyond the physician community. It will take the influence of businesses and patient advocates who bear the brunt of the nation’s skyrocketing health care costs.
Health On The Hill Transcript: GOP Governors Seek To Modify Medicaid Programs
Republican governors are asking Washington for more flexibility regarding how they run their Medicaid programs, saying that Washington puts too many restraints on states.
How Much Will Federal Health Law Cost States? Depends Whom You Ask
A raft of studies have come out recently purporting to say how much the health overhaul will cost states. And they reach dramatically different conclusions on the subject.
Health On The Hill: GOP Governors Seek To Modify Medicaid Programs
Republican governors are asking Washington for more flexibility regarding how they run their Medicaid programs, saying that Washington puts too many restraints on states.
Ariz. Medicaid Cuts Spur Debate Over Impact On Providers
Doctors and hospitals raise concerns that reducing eligibility may spur ER crowding and premium increases, but experience in Missouri shows less dire consequences.
A Message To Health Law Critics: It’s Not About A Lack Of Flexibility
What truly undermines the arguments offered by conservative critics is their lack of workable alternative ideas that would achieve the health insurance coverage expansion goals set by the health law.
Miss. Gov. Barbour: ‘We Shouldn’t Have To Kowtow’ To Feds On Medicaid Rules
Gov. Haley Barbour, R-Miss., renewed GOP calls for block grants to states to pay for Medicaid costs.
Obama Rejects Governors’ Plan to Overhaul Medicaid
The recession-fueled state budget crisis has turned Medicaid into the next battleground in the ongoing war over President Obama’s signature health care reform law.
Insurance Trade-Off: Reducing Premiums By Eliminating Expensive Doctors, Hospitals
Some insurers are offering consumers a hefty break if they pay more out-of-pocket when they use certain high-cost providers in their network or are cutting the providers from the coverage.
Helping Patients Understand Their Medical Treatment
Consumers are increasingly expected to manage their complex regimens but that is especially challenging for those who don’t have the ability to comprehend health information.
Obama To Governors: Opt Out of Health Law If You Can Do Better
President Obama offered governors a smaller concession to health spending flexibility than they expected by endorsing a bipartisan proposal to allow states to opt out of most of last year’s health law’s requirements.
Govs vs. Feds: Who Will Play The ‘Power Card’ In The Medicaid Struggle?
Medicaid is the rope in the current tug of war between the states and the federal government over health reform. So far, the feds think they are winning. But don’t discount the governors.
Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers: ‘We All Ran On Repealing” Health Law
Supported by the tea party, Renee Ellmers pulled an upset victory over the Democratic incumbent in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District last fall. As a nurse married to a physician, Ellmers says her own experience has convinced her that health care “is a personal responsibility” and the only way to bring down high health insurance costs is for government to step aside and let the private market work better. Rep. Ellmers was interviewed in her office on Capitol Hill by Kaiser Health News reporter Jessica Marcy.
A New Nurse In The House: The KHN Interview With Rep. Renee Ellmers
N.C. Republican, with 20 years of health care experience, says Democrats’ health law is “overstepping, unconstitutional and extremely costly.”
Governors’ Wish List For Medicaid
A sampling of Medicaid changes some state chief executives would advance if they were given more flexibility from the federal government. This issue is likely to be a hot topic this weekend as the governors convene in Washington, D.C. for their winter meeting.
Wisconsin Union Battle Masks Medicaid Tensions
Democrats say Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to tackle a two-year $3.6 billion deficit by making speedy changes in health care programs needs wider scrutiny.
HHS To Governors: You Have Flexibility On Health Reform Implementation
Federal officials are trying to soothe deficit-saddled governors headed for their winter meeting in Washington D.C.