Latest KFF Health News Stories
Support For Health Law Remains Steady While Opposition Drops
A lot has changed since last summer’s town hall meetings. A new poll finds that, in the last month, the percentage of people viewing the health law unfavorably has fallen. But seniors continue to be more negative.
Winners and Losers Emerge with New Medicaid Reimbursement Schedule
A small school that specializes in the most difficult children is the one hardest hit.
Britain Plans Radical Changes to Health Care System
Deficit and debt drive cuts in jobs and services
Men With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Usually Get Treatment, Despite Side Effects
Most men with low-risk prostate cancer get aggressive treatment, even though the therapies carry big risks, a new study finds.
2 New Provisions In Health Law Will Help Seniors
A look at the new health law’s long-term-care program and the plan to close the Medicare drug doughnut hole.
Seniors Still In The Dark On New Health Law
That fact that people don’t know a lot about what’s in the new health law isn’t exactly news. But a new poll that shows just how little Grandma and Grandpa know about it must be giving the new law’s supporters a serious case of heartburn. That’s because seniors are not just a key voting bloc […]
Where Are the Innovators in Health Care Delivery?
Almost everyone believes there is an enormous amount of waste and inefficiency in health care. But why is that? In a normal market, wherever there is waste, entrepreneurs are likely to be in hot pursuit – figuring out ways to profit from its elimination by cost-reducing, quality-enhancing innovations. Why isn’t this happening in health care? […]
This week’s health policy news was marked by new administration rules regarding the appeals process for denied health insurance claims and continuing state-level efforts to implement high risk pools.
New Rules Guarantee Patients’ Right To Appeal Insurance Claim Denials
The Obama administration issues regulations that will set some minimum requirements for the process, including allowing patients to appeal the insurer’s decision to an independent outside panel.
Torn ACL? New Comp Effectiveness Study Says Exercise Just As Good As Surgery
After a knee injury, patients often have immediate reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. A Swedish researcher found that exercise was just as good as surgery at helping patients recover.
Dispatch from Massachusetts: The Individual Mandate Is Working
Evidence shows the requirement for state residents to buy health insurance is working in Massachusetts — and we should it expect it to work in the new health overhaul as well.
Massachusetts Shows Federal Reform Headed For Trouble
Massachusett’s health reform has increased demand without increasing the supply of health care providers, it continues to keep people in the dark about the true cost of health care and health insurance, and has not changed incentives for people to seek more affordable options or for a truly competitive marketplace. Washington’s health overhaul law has the same structural flaws.
Blacks Face Bone Marrow Donor Shortage
Lower numbers of donors, rare genes make finding a match less likely for blacks than for whites.
Lawmakers: Extend Medicaid Subsidies To Help African-American Seniors
Three black members of Congress say minority nursing home patients would be disproportionately affected if Congress fails to extend bonus payments to state Medicaid programs.
Kids and Dental Health: Rising Costs and Struggling State Programs a Dangerous Mix
Children are missing out on vital dental care-risking their health and racking up costs to parents and taxpayers alike. In the past decade, the number of cavities in children between the ages of two and five has increased 15 percent.
Out Of Network ER Visits Won’t Cost More Under New Health Law
The health overhaul prohibits new insurance plans from charging higher copayments or coinsurance amounts for out-of-network emergency services or from imposing other coverage limitations that wouldn’t apply to in-network care.
Battle Continues Over Abortion In High-Risk Insurance Pools
The battle over whether the new federally-funded program to help people with pre-existing health conditions will pay for abortions just won’t go away.
When Bad News About Health Reform Isn’t Bad
This column is a collaboration between KHN and The New Republic. The weekend’s newspapers included a pair of headlines about health care reform. And they were probably not the kind that reform advocates like to see. One was in the Boston Globe: “Firms Cancel Health Coverage.” According to the article, a number of small businesses […]
This week, news outlets covered the Obama administration as it began implementing parts of the new health law and also unveiled a national HIV/AIDS strategy. And, Capitol Hill is still reacting to the president’s recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid.
Abortion Supporters Now Blast Administration Over Health Law
The administration is getting an earful from abortion rights groups for making sure that states getting federal funds to run insurance programs for people with pre-exisitng conditions don’t cover elective abortions.