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President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a series of cost savings in health care programs including to Medicare and Medicaid to reduce the deficit. The proposals include paying doctors for health care outcomes instead of on a "fee-for-service" basis, and Obama also rejected the notion turning Medicare into a "voucher" system.
Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports that the biggest cut to Medicare requires pharmaceutical companies to lower the rates for low-income beneficiaries.
The federal government is worried that dozens of states may opt out of running these insurance marketplaces and leave that job for Washington.
The interstate compact, which has been adopted by four states, would replace federal programs - including Medicare and Medicaid - with block grants. It cannot be implemented without congressional approval.
The real impact of reform will ultimately be measured by the health of the nation -- and by that measure, few decisions are more important than what is included in the essential benefit package. How this package takes shape will determine whether health reform delivers on its promise.
Current "one-size-fits-all" health plans, in which beneficiaries face the same out-of-pocket payment for every doctor visit, test and prescription drug, should be be replaced by plans based on the health benefit gained in the particular clinical circumstance. By using this nuance, health plans can offer more comprehensive and effective coverage while addressing the affordability of health insurance.
As implementation of the 2010 health law unfolds, one of the most important questions surrounds how he essential benefits package will be determined. The answer will have a significant impact on the cost of coverage, both inside and outside the law's insurance exchanges.
Stuart Taylor puts the chances at about 25 percent to 33 percent that the health law's individual mandate will be overturned, and adds that the court seems even less likely to sweep away the rest of the 975-page law.
Leading hospital systems didn't apply for Medicare reform tailor-made by the Obama administration to reward such organizations.
Young adults, Hispanics fare better but Asians worse.
Monday night's CNN/Tea Party Express debate among the Republican presidential candidates included discussion of Medicare, the health law, costs, the individual mandate and vaccines.
The Veterans Health Administration has long used approaches Medicare is pushing on all hospitals to cut unnecessary readmissions. But new data show VA hospital patients are just as likely to end up back in a hospital bed.
Data from a federal website show that denial rates routinely exceed 20 percent and often are much higher.
While Gov. Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. Ron Paul, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman all pledged to do away with the federal law, they disagreed on other aspects of health reform. Ron Paul called Medicare a "mandate," Perry called for Medicaid block grants and Romney defended the Massachusetts law as helpful or the uninsured of the state.
Some consumer and patient advocates worry that the administration is bending too much toward insurers and employers when it issues new health regulations.
With this key health law provision's constitutionality in question, Kaiser Health News asked six experts what alternative policy approaches might be used in its place.
Republican presidential candidates are often careful to not reveal during primaries how they would change health care in America, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry is no exception. But examining Perry's legislative record gives a glimpse into just what he'd change if elected.
"Insuring Your Health" columnist Michelle Andrews answers questions from readers, including someone wondering about coverage if you've been drinking, talking with your insurer about a family member's bill and preventive colonscopies.
Shopping for health insurance next year will be easier, consumer advocates and government officials say. But the new materials are still a work in progress.
Mila Kofman and Sabrina Corlette helped to develop the forms that HHS unveiled on Wednesday. The idea is to give consumers simple, clear and standardized information before they buy coverage - akin to nutrition labels.
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