Latest KFF Health News Stories
Florida Gets Green Light For Medicaid Managed Care
Medicaid-eligible seniors who need long-term care likely will start enrolling later this year in HMOs and another type of health plan known as a “provider service network.” The long-term care changes are the first phase of a controversial proposal to shift Medicaid beneficiaries statewide into managed care.
Insurance columnist answers readers’ questions about the new pregnancy benefits offered in the health overhaul, assurances that current insurance policies will be honored in the future and switching employer health plans.
Research Finds Link Between Poor Health And Seniors Switching Out Of Private Medicare Plans
Some advocates are concerned that the Medicare Advantage plans have incentives to skim off the lowest-maintenance customers and leave the expensive patients to the traditional program.
Six Questions And Answers About The Obama Administration’s Birth Control Rule
The new regulations lay out a plan that will keep organizations that self-insure from having to pay for the coverage.
Religious Nonprofits Won’t Pay For Birth Control Under Proposal
After a year of controversy, the Obama administration proposes a way for women who work at nonprofit religious institutions to get free birth control without requiring their employers to pay for it.
Post-Sandy, NYU Langone Has Reopened, But Can It Regain Market Share?
Some 500 NYU doctors found refuge at other hospitals while NYU was closed following Hurricane Sandy. Now, the question looms whether all of the patients and doctors will return.
Fed Economist Steps Into Dispute On Geographic Differences In Health Spending
A new analysis concludes that things like the prevalence of smoking, obesity and diabetes best explain why Medicare spending in some regions of the country is higher, instead of how medicine is practiced, as other researchers believe.
Long Waits For Consumers When Medicare Is ‘Secondary Payer’
A new law sets schedules for providing details about medical claims in cases where a beneficiary suffers a personal injury due to someone else’s negligence.
Long-Term Care Ombudsmen Face Challenges To Independence
The advocates for elderly and disabled people living in nursing homes or assisted living centers responded to 204,000 complaints nationwide in 2011.
TurboTax, Not Travelocity, May Be Better Analogy For Health Exchanges
Consumers in Colorado focus groups said they know very little about insurance and will need a lot of customer support to purchase coverage online.
HMO-Like Plans May Be Poised To Make Comeback In Online Insurance Markets
Insurers bet some consumers will choose cheaper plans that restrict their choice of doctors, despite worries about skimpy care and huge bills for out-of-network providers.
Obama: ‘Medicare and Medicaid … Strengthen Us’
Video: In his second inaugural speech Monday, President Barack Obama discussed the need to reduce health costs — but also defended the importance of Medicare and Medicaid.
Insurers Prod Doctors, Hospitals To Stop Elective Early Deliveries
Medicaid and private insurers seek to reduce deliveries before 39 weeks to reduce complications and costs.
Hospices, Wary Of Costs, May Be Discouraging Patients With High Expenses
A survey finds that more than three-quarters of hospices have restrictive enrollment policies designed to keep away patients with high-cost medical needs.
Slowly Dying Patients, An Audit And A Hospice’s Undoing
For one San Diego Hospice, the trouble began with a federal audit.
Health Law Offers Dental Coverage Guarantee For Some Children
The requirement is only for individual and small-group health plans, and some advocates worry that the new benefits may not be sufficiently comprehensive or affordable.
Obama: ‘Our Commitment To Medicare
At a White House news conference Monday, President Obama discusses how he sees Medicare, Medicaid and other health care spending factoring into the looming conflict over raising the federal debt ceiling.
As ‘Bodega Clinicas’ Fill Void, Officials Are Torn on Embracing Them
The storefront doctor’s offices serve a vast number of uninsured Latino residents, in a kind of parallel, cash-only health system. But officials have little information on the quality of health care the clinicas provide, and whether they might be able to help fill persistent and profound gaps in Los Angeles’ strained safety net.
‘The Matrix’ Meets Medicine: Surveillance Swoops Into Health Care
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society is testing how using technology to monitor seniors’ health can save money on medical costs and help seniors feel secure enough to “age in place.”
Doctors And Dentists Lure Patients With Money-Saving Deals Online
Dollar-conscious consumers are turning to websites like Groupon for price breaks on medical, dental and vision care.
