Latest KFF Health News Stories
AARP Arming For Medicare Battle
Against a backdrop of proposals to overhaul the popular social insurance program and a presidential campaign likely to address entitlement spending, the seniors group is mobilizing.
Delayed Release Of Student Health Plan Rule Scrambles Financial Aid Calculations
This long-awaited regulation — designed to boost benefits offered by student health insurance plans — could affect plan costs and, in some instances, the cost of attending college.
Groups Push For Tough Health Spending Targets In Massachusetts
The state’s largest employer group and a coalition of congregations are putting pressure on state legislators to curb spending dramatically.
What You Can Expect This Year From The Health Law
Even as the Supreme Court prepares to hear the historic lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, consumers are already seeing some changes. Jackie Judd talks with KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” columnist Michelle Andrews about insurance rebates, flexible spending accounts, preventive care (including contraceptives) and easy-to-read insurance labels.
Mississippi Builds Insurance Exchange, Even As It Fights Health Law
Mississippi, a deeply red Southern state that is part of the Supreme Court case against the health law, is moving full speed ahead with one of the key provisions of that law: an online health insurance exchange.
Premium Rebates, Coverage Labels, Reduced Medicare Drug Costs Highlight 2012 Health Law Changes
Despite deep political division about the health overhaul, implementation marches on.
Rules For New Insurance Marketplaces Give Insurers Clout
The long-awaited rules may disappoint consumer groups which had sought to reduce the clout of insurers on the governing boards.
GOP Presidential Hopefuls: Where They Stand On Health Care
An interactive chart shows where eight of the current and former candidates – Gingrich, Paul, Romney, Santorum, Bachmann, Cain, Huntsman and Perry – stand on major health care issues.
House Moves Closer To IPAB Repeal Vote
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about the latest movement in House Republican efforts to repeal a key part of the health reform law — the Independent Payment Advisory Board. One House committee passed a repeal of IPAB Tuesday while another held a hearing on it. The full House is expected to vote on a repeal of IPAB as early as the end of March.
New Book Offers Checklists To Help Hospital Patients
Doctors and other care providers are increasing using checklists in their work, but one author has developed similar guides for consumers.
Medicare Spends Less Than Private Insurers On Knee Replacements
Study finds that’s mostly because the government pays far lower rates for hospital care
House Republicans Pound Sebelius On Health Law
Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ appearance before the House Ways and Means Committee. She defended the health care law and the president’s fiscal 2013 budget request. The hearing had all the hallmarks of a partisan political event.
Insurers Open Stores To Peddle Health Plans
With more people buying insurance on their own, and even more slated to because of the health law, insurers are seeking a retail strategy.
Five Questions About The Health Law’s Mandate To Cover Birth Control
While controversy over one aspect of the Obama administration’s contraception rule
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.
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.”
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.
