Latest KFF Health News Stories
Viewpoint: CLASS Long-Term Care Insurance Is Dead, But What Comes Next?
Howard Gleckman writes that, with the demise of the CLASS Act, it is critical to act quickly and develop a consensus plan to address the nation’s long-term care problem.
CLASS Dismissed: Obama Administration Pulls Plug On Long-Term Care Program
KHN staff writers Julie Appleby and Mary Agnes Carey report that federal officials have effectively shut down part of the health care law aimed to help consumers pay for long-term care.
Tips To Cope With Health Benefits ‘Open Season’ Decisions
While insurance companies are required to accept all applicants of any employer, no matter what pre-existing health conditions are present, there may be some sticker shock on what your premium will be in January.
Chasing The Stars, Insurers Improve Quality — And Revenue
Only a handful of Medicare Advantage plans win five stars for quality. But the bonuses attached to the federal rating system are reshaping the competitive landscape for insurers.
Super Committee Health Goals Need Sound Policy
If the super committee is to reach its goal of finding an estimated $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decade, this panel will have to think big and produce recommendations with real substance — especially in regard to the health care component.
Health policy analysts are at risk of neglecting the issue that will more profoundly influence health policy than all of those now absorbing their attention: whether tax increases form a major part of any program to curb future federal budget deficits.
Different Takes: Advice For The Super Committee
KHN asked Henry J. Aaron of The Brookings Institution, Nina Owcharenko from The Heritage Foundation and Third Way’s David Kendall what they view as the most substantive issue or challenge facing the super committee and what advice they might offer to tackle it. Read their perspectives.
Health Care: Super Power For The Super Committee
Health care costs are typically kryptonite in budget talks, but this time they are also the common enemy to both Democrats and Republicans. But both will have to give in order to reach a successful deal.
Transcript: What Is The Super Committee Doing? Advocates Elbow Lawmakers On Cuts
Jackie Judd talks with KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey about the latest in talks around the “super committee’s” efforts to cut the deficit. Advocates and lawmakers are busy whispering what health programs should be shielded from cuts and which should be on the chopping block.
What Is The Super Committee Doing? Advocates Elbow Lawmakers On Cuts
Jackie Judd talks with KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey about the latest in talks around the super committee’s efforts to cut the deficit. Advocates and lawmakers are busy whispering what health programs should be shielded from cuts and which should be on the chopping block.
Medicare Plans See Dollars In The Stars
Star ratings are bleeding into bottom lines, board rooms and corporate strategy as Medicare Advantage plans chase top scores.
When Battling Cancer, Patients Often Face Hefty Expenses
Advances in treatment, including new drugs and high-tech procedures, can be costly, even for those with insurance.
Offering Rehab Services Soon After Diagnosis Proves Beneficial
National Naval Hospital in Bethesda helped pioneer this model of treatment for breast cancer patients and found it saved money and helped the women fully recover their range of motion.
Cancer Patients Could Benefit From Greater Use Of Rehabilitation
Oncologists often overlook therapies that can ease the debilitating effects of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy and insurance plans frequently limit coverage.
Advisory Panel Says Essential Health Benefits Package Must Be Affordable
The Department of Health and Human Services now must decide what benefits should be required in policies sold through insurance exchanges beginning in 2014.
Disparities Cloud Health Improvements In Past Decade, Report Finds
Federal officials note that minorities and low-income Americans continue to have less access to health care even as the country makes improvements in life expectancy and lowering death rates related to several conditions.
Administration Scales Back Expansion Of Community Health Centers
Health centers fear they won’t be able to expand fast enough to meet the growing demand from the current uninsured and the influx of people to Medicaid in 2014.
The prospects for this voluntary long-term care insurance program appear increasingly complicated.
Transcript: Forecasting What ‘Essential Benefits’ Recommendations Influential Panel Will Make
Jackie Judd talks with KHN’s Julie Appleby about recommendations an Institute of Medicine panel will make to help the Department of Health and Human Services determine just what “essential benefits” insurers will have to cover in health law-mandated marketplaces.
Forecasting What ‘Essential Benefits’ Recommendations Influential Panel Will Make
Jackie Judd talks with KHN’s Julie Appleby about recommendations an Institute of Medicine panel will make to help the Department of Health and Human Services determine just what “essential benefits” insurers will have to cover in health law-mandated marketplaces.
