Latest KFF Health News Stories
How Group Health Is Holding Costs Down: A KHN Interview With CEO Scott Armstrong
One of the lesser-known provisions of the new health law calls for federal loans to help fund health cooperatives. Scott Armstrong, the CEO of Group Health, says that co-ops can improve patient care and contain costs.
The nation’s leaders must slog through the complexities and ideologies of the current political landscape in order to craft solutions that will shore up the American safety net and protect its weakest citizens.
Political Gridlock And The Challenge Of Implementing Health Reform
In regard to the health law’s CLASS program, too little political space exists to advance midcourse corrections or enact programmatic improvements — that’s a price Democrats paid by achieving their dream of near-universal coverage on a party-line vote; and by Republicans, because of their implacable opposition to just about everything Democrats proposed.
FAQ: The Shrinking Medicare Doughnut Hole
Beginning this year, seniors who hit the coverage gap will get substantial discounts on both brand-name and generic drugs.
Some Seniors Are In For Sticker Shock On Drug Premiums
Starting this year, affluent Medicare beneficiaries will begin paying more than the standard premium for their Part D coverage.
Insurance Reform Is Not Cost Control
Now that House Republicans, along with a few Democrats, have passed a bill to repeal last year’s health reform law, they are planning to offer some alternatives for replacing it. But how can we tell if their plans are likely to tackle the of high health care spending?
Some Doctors Dispute Benefits Of Early Diagnosis
Dartmouth researchers argue that ordering screenings for people with no symptoms too often leads to costly treatment for people who would likely never have gotten sick.
‘1099’ Repeal Speaks Volumes About ObamaCare
When 34 Senate Democrats joined all 47 Republicans last week to repeal ObamaCare’s 1099 reporting requirement, their votes confirmed what their talking points still deny: ObamaCare will increase the deficit.
Alternatives To Mandating Insurance? Maybe
Some experts are proposing alternatives to mandating that nearly all Americans purchase health insurance – a requirement in the health law – including offering discounts for early buyers and instituting eligibility periods to use subsidies.
Ignoring Health Law Is ‘Risky Posture’ For States: KHN Interview With Alan Weil
State health policy expert Alan Weil offers his take on how states are wrestling with the implementation of health reform
Is Richard Foster Right About Health Care Costs?
In recent Capitol Hill testimony, Foster, the government’s chief Medicare actuary, raised doubts about the health law’s ability to hold down future health care costs. But there are reasons to question his assumptions.
Lobbyists Challenging Limits On Health Flexible Spending Accounts
Companies that administer or profit from flexible spending accounts are trying to change provisions in the new health law restricting the pre-tax funds used by millions of consumers.
Mediation Offers An Alternative To Malpractice Lawsuits
Patients seeking redress may find this option provides the same benefits as a court battle but quicker and with less emotional toll.
What Will President Obama Say About Medicare?
A big topic on the minds of many in the public policy community is what the future holds for the nation’s out-of-control entitlement spending in general and Medicare in specific.
The Health Law’s Co-op Program: A Political Device Or The Affordable Alternative Consumers Need?
It will take a serious and sustained effort to make co-ops a viable insurance option for consumers and small business owners.
Should Infertility Treatment Be Considered Essential?
Currently, policies provide only skimpy coverage for these services, which are often expensive. But this is an issue that regulators are wrestling with as they determine what conditions should be included in plans under the health law.
Abandoning and replacing the American Medical Association’s Relative Value Scale Update Committee — a panel that offers recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on physician reimbursement policy — would be an important first step toward re-stabilizing the nation’s primary care physician supply the U.S. health system.
With the House poised to vote this week on the repeal of the health law, there has been a flurry of commentary regarding what is at stake. So, in the interest of dispassionate evaluation, let us step back for one moment and review the situation.
Insurer and Hospital System: Why Can’t We Be Friends?
In North Carolina’s Research Triangle, two forces so often at odds — a major health care system and the region’s dominant insurer — announced that they would work together in the interest of better, cheaper medicine.
A New ‘Definition’ For Health Care Reform
Pursuing health reforms that transform current health insurance arrangements into aproaches based on defined contributions will set in motion a competitive dynamic from which all Americans would benefit.
