Latest KFF Health News Stories
Sensible public policy shouldn’t ask people to reduce that health care bill by bargaining with their doctors over prices and using things (as one Republican U.S. Senate candidate recently suggested) like chickens to pay for care. It should prevent that kind of financial exposure in the first place.
Consumer Confusion Triggers Crackdown By States On Discount Health Plans
In discount health plans, consumers pay a fee for access to a network that offers reduced charges for doctor visits and other care, but the patient is responsible for paying all costs up front. State officials and consumer groups say some of the plans are not legitimate.
Federal Employee Health Program Unlikely To Extend Young Adult Coverage On Parents’ Plan This Year
The federal government says current law will likely keep it from following the lead of some private insurance companies that will begin offering coverage this year to young adults.
Small Business Owners Have Mixed Reviews On Health Law’s Tax Credits
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the tax credit offered to small business owners to cover their employees could be a burden; others say it will help them afford insurance for their workers.
Analysis: Everything You Need to Know About the Fiscal Commission
President Barack Obama’s fiscal commission meets today for the first time. Here’s a guide to help you follow the proceedings.
Cancer Patients’ Dilemma: Expensive Pills or Invasive Chemo Treatment
Cancer patient Jere Carpentier would prefer taking a pill to having intravenous chemotherapy in a doctor’s office. But she
New Health Law Brings Better Coverage For Women
Among the many goals of the new health law is one that hasn’t received much attention: to improve women’s experiences in the health insurance world.
New Health Law Will Require Industry To Disclose Payments To Physicians
Doctors who accept speaking fees, five-star meals and other compensation from pharmaceutical or medical device companies will soon see their names — and the value of the gifts they accept — revealed on the Web.
Federal Officials Confirm A Shift In Medicaid Drug Rebates
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services confirms that some discounts states received from drugmakers will now be shifted to the federal government.
Health On The Hill – April 19, 2010
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing this week to discuss how to protect consumers from unreasonable health insurance premium increases.
Transcript: Health On The Hill
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing this week to discuss how to protect consumers from unreasonable health insurance premium increases.
In Kansas, Small Medicaid Cuts Have Big Impact On Some Seniors
In Kansas, cuts to Medicaid in-home services for the elderly produce quick consequences for some people who have had to move out of their apartments and into nursing homes.
Waxman Backs Away From Challenge To Big Corporations On Health Costs
A new congressional staff report is quieting the dispute regarding the losses that large corporations were anticipating as a result of the new health law. Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, cancelled a planned hearing for next week.
What Health Care Reform Means for Main Street
Health care coverage differs among Americans, and many details of the health care reform bill are still unclear. To help clear up the confusion, The Fiscal Times recruited six volunteers representing different incomes, geographic areas, ages and lifestyles to look at how the bill will affect a variety of people.
Jamie Oliver Trims the (Fiscal) Fat
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has targeted overweight kids in the unhealthiest city in America, and is looking to change them from the inside out. But the ripple effect of his efforts could extend far beyond shrinking the bulging bellies of Huntington, W. Va.’s citizens; ultimately, slimming down could mean fattening up their wallets.
Savings From Computerizing Medical Records Are Hard To Measure
A study about the Veterans Administration takes a step towards putting a dollar value on the savings a health care system can get from electronic medical records.
Health Reform’s Medicaid Expansion, Payment Increase Causes Mixed Feelings For MDs
While doctors are worrying a lot about whether Congress will block the 21 percent scheduled cut in Medicare payments, a fix to another public health program is raising another question.
True or False: Seven Concerns About The New Health Law
The bill signed by President Obama is long and technical, so it’s no wonder that consumers are confused. KHN staff writers check out several key concerns.
Government Trying To Cut Health Care Costs With Healthy Eating Program
Efforts to alter a modern lifestyle too dependent on processed foods are being supported by the federal government and are crucial to the nation’s fiscal health as medical spending for chronic diseases including diabetes, arthritis and heart disease threatens to overrun the health system.
Flexible Spending Accounts Getting Slightly Less Flexible
Changing rules on flexible spending accounts mean that starting next year, you can use money from an FSA account to pay for eyeglasses or acupuncture but not an aspirin — that is, unless you have a prescription for it.
