Latest KFF Health News Stories
Government Health Spending To Top Private Sector By 2012
A new study by federal officials finds that state, local and federal health spending has steadily increased. And, the nation’s health spending as a share of the economy jumped in 2009 by 1.1 points to 17.3 percent.
The President’s Budget and Health Care Reform
It’s not that President Obama and his advisors don’t recognize their budget problem. They speak frequently about the dangers of business as usual. The problem is that the president’s stated solution will never work.
The Debate Over Selling Insurance Across State Lines
With health care legislation stalled, the GOP is touting its plan which includes allowing Americans to buy health coverage from another state. Democrats include a version in their bills. Critics say this would erode consumer protections.
Obama’s Budget Increases Funding for Medical Research That Compares Treatment Options
The president has long championed comparative effectiveness research, saying it would provide crucial information to determine which regimen or drug should be used. But critics fear that could lead to an effort to cut costs and restrict patients’ choices.
As Records Go Digital, Cultures Clash
A group of Broward County doctors looking to switch to electronic medical records say the result has been a massive headache: surprise charges, inadequate training and even blocked access to patient files.
Why Public Support For Health Care Faltered
The Democrats’ health overhaul legislation is in trouble for many reasons, including key policy decisions that led many Americans to wonder whether they would wind up worse off.
Business Is Booming For Big Drug Negotiators
If your health insurance covers prescriptions, you are probably a customer of a pharmacy benefit management company. These third-party administrators for prescription drug programs make up one of the few industries growing during this recession, and are now poised for even more growth, as baby boomers age and Congress prepares to insure more Americans.
Fewer Employers Satisfied With Their Health Insurers, Survey Says
A majority said they would increase employees’ cost-sharing responsibilities as part of their cost-control strategy.
Big Bills For A Small Heart: The Lemacks’ Story
A Virginia family got permission for out-of-network care for their son’s heart defect but still ended up drowning in debt.
The Lemacks got permission for out-of-network care for their son Joshua’s heart defect, but the Virginia family still ended up drowning in debt.
Individual Mandate Would Impose High Implicit Taxes on Low-Wage Workers
A Cato Institute new study finds implicit marginal tax rates would hover near 70-80 percent over broad ranges of income. In many cases, they would exceed 100 percent, financially penalizing those who try to climb the economic ladder.
Unemployment Report: Health Care Jobs Grew As Other Sectors Withered
Friday’s unemployment report revealed that since Dec. 2007 the health sector added 631,000 jobs, even as the economy tanked.
An Entitlement Certain to Grow In Spite Of ‘Firewalls’
Even if all of the offsets work out as planned, which is not likely, the House and Senate bills would still create substantial budgetary risks because of the pressures for entitlement expansion they would unleash.
Caught In The Middle: Making Too Much – And Too Little – To Benefit From Health Care Changes
Reforms in the pipeline would leave millions of Americans with too little government help to buy insurance, some experts say.
The High Price of FDA Approval
The Food and Drug Administration is trying to get some unapproved drugs off the market. But sometimes the brand-name replacement is much more expensive.
The Senate Bill Saves Families Money
Analysis from MIT’s Jonathan Gruber shows under the Senate health overhaul bill, some families could save as much as $18,000 a year on health care costs.
Congress and Medicare: Letting Go Is Hard to Do
Democrats’ health plan would give agencies more power to test and expand promising approaches to holding down costs, but the question remains: Can lawmakers resist interfering in efforts that could hurt incomes of home-state providers?
10 Experts Weigh In On Plan To Replace Public Option In Health Bill
Can a spinoff of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program help some of the country’s uninsured? Experts evaluate a proposal that the Office of Personnel Management, which manages the FEHBP, oversee national health plans.
Frustrated Workers And Employers Anxious For COBRA Extension
Some of the laid-off workers receiving government help to pay for their COBRA health coverage are seeing those subsidies run out. Congress has yet to vote on an extension and employers and workers are worried about the future.
For Black Women, Breast Cancer Strikes Younger
Many African-American women don’t fit the profile of the average American woman who gets breast cancer. For them, putting off the first mammogram until 50 – as recommended by a government task force – could put their life in danger.
