Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Emanuel: Although ‘Not A Perfect Law,’ ACA Is Protecting Patients
The former White House adviser talks about his new book and some of his surprising predictions about health care in the next decade and beyond.
From Zero To 3.3 Million Sign-Ups: How California ‘Won’ The Obamacare Race
No state signed more people up for health law coverage in the first health law enrollment period, but a sometimes faulty website and spotty customer service often frustrated the process.
Health Plans Scramble To Calculate 2015 Rates
There’s a lot riding on these cost calculations for insurance companies, consumers and even the health law’s future.
With Medical Debts Rising, Doctors Are More Aggressive About Payments
Between 2008 and 2012, multispecialty practices saw their bad debt go up 14 percent, according to a recent survey, and some have begun to change their business practices in response.
Medical debt is worrisome and embarrassing, but more importantly, it can have long-term financial consequences. Here are some tips that may be helpful to avoid or alleviate medical debt.
A Reader Asks: If Our Income Changes, Can We Change Plans?
KHN’s consumer columnist says people who qualified for premium and cost-sharing subsidies but later have earnings that put them over that limit can switch to less expensive plans.
Rural Hospitals Face Tough Choices On Computerized Records
Hospitals in remote places are making tradeoffs to adopt electronic medical records. Some are joining larger systems, sacrificing their independence. Others are going it alone, carefully.
In Seattle, Insurers And Hospitals Complain About New Rules
State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says rules will help consumers see which providers are in-network and ensure they get the coverage they have paid for.
Florida Blue: Health Law Enrollments ‘Exceeded Expectations’ But Premiums May Rise In 2015
Many of those in Florida who bought insurance plans on the health law’s federal marketplace were previously uninsured — one of the reasons premiums will likely rise in 2015, a senior executive for insurer Florida Blue says.
Health-Care David And Goliath Partner To Open After-Hours Clinic
In Seattle, an unlikely collaboration provides weekend and after-hours care for patients who in the past had turned to hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency treatments.
Is Bigger Better? Idaho Hospital Battle A Microcosm Of Debate Over Industry Consolidation
A federal court’s ruling dissolving the merger of the state’s biggest hospital system and biggest doctors’ practice may discourage future ventures.
15-Minute Visits Take A Toll On The Doctor-Patient Relationship
Patients are more likely to leave frustrated and without the tools they need to take charge of their own health after rushed visits.
Obama Sharply Criticizes Republicans As He Announces 8 Million Have Enrolled
President says others have been denied the law’s benefits because many states haven’t expanded Medicaid.
Obama Announces 8 Million Have Enrolled In Marketplace Plans
The president also announced that 35 percent of people who enrolled on the federally run healthcare.gov marketplace are under age 35.
Fully paid up but still no coverage
A 39-year-old Philadelphia day care teacher, made three monthly premium payments at more than three times the subsidized rate just to make sure she was covered. And her insurance has still been canceled three times
VA, California Panels Urge Costly Hepatitis C Drugs For Sickest Patients
Expert panels suggest those with less serious liver disease wait for drugs in development.
Adding Dental Care Contrasts With Mo. Legislature’s Opposition To Medicaid Expansion
Some of Missouri’s working poor have had no dental coverage since benefits were cut in 2005.
States Battle Asthma as Numbers Grow
With a climate especially bad for asthmatics, Missouri has been a pioneer in fighting the disease.
Doctors Overlook Lucrative Procedures When Naming Unwise Treatments
In the “Choosing Wisely” campaign, medical specialty societies have published lists of procedures that doctors and patients should consider skeptically. But some groups overlooked their own dubious, but profitable procedures.
Waiting And Waiting On The Nursing Home Inspector
Mary Chiu complained in 2011 that her elderly mother suffered terribly from poor care in a nursing home. Hers is among hundreds of cases that remain unresolved due to a backlog of investigations in Los Angeles County.
