Latest KFF Health News Stories
A Busy Week For Health: Budget Cuts, CBO Scores And Mitch McConnell’s Cryptic Signal
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Julie Rovner discuss some of the developments that shook up health news this week.
Tab For Single-Payer Proposal In California Could Run $400 Billion
A state Senate panel considering the measure said money for existing public programs could cover half the cost. But the rest might have to come from new taxes — a serious political obstacle.
GOP’s Health Bill Could Undercut Some Coverage In Job-Based Insurance
In states that take up the bill’s option to change the essential health benefits, the out-of-pocket spending limits and annual and lifetime caps on coverage in large group plans could fray.
Quiz: Help Us Take The Pulse Of Our Readers
Even the most exalted among us realize health care policy is complicated. Here’s a pop quiz to see what you have learned as a regular reader of Kaiser Health News.
Preexisting Conditions And Continuous Coverage: Key Elements Of GOP Bill
The Republican health plan would require insurers to offer coverage to people who have preexisting medical conditions. But if states opt to allow insurers to charge sick people more than healthy ones, people who have been more than 63 days without coverage could see significantly higher insurance costs.
Trump Says He Knows About Health Care, But Some Of His Facts Seem Alternative
In two interviews, the president reveals some surprising views of health policy.
Rural Shoppers Face Slim Choices, Steep Premiums On Exchanges
The larger an area’s population, the more likely insurers will compete in that market, according to an Urban Institute analysis.
Parents Of Sick Children Fear Trap If States Have Say On ‘Preexisting Conditions’
“I’m not going to risk my son’s health on the political whims of Jefferson City,” says one Missouri father, whose son requires about $20,000 to $30,000 in medical care expenses a year. The new GOP health bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act lets states decide whether or not insurers must cover people with preexisting conditions, such as birth defects.
Why Blue States Might Ditch Beloved Obamacare Protections
With limited federal subsidies under the GOP health care bill, experts say states like California and New York would be under pressure to cut costs. That could mean shrinking benefits and dropping the prohibition against charging sicker patients higher premiums.
Some GOP Congress Members Could Pay Politically For ACA Repeal Vote
Some political analysts and community advocates say members of California’s Republican congressional delegation, which voted unanimously for the House bill, could be haunted at the polls.
Sounds Like A Good Idea? High-Risk Pools
A KHN video looks at a Republican plan to establish a federal high-risk insurance pool.
Cómo aliviar el dolor financiero de los planes de salud con deducibles altos
Pase lo que pase con el Obamacare, es bastante seguro que una tendencia en la atención de salud continuará: cada vez más personas tendrán planes de salud con deducibles altos. Cómo enfrentarlos.
Mom’s Policy, Medicaid Or A Health Exchange Plan: What’s A Grad To Do?
The federal health law has opened up new options for young adults but it can sometimes be confusing. A quick guide to the choices.
How To Ease The Financial Pain Of High-Deductible Health Plans
You might save money on premiums with a high-deductible health plan only to find you’re spending more on the back end. These tips will help you minimize your expenses for medical treatment and prescriptions.
5 Things To Know About The Subsidies At The Heart Of A Capitol Hill Battle
Democrats want a bill to fund the government for the rest of the year to include funding for the health law’s cost-sharing reductions for low-income marketplace customers, but Republicans want to keep the issues separate.
Pre-Obamacare, Preexisting Conditions Long Vexed States And Insurers
Before the federal health law guarantee that consumers cannot be turned down because of their medical history, it was difficult to balance insurers’ needs to make a profit and individuals’ needs for coverage.
Health Care Worries Pull Crowd To Conservative Ohio Rep’s Town Hall
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sparked discord at his meeting with his district’s voters Monday when he suggested churches, schools and families are best able to handle the opioid epidemic rather than the federal government.
HHS, States Move To Help Insurers Defray Costs Of Sickest Patients
In a letter to all governors, HHS Secretary Tom Price invited them to consider seeking federal help to set up reinsurance funds that would help cover losses that insurers have because of high numbers of sick patients.
CHIP Offers Families With Seriously Ill Kids More Financial Protection Than ACA Plans
Out-of-pocket costs can rise dramatically for children with chronic health issues if a family changes marketplace coverage, according to a new study.
Conservatives’ Goal To Relax Mandatory Health Benefits Unlikely To Tame Premiums
The federal health law requires most insurance plans to offer 10 specific categories of essential benefits. Conservatives would like to get rid of that rule in the hopes of bringing down premium costs.
