Latest KFF Health News Stories
7 Tips To Help Avoid Costly Health Plan Enrollment Headaches
Despite fears of rising costs and fewer insurers on the health law’s marketplaces, consumers can find the best deals by carefully evaluating plans and checking out the fine print.
Insurers, Hospitals Clash Over Help Paying Obamacare Premiums
Insurers charge that hospitals and other health providers are using third-party groups to help some low-income patients buy marketplace plans, which bring higher reimbursement rates.
Study Finds Significant Differences In Plans Sold On Or Off The Exchanges
Researchers at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found more bronze and gold offerings off the exchange and better out-of-network options. But there are no subsidies.
Medicare Bars New ‘Seamless Conversion’ Efforts For Some Seniors
Some insurers have been allowed to move customers on the health law’s marketplaces into their Medicare Advantage plans when they become eligible for Medicare, but seniors complain they didn’t always know it was happening.
What Would A Public Insurance Option Look Like?
UCLA health policy expert Gerald Kominski says a “public option” health plan would look a lot like private insurance, and politics will determine whether it would happen on a state or national level.
Feds Find Doctor Listings Often Wrong In Medicare Advantage Directories
The federal government’s first in-depth review reveals errors such as wrong addresses and incorrect phone numbers riddle many directories used by Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.
Burwell Says Upcoming Enrollment Efforts Are Pivotal For Health Law
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announces that federal officials expect the number of people picking plans will grow by 1 million this year to nearly 14 million people, but she acknowledges that rising prices and fewer insurers are challenging the marketplaces.
Emergency Room Use Stayed High In Oregon Medicaid Study
A new study on Oregon’s famed Medicaid experiment eight years ago shows no decline in emergency room care even after two years of coverage.
Are Blues’ Plans Benefiting Unfairly From Program To Offset Cost Of Sicker Patients?
Other insurers complain that Blue Cross Blue Shield plans have bloated overhead costs and reap too much from the Obamacare risk-adjustment fund, paid for by insurers. The companies deny it.
7 Insurers Alleged To Use Skimpy Drug Coverage To Discourage HIV Patients
The plans sought to discourage costly HIV patients by not including their drug needs in formularies or requiring high cost sharing, a Harvard Law School group says in a complaint filed with HHS.
Frustration Runs Deep For Customers Forced To Change Marketplace Plans Routinely
Doctor and hospital switching is a recurring scramble for these consumers who face rising premiums and plan exits.
Officials Warn Some Older Marketplace Customers To Switch To Medicare
The government is sending emails and letters to some seniors to warn them that if they are eligible for Medicare and stay on the health law’s exchange, they will have to repay any subsidies they receive and if they miss their Medicare enrollment opportunity, they will face a life-long penalty.
How Narrow Is It? Gov’t Begins Test Of Comparison Tool For Health Plan Networks
This fall, the tool will be available in four states with hopes of expanding it to other states in the future.
Everything Californians Wanted To Know About Their Health Plan (But Were Afraid To Ask)
A new online database created by the Department of Managed Health Care can help consumers size up and compare insurance plans.
Rising Health Premiums Rankle Individuals Paying Full Price
Insurance customers who don’t get federal subsidies are facing double-digit premium increases in many places this year and forced to make hard choices about coverage.
California Won’t Extend Parental Leave Rights To Small Businesses
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes a bill that would have guaranteed employees of small businesses can keep their jobs if they take parental leave to bond with a new child.
Trump’s Debate Claim On Health Care Costs: It Depends What You Mean By ‘Cost’
Although many consumers are feeling the heat from increased health care spending, the overall bill may not be larger.
Covered California Resolves Pregnancy Snafu
Officials at the state exchange say they have fixed their computer system to stop switching some low-income pregnant women into Medi-Cal without their approval.
Health Law Targets Women’s Preventive Services, But It Offers Help To Men, Too
A number of preventive services used by both men and women are now available at no cost to consumers.
UnitedHealth And University Of California To Forge Unique Alliance
The nation’s largest insurer and the state’s university health system intend to offer a health plan option to self-funded employers in California and pursue research drawing upon a huge reservoir of patient data.
