Latest KFF Health News Stories
GAO: More Oversight Needed Over Medicare Advantage Provider Networks
Congressional watchdog says the government checks few health plans to ensure accurate provider listings and adequate access for seniors on Medicare Advantage.
Privacy Advocates Urge Stronger Protection Of Employee Health Data
Existing laws designed to control what doctors and hospitals do with your information need to be expanded to employers’ wellness programs, say advocates.
7 Questions To Ask Your Employer About Wellness Privacy
Workplace wellness programs have joined doctors, hospitals and your mother in the campaign to get you healthy. Will they treat your data carefully?
Workplace Wellness Programs Put Employee Privacy At Risk
A large variety of information may be collected by wellness programs and shared with others, including businesses eager to make a buck off of it.
Employers Shift More Health Costs To Workers, Survey Finds
Even as premiums for employer-based insurance increased only moderately this year, deductibles rose faster than total spending.
In Colorado, Health Insurance Surges But Cost Still A Concern
A comprehensive statewide survey shows Colorado cut its uninsured rate in half, with one in five state residents on Medicaid. But out-of-pocket health expenses can still be hard for families to afford.
Nearly 9 Million People Gained Insurance In Health Marketplace’s First Year
The Census Bureau reports that the uninsured rate fell from 13.3 percent of the population to 10.4 percent. Still 33 million people had no insurance.
Small Changes Can Have Notable Effects In Workers’ Coverage Or Costs
As the fall enrollment window begins for job-based insurance, workers may see a number of changes in provisions such as wellness programs, dependents’ coverage and specialty drug spending.
Readers Ask About Concierge Medicine And Medicare; Insulin Costs And The Doughnut Hole
KHN consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers questions about Medicare beneficiaries’ costs associated with doctors who have concierge medicine practices, insulin pumps and respite care.
Getting The Word Out: Obamacare Is For Native Americans Too
Many Native Americans rely entirely on free care from the financially strapped Indian Health Service. Advocates say signing up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act can broaden their choices.
Consumers With COBRA Coverage Should Weigh Moving To Health Law Plans
COBRA, which employees can buy when they leave a workplace if they pick up the entire cost of the plan, can be more expensive.
Answering Your Questions On The ‘Cadillac Tax’
The excise tax will be levied on health insurance plans costing more than $10,200 for an individual or $27,500 for a family. Any value over those thresholds will be taxed at 40 percent, and that’s likely to affect consumers’ benefits, share of health care costs or their coverage entirely.
Why Don’t We Have Mental Health Parity?
The law says insurance companies must pay for mental health benefits the same as they do everything else. Addiction as much as diabetes. Depression as much as cancer. But around the country, consumers are taking their insurers to court saying the companies are refusing to pay up. The insurance providers say mental health is complicated, […]
Study: 2 Million Exchange Enrollees Miss Out On Cost-Sharing Assistance
Consumers must enroll in a silver-level plan in order to be eligible for reductions in out-of-pocket spending.
The Hospital Is In Network, But Not The Doctor: N.Y. Tries New Balance Billing Law
Consumers in New York are getting new protections against “balance billing,” where insurers bill patients for the difference between what insurers pay and what providers want, and states considering similar laws are watching closely.
Cost Of Diabetes Drugs Often Overlooked, But It Shouldn’t Be
Much of the recent debate about drug costs has centered on high-priced specialty drugs, such as those to cure hepatitis C. But millions more people have diabetes and their drugs are also expensive.
Business Leaders, GOP Question HHS’ Change On Families’ Out-Of-Pocket Limits
The Obama administration has announced a change in how the out-of-pocket health spending limits will be calculated for families, but employers object that it will leave them holding the bill.
How Much Is That Eye Exam? Study Probes The Elusive Quest For Health Care Prices
A study done in Massachusetts highlights the difficulties consumers face in trying to find out how much health care services cost.
Achieving Mental Health Parity: Slow Going Even In ‘Pace Car’ State
California regulators have tried harder than most to make mental health parity laws work but it’s been tough to enforce the rules and gain the cooperation of insurers.
California: Más Personas Con Seguro Médico… Y Conformes
Un esfuerzo más concertado, incluso a través de los medios de comunicación en español, parece estar funcionando. Una encuesta de la Kaiser Family Foundation realizada en California halló que los blancos no hispanos y los hispanos que fueron elegibles para el Obamacare ganaron cobertura a un ritmo similar. Y la mayoría está conforme con su nuevo seguro.
