Latest KFF Health News Stories
Obamacare Premiums In California May Rise 8 Percent Next Year, State Predicts
The projected increase in premiums is expected to draw national attention in an election year — especially from foes of the Affordable Care Act.
Sounds Like A Good Idea? Selling Insurance Across State Lines
Republicans have long touted a proposal to allow insurers to sell across state lines as a way to help keep coverage costs down. But there are some significant obstacles to making such a system work, as this video points out.
In June, California will become the fifth state to allow terminally ill patients to end their lives with prescriptions from their doctors, but getting those prescriptions will require serious effort.
Pregnant Women Dumped By Covered California Into Medi-Cal, Without Notice Or Consent
The problem won’t be fixed until September, though the state’s congressional delegation calls for quick action.
Will Covered California Sell Health Coverage To The Undocumented?
California is inching closer to a first-in-the-nation request for a federal ruling that would allow the state’s Obamacare exchange to sell health plans to immigrants who are living in the country illegally.
High Court Ruling May Hinder Plans’ Efforts To Recoup Consumers’ Legal Awards
When consumers who have been injured sue and win an award, insurance plans routinely demand that they be reimbursed for medical costs that they covered. The Supreme Court this term threw a small chink into that strategy.
Administration Says New Rules For Medicaid Plans Will Improve Service For Enrollees
Private insurers that administer Medicaid for the poor also face limits on profits and requirements to provide sufficient doctors.
More Exchange Plans Offer Patients Easier Access To Some Expensive Drugs: Report
The analysis by Avalere examines changes in how silver plans on the insurance marketplaces handle coverage for high-cost specialty drugs.
Some Firms Save Money By Offering Employees Free Surgery
The idea is this: Negotiate a flat price with a few hospitals to cover surgery, physical therapy and certain other post-op treatments. Companies save money and hospitals gain patients.
UnitedHealthcare To Exit All But ‘Handful’ Of Obamacare Markets In 2017
UnitedHealthcare said Tuesday it will leave most of the 34 states in which it offers health insurance under Obamacare, but Nevada and Virginia are two markets it will retain a presence.
Free Clinics Expanding Mission To Help Insured Patients With High Expenses
Although many people thought the federal health law would nip the need for free clinics, they are still booming.
Study: Medicaid Expansion Encourages More Poor Adults To Get Health Care
Doctor visits and hospital stays were more likely for low-income adults in states after they expanded Medicaid under Obamacare, researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine Monday.
Competition Suffers Most If UnitedHealth Exits Obamacare In 2017: Analysis
A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis released Monday, a day ahead of UnitedHealth’s expected announcement, finds 1.1 million consumers would have no choice in health insurance plans if the giant insurer drops out of Obamacare marketplaces as threatened.
Even Under Parity Rules, Plans May Charge Higher Specialty Copays For Counseling
A reader asks if it’s fair for his health plan to classify his son’s treatment by a psychologist as specialty care that requires a higher copayment.
California Insurance Marketplace Imposes New Quality, Cost Conditions On Plans
In a sweeping overhaul of its contracts, the state’s insurance exchange will require health plans to hold doctors and hospitals accountable for quality and cost.
Prices And Health Care Quality: Many Consumers Don’t See A Link
A study in the journal Health Affairs found a majority of people don’t associate price and quality in health care services.
Major Employers Decry Sutter Health’s Tactics In Dispute Over Prices
Sutter Health, with dominant market share in Northern California, is insisting that employers sign arbitration agreements or face sharply higher out-of-network rates.
IRS Could Help Find Many Uninsured People, But Doesn’t
Many low-income households that claim earned income tax credit lack health insurance, Urban Institute finds.
Medi-Cal Expands To Immigrant Children. Here’s How It Works.
New law applies state’s low-income health care program to children in the U.S. illegally.
UnitedHealth Tries Boutique-Style Health Plan
Harken Health, a new UnitedHealthcare subsidiary, offers members free unlimited doctor visits and health coaches at 10 clinics in Chicago and Atlanta.
