Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
The Battle Over Planned Parenthood
Kaiser Health News correspondent Julie Rovner discusses the efforts to defund Planned Parenthood on NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook.
Women In Combat Zones Can Face Difficulty Getting Some Contraceptives
Tricare, the military’s health plan for active and retired servicemembers, covers most contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration. But women who are deployed can have trouble refilling specific types of birth control.
Oscar Wants To ‘Revolutionize’ Health Care. But Will It Even Survive Covered California?
Covered California made it official last week: After two years in the wilderness, UnitedHealthcare will return to the state’s individual insurance market and begin selling health plans on California’s exchange later this year. Not much can overshadow news about the nation’s largest insurer — except maybe a story about one of the smallest. Hi, Oscar. […]
Patients In Iowa Worry About Private Management Of Medicaid
Many in Iowa get Medicaid — the state-federal health program for poorer Americans — especially after the state expanded the program under the federal health law. But a plan to switch administration of the program to private health care companies has patients worried that their care will suffer.
Competition Improves Obamacare Choices In Rural Northern California
Consumers will have a choice of some plans that allow them to cross state lines for care, and every county will have at least three insurance companies offering plans on Covered California.
Hospital Deductibles Are For Admitted Patients Only
KHN consumer columnist Michelle Andrews also answers reader questions about how insurance-provider networks function and parents’ responsibility to provide coverage for children who are not yet 26.
Advocates Say Mental Health ‘Parity’ Law Is Not Fulfilling Its Promise
A landmark federal law requiring insurers to cover mental illness as they would any other disease is not being followed or enforced, say patient advocates and attorneys. Insurers say they have taken “tremendous steps.”
Covered California Reports Modest Rate Increases, Regional Variation
Premiums for the state’s 1.3 million people in the state’s Obamacare marketplace will rise an average 4 percent, with average increases as low as 1.8 percent in Los Angeles and as high as 13 percent in Santa Cruz.
To Boost Patient Health, Rehab Sometimes Starts Before Cancer Treatment
“Prehabilitation” may help patients recover more quickly, early research suggests, but insurance coverage can be tricky.
Consumers’ Satisfaction With Coverage Linked To Out-Of-Pocket Expenses
People with traditional health insurance plans are happier with their coverage than those with high-deductible plans, but the groups also say the quality of their coverage is similar.
HHS Pushes States To Negotiate Lower Obamacare Rates
Healthcare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan is urging state insurance commissioners to look carefully at proposed rate hikes for insurance premiums in 2016.
Despite Obamacare Promise, Transgender People Have Trouble Getting Some Care
Advocates say that enrollees get turned down for coverage of some services that are tied to gender.
