Latest KFF Health News Stories
HHS: Remaining Uninsured Worry About Costs Of Coverage
The Obama administration expects 1 million more people to be enrolled in marketplace coverage by the end of 2016.
A Looming Tax On High-End Health Plans Draws Fire From Many Sides
A plan to tax high-value health insurance plans is meeting stiff resistance from both sides of the aisle in Congress despite calls to make employers more demanding health coverage shoppers – and the $87 billion in revenue the tax could generate over the next decade.
Don’t Just Renew Your Medicare Plan. Shopping Around Can Save Money.
Enrollment for private Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans begins Oct. 15 and consumer advocates urge seniors to check out prices to find the best deals.
Bipartisan Effort Revises Health Law Provision For Small Businesses
The new law, signed by President Barack Obama last week, eases some of the requirements for employers with 51 to 100 workers and counterintuitively may help bolster coverage.
Most Who Leave California Exchange Get Other Insurance Coverage
A small percentage of people who drop coverage through Covered California become uninsured, perhaps because of cost concerns, according to new data.
Medical Prices Higher In Areas Where Large Doctor Groups Dominate, Study Finds
Researchers report that prices for a dozen procedures and tests were 8 to 26 percent higher in counties with the highest level of physicians concentrated in large group practices.
Consumers Can Shift Health Savings Accounts For Better Options
KHN consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers readers’ questions about trying to get a better return on a health savings account, the Cadillac tax’s impact on a marketplace plan and finding insurance for a grandchild.
Chronically Ill Pay More in Obamacare Plans Than Employer Coverage
Patients on typical silver plans pay twice as much as workers with job-based insurance for prescription drugs each year, researchers find.
Telemedicine Expands Despite Uncertain Financial Prospects
Apps and video chats are a part of many people’s days, so many industry leaders see big potential for medicine delivered remotely. But a lot of insurers still aren’t willing to pay for it.
Workplace Wellness Programs: Early Alarm For Workers’ Health Or A Recipe For Over-Testing?
Some experts worry that these programs encourage health screening that doesn’t necessarily comply with medical guidelines and is helping to drive up health care costs.
Adults With Insurance Often Still Have Unmet Dental Needs, Survey Finds
Dental care is the health service that people most frequently avoid because of cost, researchers at the Urban Institute found.
Newly Insured Treasure Medicaid, But Growing Pains Felt
People newly covered by the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion appreciate their insurance. But seeing specialists is still a hurdle for many.
Insurers Find Out-Of-Network Bills As Much As 1,400 Percent Higher
Insurers’ study points to the need for limits on out-of-network billing by doctors and hospitals. The American Medical Association calls the report “grossly misleading.”
Pecked By A Chicken? Sucked Into A Jet Engine? There’s a Code For That
Voluminous and sometimes wacky new medical diagnostic codes in “ICD-10” have staffers at hospitals and doctors’ offices reaching for bromides.
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.
