Latest KFF Health News Stories
Massachusetts Unions Shape Compromise For State’s Municipal Health Insurance Law
A coaltion of Massachusetts public employee unions recognized that municipal health care costs were a problem and engaged with other stakeholders in the effort to develop a solution. In the end, nobody got they wanted and that’s what a genuine compromise looks like.
These local jurisdictions, in the face of serious budget constraints, have repeatedly pushed for legal relief that would enable them to decrease the burden of public employees’ and retirees’ health benefit costs. Meanwhile, public employee unions have battled to protect what they believe their members have earned through their collective bargaining rights. In this state-policy drama, key players managed to come to a compromise that neither side loves, but both view as a solution.
Reasonable Reform Trumps In Massachusetts
Earlier this summer, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a new law reforming the way that cities and towns design health insurance plans for their employees. As local governments across the country continue to confront the harsh political and fiscal issues of spiraling employee and retiree health costs, the story of how this law came to be is worth examining.
Readers Face Multiple Dilemmas About Insurance Coverage, Costs
“Insuring Your Health” columnist Michelle Andrews answers questions from readers, including someone wondering about coverage if you’ve been drinking, talking with your insurer about a family member’s bill and preventive colonscopies.
As Hospitals Push ERs, States’ Medicaid Budgets Pressured
With their budgets squeezed, states are trying to reduce unnecessary ER visits by patients in Medicaid. But officials complain that their efforts are sometimes hampered by hospitals’ aggressive marketing of ERs to increase admissions and profits.
Workers Squeezed As Employers Pass Along High Costs Of Specialty Drugs
Employers struggling to keep down insurance costs are increasingly requiring workers to pay a percentage of high-cost drugs rather than a modest co-pay.
Health Insurers Seek Delay Of New Consumer-Friendly Coverage Forms
Shopping for health insurance next year will be easier, consumer advocates and government officials say. But the new materials are still a work in progress.
Insurance Experts Hope New Rules Will ‘Empower Consumers With Information’
Mila Kofman and Sabrina Corlette helped to develop the forms that HHS unveiled on Wednesday. The idea is to give consumers simple, clear and standardized information before they buy coverage – akin to nutrition labels.
New Standardized Insurance Forms Could Make Buying Easier
The head-spinning jargon and fine print common in many health benefit materials could disappear next spring as insurers and employers adopt plain-English models required by the government.
Q&A: Where Do I Find A Community Health Center?
Michelle Andrews, KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” columnist answers a question from an uninsured reader with a big health-care bill. She’s looking for advice on future care.
Insurance CEO Says Prevention, Collaboration Are Key To Controlling Costs–The KHN Interview
Bruce Bodaken of Blue Shield of California says encouraging patients to live healthier lives will help head off chronic disease and pay off in lower costs.
Getting Up Close And Personal With Emergency Care, Canadian Style
Health care columnist’s bike accident lands her in an emergency room where she finds interesting differences from U.S. treatment.
Health Care Recommendations From Previous Bipartisan Deficit-Reduction Groups: Document
The debt-ceiling agreement calls for a bipartisan “super committee.” This is not the first effort to find a bipartisan agreement on reducing the federal deficit; here is a guide to the health-care recommendations from four groups.
Poll Finds Americans Gloomy On Some Promises In Health Law
Only 20 percent of people believe consumer protections will get better under the law.
New Emergency Care Programs Focus On Quality-Of-Life Issues
With training, hospital emergency department staff members can enhance their skills in pain and symptom management and improve their communication skills.
Head Of Major HMO Sees Openings For Accountable Care Organizations-The KHN Interview
Kaiser Permanente’s George Halvorson says that despite the complexity of ACO regs, some versions have the potential to save money and improve care.
Since the 1990s, nearly every developed country on the planet has reformed the way it finances long-term care for the frail elderly and adults with disabilities. Among the handful of exceptions: The U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Health Law Bolsters Funding For In-School Clinics
At about 1,900 schools around the country, children can get checkups, vaccinations and help with medication.
Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory
Is birth control part of preventive care for women? That’s the question before an independent panel of experts. And their decision could force insurance companies to fully cover the cost of the pill and other prescription contraceptives
