Latest KFF Health News Stories
At Least 600,000 Young Adults Join Parents’ Health Plans Under New Law
One of the most popular provisions of the overhaul shows early success, but employers note that it also will usher in higher costs.
Graduates Without Health Coverage Should Consider Their Parents’ Plan
The health law guarantees that until the age of 26, children can stay on a family plan. There are exceptions, however, including when the young adult is offered insurance at work – even if that insurance is not as good as Mom and Dad’s.
Docs: Health Law Will Make ER Crowding Worse
According to a new survey, emergency rooms doctors say crowding is caused by insured people who can’t find a doctor to treat them.
Illinois Insurance Chief Sees Market Becoming More Concentrated – The KHN Intervew
Michael T. McRaith, who is taking a new job shortly with the Treasury Department, says state or regional health insurers are having trouble remaining viable.
Insurers Clash With Health Providers As States Expand Medicaid Managed Care
Many states are trying to restrain Medicaid spending by putting more people into managed care plans, but with billions of dollars at stake, insurers and health providers are lobbying hard for their interests.
Some Church Groups Form Sharing Ministries To Cover Members’ Medical Costs
The groups are financed through a monthly fee, and those revenues are divvied up and sent to members when they have health care expenses.
Under Health Law, Colonoscopies Are Free – But It Doesn’t Always Work That Way
The billing can get complicated if doctors find a polyp during a screening: Some insurers
Finding A Path Through The Health Insurance Market ‘Gobbledygook’
In her search for a health plan, Lisa Drew discovered that her ZIP code was a black hole for individual coverage.
People Who Donate Organs For Transplants Can Have Difficulty Getting Insurance
Live organ donors – who can offer kidneys or part of their liver, lung or pancreas
Letter To The Editor: Setting The Record Straight On RAND’s Findings
RAND Health Vice President and Director Arthur Kellermann, M.D., disputes the way his organization’s research was depicted in a recent column by John Goodman about Medicaid. Kellerman notes the study in question was designed to examine health care quality, not to determine the value of different types of insurance.
Health Overhaul Could Double Community Health Centers’ Caseload
The centers, designed to help low-income and uninsured people, offer an affordable option for care, but it can also be tough to get an appointment.
The End Of Pennsylvania’s AdultBasic – Not A Sound Investment In The State’s Future
Pennsylvania has long been a laboratory for innovation in providing health coverage to the uninsured. But this legacy came crashing down earlier this year when 42,000 adultBasic enrollees lost their health insurance. The program’s termination was explained as a “fiscal reality,” but this fiscal decision is not a sound investment in the state’s future.
Health Insurance From Both Sides: KHN Interview Of Aetna CEO Bertolini
Mark Bertolini knows the insurance industry inside out. Both he and his son have had life-threatening health crises. He says he wouldn’t qualify for an individual policy and talks with KHN about how Aetna is reacting to the health law.
Debunking The Mythology: The Utah And Massachusetts Health Exchanges
Much has been made of the health insurance exchanges in Utah and Massachusetts and whether they represent opposite points of a continuum of what exchanges can and should provide for consumers and small businesses. But is that really true or is the reality far more nuanced?
Health On The Hill Transcript – House Budget Plan: What It Means, What’s Next
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with CQ HealthBeat’s Rebecca Adams about the fiscal 2012 budget plan from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. It would dramatically change Medicaid and Medicare.
Hospitals And Insurers Face Growing Antitrust Scrutiny
Recent lawsuits show the government is cracking down on suspected anti-competitive actions in the health care and insurance industries.
Understanding Rep. Ryan’s Plan For Medicare
Are vouchers the same as premium support? Will seniors’ health care look like that offered federal workers? A guide to some of the questions and issues in the House Budget chairman’s plan.
High-Deductible Plans: When Spending Less On Health Care Isn’t Always Good News
A recent Rand study found that in families with high-deductible plans, kids were less likely to get immunizations and adults were less likely to get cancer screenings. Not only did this seem to jeopardize the beneficiares’ health, it also called into question the cost savings.
Administration Delaying Some Rules For Appealing Health Insurance Denials
Officials say they will revise the requirements to deal with objections raised by insurers.
Health Insurers Respond To Reform By Snapping Up Less-Regulated Businesses
Health insurance companies respond to new regulations by expanding into related
