Latest KFF Health News Stories
Recession Drives More People to Barter For Health Care
With many people strapped for cash, barter “exchanges” for health care is providing a temporary safety net of sorts for some workers who have lost their jobs and health coverage. And in some cases, people who have inadequate insurance are using barter to get critical services, such as dental and vision benefits.
A Group of Health CEOs Wants To End Medicare Fee-For-Service Payments
Some CEOs of America’s largest health care providers called Friday for an end to fee-for-service payments under Medicare and incentives to create administrative efficiencies to lower costs to help pay for America’s try at health care reform.
President Courts Fiscal Conservatives In Reform Push
President Obama is promising fiscal conservatives in Congress that health reform won’t be financed by deficit spending. He needs the support of moderate and conservative Democrats who are wary of a vast expansion of government-underwritten health care. Strict new budget rules may help persuade skeptics that a health care system overhaul is affordable.
New Yorker Article Sparks Strong Reaction
Surgeon and author Atul Gawande’s recent article in The New Yorker is generating intense discussion about the cost of medicine and exerting a powerful influence over the health reform debate.
DeParle, Sebelius: Time To Tackle Health Care Disparities
Officials said Tuesday that the time is now to tackle ethnic, economic and gender disparities in health care as they ready a major overhaul of the nation’s health care system.
The Risks And Rewards Of Taxing Health Benefits
Taxing employee health benefits might fund a health care overhaul, but could sink its political chances.
How Congress Might Tax Your Health Benefits
Lawmakers are considering varied approaches to taxing employer-provided health insurance as a means of paying for an overhaul of the health system, Kaiser Health News reports. Proposals include taxing benefits above a certain premium amount, taxing the benefits only of high-income earners, or combining both approaches.
GOP: Public Plan Option Big Obstacle To Health Reform
Democrats and Republicans moved further apart this afternoon over the possibility of including a public plan in any health care reform legislation.
Washington State Takes a Hard Look at New Treatments and Tests
A Washington state program decides whether to cover new treatments and tests by comparing them with the standard alternatives. If there’s no real difference, a panel of medical professionals can pick the least expensive. Decisions are binding for employees insured by the state, workers’ compensation claimants and patients in Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor.
Some Doctors Cut Deals With Struggling Patients
Doctors across the country are reducing their charges and offering payment plans to patients who have lost health insurance or income. This helps people stay well, but it also helps doctors maintain their practices at a time when many financially struggling Americans are deferring care. Patients who don’t pay their bills still run the risk of hearing from bill collectors.
This documentary explores the severe challenges cancer patients can face in paying for their health care even when they have private health insurance.
Message From Massachusetts: Insurance Requirement Can Provoke Anger
If Congress wants all Americans to get health insurance, it will have to win over people like Gary Cloutier, owner of Cloots Auto Body Shop in Westfield, Mass. He says he just can’t afford it.
Paying for COBRA, Waiting for Discount
Some people who qualify for the economic stimulus package’s COBRA subsidies are still waiting for the “lifeline.” Reporter Rick Schmitt, who was laid off in November, writes about the hurdles he has experienced while trying to get the subsidy.
People young and old crowd the hallway outside the locked door of the Arlington Free Clinic. They grip small pieces of paper that will determine whether they get in — or give up and go home.
Americans Ensnared By Medical Debt
The rising costs of care and a failing economy drive more Americans into medical debt.
Bankrupted by nearly $100,000 in medical debt, the Eaker’s are now barred from a large clinic.
Salary: $52,000. Debt: $55,000
One woman’s medical bills and debt from an emergency hospitalization exceed her annual salary.
The Single Mother and Bad Credit
For single mom, credit card was no panacea for an Orthodontist’s Bill.
Jim and Jackie Eyler, of Westminster, Md., are employed, insured and unable to pay down a $10,000 credit card balance.
The Clifford’s struggle to pay for treatment of their serious medical problems.
