Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health On The Hill – Congress Returns To Work On Deficit Proposals And Health Programs
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro’s David Nather talk with Jackie Judd about Congress’ return to Washington to work on proposals to lower the deficit. How to, and if, Medicare and Medicaid are reformed in the process are part of the mix of policy and politics lawmakers are considering in their work.
Medicare’s Math Problem: Taxes – Benefits = Trouble
Why do seniors receive Medicare benefits totaling more than twice what they pay in to the system?
Medicare To Begin Basing Hospital Payments On Patient-Satisfaction Scores
Beginning in 2012, bad grades from unhappy patients could cause hospitals to lose out on bonuses.
Health On The Hill Transcript: GOP Medicare Plan Spurs Anger, Splits Public During Recess
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Jackie Judd report on a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll that reveals a split among the public on the GOP plan to cut Medicare cost growth.
Few Seniors Support GOP Plan To Restructure Medicare
A new Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds 30 percent of seniors support the effort to switch Medicare to a voucher-type program. Among all adults, opinion is more evenly divided, but confusion is rampant.
Health On The Hill – GOP Medicare Plan Spurs Anger, Splits Public During Recess
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about varied reaction by Americans and lawmakers to the GOP plan to reduce the deficit by making changes to Medicare. A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows most seniors oppose some GOP-proposed changes at a greater rate than the general public, which views it more favorably.
Medicare Patients Aren’t Taking Advantage Of Some Newly Free Tests
This year, seniors enrolled in Medicare no longer have to pay for more than a dozen tests and services to prevent disease thanks to the health law. Many, however, aren’t lining up for mammograms or colonoscopies though free wellness checks are luring many.
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
There Aren’t Enough Rich People To Pay For Medicare And Medicaid! — Guest Opinion
This country is in such a hole that it is senseless to deny that some new taxes will be needed to pay for all of the nation’s accumulated debts. But folks, we can’t just tax our way out of this mess.
Nursing Home Industry Leader Worries About Cuts To Medicare, Medicaid
Too few resources are available to handle the predicted explosion in the number of elderly, says Mark Parkinson, head of the largest nursing home lobby.
ACO Fairy Tale Faces a Rumpelstiltskin Moment — Guest Opinion
When writing the final ACO rules, CMS has the chance to spin the dross of the current regulations into something of genuine value to providers, even if it’s not quite Rumpelstiltskin-quality gold. If the feds fail, it is all of us, not just those on Medicare program, who could live unhappily ever after.
Berwick Says Obama’s Plan To Trigger Medicare Cuts Won’t Be Necessary
Current plans to improve quality and reduce waste should avoid the need for the Independent Payment Review Board to step in and order cuts, Medicare chief says.
The Ryan Plan: An Attempt To Reduce Health Care Spending, But At A High Cost
The GOP vision for health care reform, as expressed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R- Wis., is to limit federal health care spending to levels far below what they are today, and then let individuals make the best of it. The federal health law not only offers a more realistic approach to controlling costs, but a more humane one.
Obama’s Deficit Plan: A ‘Nuanced Approach’ And ‘So Partisan’
Eight health policy experts review the president’s proposals to cut the deficit while preserving Medicare and Medicaid.
Health On The Hill Transcript: Obama Hits Back At GOP On Health Proposals
Obama laid out his plans for preserving Medicare while cutting spending in the program, and he also rejected a Republican plan to give states block grants for Medicaid.
Health On The Hill – Obama Hits Back At GOP Deficit Plan On Medicare, Medicaid
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Marilyn Werber Serafini talk with Jackie Judd about President Obama’s speech outlining his plans for reducing the deficit, especially focusing on health care spending. He slammed the Republican plan, saying it would leave “seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry,” and he rejected GOP ideas to give states block grants for Medicaid.
Excerpts: President Obama On The Deficit And Health Care Spending
President Obama on Wednesday spoke about reining in health care spending in Medicare and Medicaid as part of his proposal to reduce the federal deficit. Here are excerpts:
Document: Obama’s Proposal On Deficit Reduction – Health Care Section
Obama proposes holding Medicare cost growth down by strengthening the Independent Payment Advisory Board and making Medicaid more flexible without using block grants.
Health On The Hill: Spending Negotiations Remove Provisions Of Health Law, Entitlement Reform Looms
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about an 11th hour spending deal reached late last week that would remove some minor provisions of the health care law and require that the Senate will vote separately on two measures the House already has approved
Ryan Plan For Medicare Is ‘Pure Budget Solution, Not A Health Policy Solution’ -The KHN Interview
Alec Vachon, who once worked for Republican Sen. Bob Dole and the Senate Finance Committee, says the GOP premium support proposal will run into trouble if funding doesn’t meet seniors’ needs to buy insurance.
