Latest KFF Health News Stories
Video: Understanding The New HHS ACO Rule
KHN’s Jordan Rau explains how the Obama administration envisions accountable care organizations, which are designed to help hospitals and doctors form new networks to coordinate patients’ care. Officials estimate that the ACOs could save Medicare up to $960 million over three years. ACOs are a feature of the new health law.
Study Finds Raising Medicare Age Would Shift Costs
If eligibility went up to age 67, the federal government would save $7.6 billion but total costs would rise more than that for seniors, employers and states.
Medicare Rule Sparks Concerns About Patients’ Access To Home Health Care
Providers criticize health law requirement targeted at curbing wasteful spending.
HHS Says 48,000 Have Used Medicare Drug Discounts This Year
The health law provides a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs and 7 percent for generics once beneficiaries reach the doughnut hole.
From California To The New York Island, A New Understanding Of Higher Medicare Spending
CMS analysis shows that some regions with high spending levels are below the national average if patient health and special expenses are factored in.
Younger, Disabled Medicare Beneficiaries Have Trouble Getting Supplementary Insurance
Federal law does not guarantee beneficiaries under the age of 65 the right to buy Medigap coverage and even when they do qualify for a plan, it is often prohibitively expensive.
So This Is Freedom? They Must Be Joking.
Despite the rhetoric about compromise, what President Barack Obama actually did when he announced that states would have some flexibility in implementing the health law was give states the option of replacing his law with a single-payer health system three years earlier than it otherwise could have happened.
Ignoring Political Risk, Ryan Renews Push For Medicare Vouchers
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., says he will include “aggressive” changes to Medicare in his upcoming budget proposal.
Regulators Penalize Some Maryland Hospitals For Complication Rates
A Maryland program to curb hospital infection rates is showing signs of success, but nine hospitals still fell short last year and were penalized a total of $2.1 million.
When Care Is Split Between Medicare And Medicaid: KHN Interview With Melanie Bella
Melanie Bella heads the new federal office that seeks to help people whose coverage is often fragmented because they qualify for both programs and to save the government money by streamlining that coverage.
Health Law Forces Changes To Reduce Hospitals Readmissions
20 percent of Medicare patients are back in the hospital within 30 days, a trend that endangers patients and raises health costs.
Hardliners On Health Law: End It, Don’t Mend It
The conservative group FreedomWorks recommends a system of vouchers to replace Medicare, Medicaid and provisions of the new health law.
Health On The Hill Transcript: President Obama’s Health Budget Scrutinized
Jackie Judd of the Kaiser Family Foundation is joined by Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News and David Nather of Politico to talk about the president’s 2012 proposed budget and a House bill that would repeal a provision of the health care overhaul that small businesses find particularly onerous.
An Irresponsible Roll Of The Dice
The president chose to submit a profoundly unserious budget. There’s no entitlement reform to close the long-term fiscal gap. There’s no tax reform. There are some minor cuts to marginal programs for show. But, overall, it’s very much a business-as-usual budget, with a few new and expensive long-term commitments thrown in for good measure. It’s like the president and his team woke up after the mid-term election with a bad case of political amnesia.
Obama’s Medicare ‘Doc Fix’ Under Fire
In his 2012 budget, the president proposed a two-year, $54 billion solution to stop the scheduled cuts to doctors who treat Medicare patients. The plan draws on savings from a variety of sources, including states, drug makers
FAQ: The Shrinking Medicare Doughnut Hole
Beginning this year, seniors who hit the coverage gap will get substantial discounts on both brand-name and generic drugs.
Some Seniors Are In For Sticker Shock On Drug Premiums
Starting this year, affluent Medicare beneficiaries will begin paying more than the standard premium for their Part D coverage.
Health Programs On The Chopping Block As States Gird For Drop In Federal Aid
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are at risk of losing access to health services as states prepare to make yet another round of budget cuts.
Health On The Hill: Democrats On Defense As Republicans Plan Attack On Health Law
House Republicans are holding committee hearings this week on the health law’s provisions governing Medicare, abortion and small business.
Health Industry And Lawmakers Move Against Medicare Spending Board
The Independent Payment Advisory Board, a key cost-containment provision of the health law scheduled to be created this year, faces an uncertain future.
