Latest KFF Health News Stories
Public Doesn’t Support Cuts To Health Care Programs
Poll finds high support for Medicare and Medicaid, complicating political strategies for election of 2012.
What Will President Obama Say About Medicare?
A big topic on the minds of many in the public policy community is what the future holds for the nation’s out-of-control entitlement spending in general and Medicare in specific.
Effort To Reward Medicare Advantage Plans Draws Criticism
MedPac assails Medicare plan to extend quality bonus payments – meant for top-performing health insurers – to those with lower scores.
The Avastin Decision: A Rational Decision Or Rationing?
Sometimes the noisiest voices in the health overhaul debate don’t make a good faith effort to acknowledge important scientific or policy-oriented nuances in their arguments. It’s happening again in the wake of a controversial regulatory ruling about a cancer drug.
Health Care Battles To Surge Anew In 2011: Marilyn Werber Serafini
KHN reporters preview some of the big issues coming this year: Marilyn Werber Serafini, the Robin Toner Fellow at KHN, says efforts to cut federal spending likely will be hampered by campaign promises on Medicare funding.
Nine Ways The New Health Law May Affect You in 2011
In 2011 many new provisions of the health law kick in, providing benefits for many and potential new costs for some others.
Seniors May Not Rush In For Medicare Wellness Exams
The new health law adds coverage for an annual checkup, but in the past beneficiaries have not shown great interest in the “wellness exams” offered when they first qualify for Medicare.
Long-Term Care: Another Tough Subject For The Next Round Of Reform
Democrats and Republicans may spend the next two years fighting about what to jettison or retain in the new health law. If these battles are resolved, we’ll be back to address another looming challenge: long-term care. It’s best that this happen sooner rather than later.
Innovative Day-Care Program Seeks To Keep Frail, Low-Income Seniors In Their Homes
PACE offers comprehensive medical and social services and supporters say it can reduce hospital and nursing home stays and save money for Medicare and Medicaid.
A Bipartisan Budget Will Require Bipartisan Health Care
It is essential that political leaders come together in a bipartisan fashion to put our government’s finances on more stable footing. But that won’t be done if the nation’s approach to health care is supported by only one of the two major political parties.
U.K. Health Maps Show A Shared Problem Across The Pond?
Doctors in some areas of Britain do one type of hip replacement at rates up to 16 times greater than in places like London, according to a November atlas by the National Health Service, mirroring a problem Medicare researchers have seen in the U.S.
Care At Stake As Congress Nears ‘Doc Fix’ Deal
Lawmakers are close again to delaying a 25 percent cut in reimbursement to doctors who serve Medicare patients. It’s the fifth time this year Congress has faced down the cuts, which could have dire consequences for the program if enacted.
McAllen, Tex. spends more on Medicare patients than almost any other part of the country. But a new study contradicts the assumption that McAllen, Texas doctors over-treat everyone.
Text: Fiscal Commission’s Recommendations On Health Care Spending
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its long-awaited report on recommendations to cope with the national debt, now and into the future, “The Moment of Truth.” Seven of the 66 pages concerned health care spending, especially focusing on Medicare.
Medicare Key To Conquering Deficit Dilemma
Controlling Medicare costs is key to conquering the deficit, experts say, but there are few cost-containment measures that are politically viable.
Health On The Hill Transcript: Congress Passes One-Month Medicare ‘Doc Fix’
As Congress resumed its lame duck session, the House passed a one-month extension of a Medicare physician payment “fix” that would stop scheduled cuts for another month. Meanwhile, the Senate rejected a repeal of the so-called “1099” tax reporting provision in the health law that requires that businesses file a form for any purchase of goods or services worth more than $600.
Deficit Reduction Plans Would Squeeze Medicare
Spurred by growing concerns about the federal deficit, plans to curb Medicare spending are proliferating – setting the stage for potentially bruising battles between seniors’ advocates and budget cutters.
Reinhardt: Repeal Health Care, Make GOP Cut Costs
Health economist Uwe Reinhardt critiques the new health care law, talks about cost containment and gives his reasons why a single-payer system health system couldn’t work in America.
Health On The Hill Transcript: Medical Loss Ratio, Doc Fix
HHS released regulations on the medical loss ratio, a provision in the health law that requires insurers spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars of health care. Meanwhile, before the Senate adjourned for Thanksgiving it passed a one-month ‘patch’ to prevent physicians who see Medicare patients from having their payments reduced.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R- Wis., took the courageous step of going first with a bold plan — his Roadmap — to fundamentally restructure the tax and entitlement policies that threaten to push the federal budget past the breaking point. Now others, even some from the other side of the aisle, are joining him in sponsoring similar plans.
