States

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Feds Slow Down But Don’t Stop Georgia’s Contentious Effort To Ditch ACA Marketplace

KFF Health News Original

The state proposes to jettison the federal insurance exchange and instead send people buying individual coverage to private companies to choose coverage. It would also cap how much money is spent on premium subsidies, which could mean some consumers would be put on a wait list if they needed financial help buying a plan.

Patients Stuck With Bills After Insurers Don’t Pay As Promised

KFF Health News Original

Insurance companies often require patients to have medical procedures, devices, tests and even some medicines preapproved to ensure the insurers are willing to cover the costs. But that doesn’t guarantee they’ll end up paying. Some patients are getting stuck with unexpected bills after the medical service has been provided.

Patients Caught In Crossfire Between Giant Hospital Chain, Large Insurer

KFF Health News Original

Insurance giant Cigna and San Francisco-based Dignity Health have failed to ink a 2020 contract, leaving nearly 17,000 patients in California and Nevada scrambling to find new health care providers. Meanwhile, Dignity faces financial and legal challenges while it strives to implement its merger with Catholic Health Initiatives, which created one of the nation’s largest Catholic hospital systems.

Good Rehab Is Hard To Find

KFF Health News Original

Helping a loved one overcome addiction isn’t easy. Start by listening to people who have been through it. They can help find effective treatment and avoid unethical or incompetent operators.

Public Health Officials Offer Scant Details On U.S. Coronavirus Patients

KFF Health News Original

To date, the U.S. has multiple confirmed cases of the viral infection that originated in Wuhan, China. That includes cases in which the virus passed from person to person within this country. So why don’t health officials share more information with the public?

Preeminent Hospitals Penalized Over Rates Of Patients’ Injuries

KFF Health News Original

Medicare cut payments for 786 hospitals because of high infection and complication rates. They included a third of the hospitals proclaimed as the nation’s best in one prominent ranking.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Remaking Medicaid — Maybe

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration is proposing to let states have more control of their Medicaid programs in exchange for potentially less money from the federal government. Meanwhile, the dangerous respiratory virus spreading from China is starting to affect trade and transportation along with public health. Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner, Erin Mershon of Stat and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.

Terminally Ill, He Wanted Aid-In-Dying. His Catholic Hospital Said No.

KFF Health News Original

Neil Mahoney had terminal cancer. He also had a legal right to aid-in-dying. But his faith-based hospital called it “morally unacceptable.” So he turned to a network of Colorado doctors to fulfill his last wish.

Bike Fatalities Are On The Rise

KFF Health News Original

More than 450 cyclists died in traffic accidents in California from 2016 through 2018, marking the highest three-year death rate in 25 years. Among the factors at play: more cars on roads, distracted driving and a pronounced consumer shift toward SUVs.

Response To Nation’s 1st Coronavirus Case Draws On Lessons From Measles Outbreak

KFF Health News Original

When the first confirmed U.S. patient was pinpointed in Washington state, health clinic workers there weren’t rattled. They were prepped by new statewide protocols on contagion containment, in the wake of last year’s measles scare.

California Reopens The Single-Payer Debate

KFF Health News Original

A high-profile commission created by Gov. Gavin Newsom will convene for the first time Monday to discuss how to get every Californian covered. But don’t expect the state to adopt a single-payer system anytime soon.