Latest KFF Health News Stories
Trumpeted New Medicare Advantage Benefits Will Be Hard For Seniors To Find
Federal officials are hailing the introduction of services such as transportation to medical appointments, home-delivered meals and installation of wheelchair ramps as a way to keep beneficiaries healthy and avoid costly hospitalizations. But not many plans are offering the services in 2019.
Montana’s Legislature Could Decide Medicaid Expansion’s Fate
A ballot initiative to fund Medicaid expansion with a tobacco tax failed in Montana on Tuesday. The expansion will expire in the state in June 2019, unless the legislature finds another way to fund it.
Deadly Shootings Are Rising In U.S. After Steady Declines
A new report by federal researchers finds that homicides involving guns are up both nationally and in major cities after a decade of decline.
New Contractor For Food Stamps Upsets Cart For Farmers Markets
If a popular app used by many farmers markets to process federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits is no longer offered next spring, consumers’ access to fresh produce may be stalled.
Midterm Election Boosts Medicaid Expansion, But Challenges Remain
Following the vote, nearly 500,000 uninsured adults in five states are poised to gain Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, say advocates. But many conservatives remain opposed to the expansion.
House Dems In New Seats Of Power Will Steer Health Policy, Attack Drug Prices
Democrats, who have a history of championing the Affordable Care Act and railing about drug prices, will now chair several house committees.
Midterm Results Show Health Is Important To Voters But No Magic Bullet
Even though they are taking control of the House, Democrats will be unlikely to advance many initiatives on health that don’t meet Republican approval since the GOP controls the Senate and the White House. But they can block any efforts to weaken the Affordable Care Act or change Medicaid or Medicare.
California Dreamin’? With Newsom’s Win, Single-Payer Unlikely To Follow Anytime Soon
Even though Democrat Gavin Newsom campaigned for single-payer, it’s unlikely that he and other lawmakers will completely overhaul the state’s health care system right away. Instead, they will likely propose incremental steps to provide more Californians with health insurance.
Soda Industry Steals Page From Tobacco To Combat Taxes On Sugary Drinks
Voters in Oregon and Washington will decide whether to strip cities of the ability to tax sugary drinks.
Tobacco Tax Battle Could Torch Montana Medicaid Expansion
A ballot initiative in Montana would tax cigarettes $2 a pack to help pay for the state’s Medicaid expansion. But the tobacco industry has spent more than $17 million fighting the effort.
Quick: What’s The Difference Between Medicare-For-All And Single-Payer?
As politicians across the country toss about such health care catchphrases, sometimes interchangeably, many voters say they’re “just confused.”
Like Clockwork: How Daylight Saving Time Stumps Hospital Record-Keeping
One of the most popular electronic health records software systems used by hospitals, Epic Systems, can delete records or require cumbersome workarounds when clocks are set back for an hour, prompting many hospitals to opt for paper records for part of the night shift.
Heart Drug Spotlights Troubling Trends In Drug Marketing
Critics worry the marketing of Vascepa, a purified fish oil product, could prove a fish story.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Open Enrollment And A Midterm Preview
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the start of open enrollment for individual health insurance plans for 2019 and preview what next week’s midterm elections might mean for health policy. Plus, Barbara Feder Ostrov of KHN and California Healthline talks to Julie about the latest NPR-KHN “Bill of the Month” feature.
Billions In ‘Questionable Payments’ Went To California’s Medicaid Insurers And Providers
The money was paid on behalf of more than 400,000 people who may have been ineligible for the public program, a state audit found. One had been dead for four years before payments stopped.
Trump Rollback Of Disability Rules Can Make Doctor’s Visits Painstaking
Standards have been proposed to address what are often viewed as disparities in treatment, but the Trump administration has declined to enforce them.
In Swing Districts, Republicans May Pay For Having Tried To Reverse The Health Law
Though Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) counts himself a moderate, many of his voters heading to the polls are furious about how he aided his party’s efforts to dismantle Obamacare.
Republicans’ Drive To Tighten Immigration Overlooks Need For Doctors
Many areas in the U.S. depend on foreign doctors, but bitter political arguments over immigration have sown concerns about limited opportunities for these physicians.
With One Hand, Administration Boosts ACA Marketplaces, Weakens Them With Another
The Trump administration gives states more flexibility to get around the health law’s requirements for insurance plans. But at the same time it wants employers to move millions of workers to the insurance exchanges.
GOP’s Latest Campaign Punch On Health Care Relies On Classic Hook: Medicare
Republicans seek to turn the tables on charges that they are undermining preexisting conditions, so they’re hammering the plans championed by some Democrats to expand Medicare.
