Latest KFF Health News Stories
Two (Very Different) Miami Hospitals Prepare For Health Law’s Medicaid Expansion
Even as Florida leads the Supreme Court challenge against the health law, a private and a public hospital are anticipating an influx of new patients who will be covered by Medicaid if the law stands.
Some States Limit How Uninsured Pay For High-Risk Insurance
The states are concerned that third-party funding may drive up the number of people seeking to join the pre-existing condition insurance plans and exhaust the budgets provided by the federal government.
AARP Arming For Medicare Battle
Against a backdrop of proposals to overhaul the popular social insurance program and a presidential campaign likely to address entitlement spending, the seniors group is mobilizing.
Delayed Release Of Student Health Plan Rule Scrambles Financial Aid Calculations
This long-awaited regulation — designed to boost benefits offered by student health insurance plans — could affect plan costs and, in some instances, the cost of attending college.
What You Can Expect This Year From The Health Law
Even as the Supreme Court prepares to hear the historic lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, consumers are already seeing some changes. Jackie Judd talks with KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” columnist Michelle Andrews about insurance rebates, flexible spending accounts, preventive care (including contraceptives) and easy-to-read insurance labels.
Mississippi Builds Insurance Exchange, Even As It Fights Health Law
Mississippi, a deeply red Southern state that is part of the Supreme Court case against the health law, is moving full speed ahead with one of the key provisions of that law: an online health insurance exchange.
Premium Rebates, Coverage Labels, Reduced Medicare Drug Costs Highlight 2012 Health Law Changes
Despite deep political division about the health overhaul, implementation marches on.
Rules For New Insurance Marketplaces Give Insurers Clout
The long-awaited rules may disappoint consumer groups which had sought to reduce the clout of insurers on the governing boards.
The Hardest Job To Fill (And Keep) In Washington: CMS Chief
The revolving door at the top of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services raises questions about the key agency implementing the health law.
GOP Presidential Hopefuls: Where They Stand On Health Care
An interactive chart shows where eight of the current and former candidates – Gingrich, Paul, Romney, Santorum, Bachmann, Cain, Huntsman and Perry – stand on major health care issues.
House Moves Closer To IPAB Repeal Vote
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about the latest movement in House Republican efforts to repeal a key part of the health reform law — the Independent Payment Advisory Board. One House committee passed a repeal of IPAB Tuesday while another held a hearing on it. The full House is expected to vote on a repeal of IPAB as early as the end of March.
In Victory And Defeat, Romney And Santorum Bash Health Law
GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum struck out at the Democrats’ health law in speeches Tuesday night after Romney won both the Arizona and Michigan GOP primaries.
House Republicans Pound Sebelius On Health Law
Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd about HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ appearance before the House Ways and Means Committee. She defended the health care law and the president’s fiscal 2013 budget request. The hearing had all the hallmarks of a partisan political event.
Insurers Open Stores To Peddle Health Plans
With more people buying insurance on their own, and even more slated to because of the health law, insurers are seeking a retail strategy.
Five Questions About The Health Law’s Mandate To Cover Birth Control
While controversy over one aspect of the Obama administration’s contraception rule
Minnesota Exchange Grant Arrives In Politically Divided State
The federal government has awarded Minnesota $26 million to help it create a health insurance exchange, but Republicans in the GOP-led state legislature there are engaged in a bitter fight with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton on its planning and even its existence.
Testy Santorum, Romney Tussle Over Mass. Health Reform
In the last scheduled Republican debate, candidates Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul attacked the Obama administration on its birth control stance. Santorum dovetailed the issue into an attack of the 2006 Massachusetts health reform law, which then-Gov. Romney endorsed. Here is a transcript of the health care portions of the debate:
Feds Jump-Start Health Insurance Co-Ops With Loans
Seven organizations will receive a total of $639 million in federal low-interest loans to launch new health insurance plans in eight states, the federal government announced Tuesday.
Insurance Coverage Might Steer Women To Costlier – But More Effective – Birth Control
Long-acting methods such as the IUD and the hormonal implant are nearly 100 percent effective and require no effort after insertion. But birth control pills are about 92 percent effective.
SCOTUS Preview Part 2: Analyzing The Likely High Court Arguments On The Health Law
In part two of analysis of the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the health law, Stuart Taylor talks with Jackie Judd about the arguments each side is likely to make defending or against the individual mandate and the Medicaid expansion.