Latest KFF Health News Stories
Vermont Edges Toward Single Payer Health Care
The new system will move many state residents into a publicly financed insurance program and pay hospitals and doctors a set fee to care for patients.
Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge in 2011
An annual survey has found that the average cost of a family health insurance plan rose 9 percent this year – triple the growth rate seen in 2010. KHN’s Julie Appleby filed this story.
Perry’s Medicaid Plan Secret: Dems Like It
Texas is quietly revamping the health safety net for the poor in a way some Dems can get behind.
Parents Fear Health Law Could Derail Autism Coverage
As federal officials draw up their list of requirements for essential health benefits under the overhaul, it’s not clear whether they will include treatment mandates passed by many states.
Religious Freedom, Individual Mandate And Anti-Injunction Act At Issue In D.C. Circuit
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and ABC News’ Ariane de Vogue discuss today’s oral arguments in the American Center for Law and Justice challenge to the health law.
GOP Candidates Push State Role In Health Care
Exchanges on health policy were limited in Thursday’s Republican presidential debate, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney once again lashed out at each other on the issue and Rep. Michele Bachmann renewed her criticism of Perry’s efforts to get Texas children vaccinated against HPV.
Transcript: Analyzing The GOP Presidential Field’s Promise To Repeal The Health Law
Jackie Judd talks with PBS NewsHour’s David Chalian about the GOP presidential candidates’ health law repeal rhetoric, the varying level of nuance among their viewpoints and how each is attacking the President’s
Analyzing The GOP Presidential Field’s Promise To Repeal The Health Law
Jackie Judd talks with PBS NewsHour’s David Chalian about the GOP presidential candidates’ repeal rhetoric, the varying level of nuance among their viewpoints and how each is attacking the President’s
President Obama Proposes Cuts To Health Care Spending To Lower Deficit
President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a series of cost savings in health care programs including to Medicare and Medicaid to reduce the deficit. The proposals include paying doctors for health care outcomes instead of on a “fee-for-service” basis, and Obama also rejected the notion turning Medicare into a “voucher” system.
The Specifics: How Obama Plans To Cut Health Programs By $320 Billion
Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports that the biggest cut to Medicare requires pharmaceutical companies to lower the rates for low-income beneficiaries.
HHS Pushes Federal-State Partnerships For Insurance Exchanges
The federal government is worried that dozens of states may opt out of running these insurance marketplaces and leave that job for Washington.
Some States Seeking Health Care Compact
The interstate compact, which has been adopted by four states, would replace federal programs – including Medicare and Medicaid – with block grants. It cannot be implemented without congressional approval.
The Essential Benefit Package Americans Need
The real impact of reform will ultimately be measured by the health of the nation — and by that measure, few decisions are more important than what is included in the essential benefit package. How this package takes shape will determine whether health reform delivers on its promise.
Clinical Nuance Essential To Essential Benefits Package
Current “one-size-fits-all” health plans, in which beneficiaries face the same out-of-pocket payment for every doctor visit, test and prescription drug, should be be replaced by plans based on the health benefit gained in the particular clinical circumstance. By using this nuance, health plans can offer more comprehensive and effective coverage while addressing the affordability of health insurance.
Defining ‘Typical’: A Critical Step In Determining The Health Law’s Essential Benefits Package
As implementation of the 2010 health law unfolds, one of the most important questions surrounds how he essential benefits package will be determined. The answer will have a significant impact on the cost of coverage, both inside and outside the law’s insurance exchanges.
Analysis: Handicapping Health Care Lawsuits, And The Truth-In-Labeling Factor
Stuart Taylor puts the chances at about 25 percent to 33 percent that the health law’s individual mandate will be overturned, and adds that the court seems even less likely to sweep away the rest of the 975-page law.
‘Poster Boys’ Take A Pass On Pioneer ACO Program
Leading hospital systems didn’t apply for Medicare reform tailor-made by the Obama administration to reward such organizations.
Rate Of Uninsured Stays Flat In 2010, Census Reports
Young adults, Hispanics fare better but Asians worse.
Transcript: GOP Candidates Squabble Over Health Care During Tampa Debate
Monday night’s CNN/Tea Party Express debate among the Republican presidential candidates included discussion of Medicare, the health law, costs, the individual mandate and vaccines.
VA Experience Shows Patient ‘Rebound’ Hard To Counter
The Veterans Health Administration has long used approaches Medicare is pushing on all hospitals to cut unnecessary readmissions. But new data show VA hospital patients are just as likely to end up back in a hospital bed.
