Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health On The Hill – October 27, 2010
With the elections less than one week away, ads making claims about the health law are flooding the airwaves. Many Democrats, concerned that voters view the measure in a negative light, continue to not mention health reform. Republicans, predicted to take control of the House and increase their ranks in the Senate, continue to criticize the law as too large, too expensive and intrusive into Americans’ lives. But President Barack Obama and some Democrats are promoting the law’s immediate consumer benefits and say it will improve the quality of health care for all Americans.
Dems And GOP Galaxies Apart On Health Law
Three top pollsters – two Democrats and a Republican – have very different takes on what impact the health law will have on the election.
Debate Over Health Reform Soon To Change Gears, Expert Predicts
Former Kennedy staffer says GOP will back off talk of repeal after the election.
High Risk Pools For People With Medical Issues Start Slowly
Response has been modest and reviews are mixed for insurance plans set up by the federal health law for people with medical problems.
Florida Congressional Race Hinges On Seniors’ Confusion, Anger
As emotions run high over the new health law, older voters’ concerns about Medicare cuts could be a deciding factor in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District. Reporter Marilyn Werber Serafini travelled to north Florida to talk with seniors and discovered some angry voters, including one woman who changed political parties because she doesn’t like the Democrats’ health law.
Some Hill Races Could Hinge On Seniors’ Anger Over Medicare
As emotions run high over the new health law, older voters’ concerns about Medicare cuts could be a deciding factor in some particularly close congressional races.
If certain steps are taken, the next round of reform could make health insurance portable, affordable and fair.
Video: Checking In With Tom Daschle
Jackie Judd checks in with Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader and a senior, informal, advisor to President Obama during the health debate. He talks about the challenges facing the administration now, including walking the line between the “pragmatic and idealistic” and about how to respond to the many requests for waivers from complying with the law. Daschle has a new book about the new debate: “Getting It Done.”
State Regulators Recommend New Health Insurance Rules
State insurance regulators have defined one of the thorniest provisions of the new health overhaul law: the requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of revenue on direct medical care.
Health Law’s Opponents Dominating Airwaves
President Obama signed the health law in March and told voters to read up on it. But opponents of the law have done most of the educating on what it means, sometimes in ads with false claims.
Campaign Claims: Health Law Myths And Facts
The debate that preceded passage of the health-care overhaul resumed as a heated issue in the midterm elections. Politicians and advocacy groups seeking repeal of the law are making dramatic claims about the its cost and effects. How valid are they? We evaluate some of the most common criticisms.
Health On The Hill – October 18, 2010
Some Democrats are talking about health care in their elections in a new way: send us to Washington to fix parts of the health care bill that you don’t like. Meanwhile, oral arguments in a Virginia court case challenging the law’s requirement that individuals purchase health care insurance are proceeding in court.
What’s the Worst That Could Happen With The New Health Law?
The Heritage Foundation’s analysis of the impact of health reform shows that different assumptions could put a tremendous amount of pressure on an already soaring national debt.
Hospitals, Inc., A Kaiser Health News Series
Hospitals play an enormous role in the health care system; they’re a crucial part of the public health safety net and an important community resource. But they are expensive. Hospital costs make up the largest portion of the health spending in this country.
Should Health Law Be Repealed? Not A Simple Question
Would the public like to see the new health overhaul law repealed? A lot of pollsters have been asking that question lately. And they’ve been getting a lot of different answers.
In Campaign Ads, Democrats Mostly Silent About Health Law
When Democrats passed their health overhaul bill back in March, they hailed it as the biggest domestic achievement since Medicare. But seven months later, most of the noise about the new law on the campaign trail is coming from opponents
The Health Reform (Almost) Everyone Loves
Come with me to the land of happy health reform. It is a place where Republicans and Democrats find common ground, a place where physicians, hospitals and health insurers sit together as partners, a place where criticism is respectful, not rancorous. It is the world of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).
HHS Issues New Guidance On Kids’ Insurance Policies
Health insurers can’t have different rules for when individual policies for children with medical problems than for healthy kids are sold, the Department of Health and Human Services said today.
Women’s Health Groups Call For Free Rx Birth Control
Planned Parenthood and other groups are launching a campaign to include prescription contraception as part of the preventive services required in the new health law.
Studies Highlight High Medicare Costs For People In Nursing Homes
People who live in long-term care are much more likely to be sent to the hospital, sometimes unnecessarily, which can harm patients and drive up Medicare costs.
