Latest KFF Health News Stories
From Florida To Oregon, Medicare Advantage’s Benefits
For the 11 million people signed up for private Medicare Advantage plans, their future with the popular program that has been designated for cuts in federal funding may depend on where they live.
Week In Review, Alliteration Version: Medicaid, Medicare And Missouri Ballot Initiative
This week, Democrats grab an unexpected success in extending enhanced Medicaid funding. Meanwhile, Medicare’s trustees offer a positive view for the program’s future but Missouri voters reject the new health law’s individual mandate.
New Medicare Report: Is It Based on a Rosy Scenario?
The new health care reform law will extend the solvency of Medicare’s main hospital insurance program by 12 years, according to a new government report.
Will Health Savings Trickle From Your Paycheck To Social Security?
Some say money employers save on health insurance in the health law will eventually mean more money for Social Security instead of more money for workers.
Transcript: Health On The Hill – August 3, 2010
Legislative and legal action surrounding the new health overhaul continue in Virginia and Missouri. Panelists also discuss the U.S. Senate vote on extra money for state Medicaid programs.
Deuell Asks AG: Can State Ban Abortion Affiliates?
This story comes from our partner the Texas Tribune . State Sen. Bob Deuell wants Planned Parenthood’s clinics out of the state’s Women’s Health Program, which provides family planning services – but not abortions – to impoverished Medicaid patients. And he says a 2005 law should exclude them already. But for years, the state’s Health […]
Virginia Lawsuit Challenging Health Law Passes Key Hurdle
The first big legal test of the constitutionality of the “individual mandate” that requires just about everyone in the U.S. to have health insurance starting in 2014 is going to get out of the starting gate.
This week, HHS issued rules on high-risk health insurance pools as well as guidance on children’s coverage issues. Two new polls focused on seniors and health reform, and both political parties continued to position themselves for the fall elections.
High-Risk Health Insurance Pool Rules Bar Abortions, Limit Patient Costs
During the health reform debate, people with pre-existing conditions lobbied for affordable health insurance. Now, HHS has issued new rules on how high-risk pools will work.
Gazing Into CBO’s Budget and Health Care Crystal Ball
The Congressional Budget Office’s latest projections again make it clear that the nation is rushing headlong toward a fiscal crisis, and the health law does nothing to head it off.
Support For Health Law Remains Steady While Opposition Drops
A lot has changed since last summer’s town hall meetings. A new poll finds that, in the last month, the percentage of people viewing the health law unfavorably has fallen. But seniors continue to be more negative.
Britain Plans Radical Changes to Health Care System
Deficit and debt drive cuts in jobs and services
2 New Provisions In Health Law Will Help Seniors
A look at the new health law’s long-term-care program and the plan to close the Medicare drug doughnut hole.
Seniors Still In The Dark On New Health Law
That fact that people don’t know a lot about what’s in the new health law isn’t exactly news. But a new poll that shows just how little Grandma and Grandpa know about it must be giving the new law’s supporters a serious case of heartburn. That’s because seniors are not just a key voting bloc […]
This week’s health policy news was marked by new administration rules regarding the appeals process for denied health insurance claims and continuing state-level efforts to implement high risk pools.
New Rules Guarantee Patients’ Right To Appeal Insurance Claim Denials
The Obama administration issues regulations that will set some minimum requirements for the process, including allowing patients to appeal the insurer’s decision to an independent outside panel.
Dispatch from Massachusetts: The Individual Mandate Is Working
Evidence shows the requirement for state residents to buy health insurance is working in Massachusetts — and we should it expect it to work in the new health overhaul as well.
Massachusetts Shows Federal Reform Headed For Trouble
Massachusett’s health reform has increased demand without increasing the supply of health care providers, it continues to keep people in the dark about the true cost of health care and health insurance, and has not changed incentives for people to seek more affordable options or for a truly competitive marketplace. Washington’s health overhaul law has the same structural flaws.
When Bad News About Health Reform Isn’t Bad
This column is a collaboration between KHN and The New Republic. The weekend’s newspapers included a pair of headlines about health care reform. And they were probably not the kind that reform advocates like to see. One was in the Boston Globe: “Firms Cancel Health Coverage.” According to the article, a number of small businesses […]
This week, news outlets covered the Obama administration as it began implementing parts of the new health law and also unveiled a national HIV/AIDS strategy. And, Capitol Hill is still reacting to the president’s recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid.
