Latest KFF Health News Stories
Environmentalists Offer To Help Protect Health Care Under Trump
After the recent election of Republicans who have vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, one of the nation’s oldest environmental groups says it’s on board to help save it.
Medicaid Coverage For Addiction Treatment Varies Dramatically
States can set their own rules about these benefits for Medicaid enrollees and a study shows wide disparities. But researchers say a repeal of the health law’s expansion could derail progress.
Insurers’ Flawed Directories Leave Patients Scrambling For In-Network Doctors
Many consumers find that doctors listed in their plan’s directories aren’t accepting new patients, charge large concierge fees or may not even be in the network. Regulators don’t check.
In House Majority Leader’s Calif. District, Many Depend On Health Law He Wants To Scrap
Some of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s constituents fear his vow to repeal Obamacare now and replace it later could rob them of coverage.
In California, Planned Parenthood Girds For Potentially Grim Future Under Trump
The CEO of the group’s state organization, Kathy Kneer, says private donations can’t cover the potential loss of federal money for reproductive health services.
Some GOP Voters Skittish On Full Repeal, Poll Finds
Trump backers expressed support for some of the health law’s consumer protections, such as allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26.
Health Law’s Test Kitchen For Payment Reforms Could Offer Tool For GOP Ideas
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation was charged by the health law with exploring payment reforms that could cut health care costs and possibly improve quality. But its future is hinged to whether GOP lawmakers see value in its work.
Enfermos… ¿y en bancarrota? Consumidores gastarán más en drogas en 2017
En 2017, muchos más planes de salud en los mercados de seguros requerirán que los consumidores paguen una sustancial parte del costo de los medicamentos más caros, dicen, para disuadir a pacientes muy enfermos de elegir sus planes.
Need Pricey Drugs From An Obamacare Plan? You’ll Shoulder More Of The Cost
A Kaiser Health News analysis finds that the portion of federal marketplace plans requiring people to pay a third or more of the cost of specialty drugs have jumped from 37 to 63 percent since 2014.
Trump’s Pick To Run Medicare And Medicaid Has Red State Policy Chops
Seema Verma is a consultant who was Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s health policy advisor when he was governor of Indiana, playing a key role in Medicaid expansion in that state.
Price’s Appointment Boosts GOP Plans To Overhaul Medicare And Medicaid
Privatizing the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled and turning the Medicaid program for the poor back to the states are long-time goals for Republicans in Congress and the White House.
Worries About Health Insurance Cross Political Boundaries
The uncertainty over what could replace Obamacare has left many uneasy about what will happen with their medical care.
Lo que podría hacer Mike Pence con el Medicaid
El gobernador de Indiana, Mike Pence, fue uno de los 10 gobernadores republicanos que expandió el Medicaid bajo el Obamacare, pero como compañero de fórmula del ahora presidente electo Donald Trump, está pidiendo la derogación y reemplazo de la ley.
No Immediate Changes To Your Obamacare Coverage
Despite President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, state officials and advocates say Californians’ health plan is safe for now.
Pence Expanded Health Coverage As Governor, Now Threatens To Take It Away
Indiana’s Obamacare Medicaid expansion — with a conservative twist — may offer lessons for Republicans’ “repeal and replace” promise.
California Braces For Medi-Cal’s Future Under Trump And The GOP
California officials jumped at the chance to cover millions more low-income people by expanding its Medicaid program. Now, health policymakers and advocates fear the Trump administration and a Republican-ruled Congress will roll back the state’s progress.
In Depressed Rural Kentucky, Worries Grow Over Medicaid
Low-income residents in poverty-stricken Clay County worry what will happen to their health care if Gov. Matt Bevin’s ambitions to overhaul the state’s Medicaid program go forward.
Uncertain Fate Of Health Law Giving Health Industry Heartburn
The effect of “repeal and replace” could have greatest consequences for hospitals. They accepted lower federal funding under the law because their uncompensated care was expected to fall as more people became insured.
Blue Shield, California’s Biggest Obamacare Insurer, Vows It’s Not ‘Running For The Hills’
The company’s CEO also dismisses Trump’s notion of selling insurance plans across state lines, calling it ‘perplexing.’
Electing To ‘Opt Out’ Of Obamacare
Despite tax penalties, opponents of the nation’s health law are emboldened by President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to scrap it. Others wonder why they should bother signing up.