Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Accountable Care Explained: An Experiment in State Health Policy

KFF Health News Original

ACOs are among the most ambitious of the new Medicaid cost containment and quality improvement schemes that have arisen in response to the federal health law and state fiscal pressures.

Video: Weighing The Impact Of Health Issues On Campaign 2012

KFF Health News Original

KHN hosts a discussion on the Obama and Romney plans with former Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle and conservative health care analyst Avik Roy, followed by a reporters’ roundtable with KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Sarah Varney, Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post and Politico’s Jonathan Allen.

Safety-Net Hospitals Brace For Cut To Federal Subsidies

KFF Health News Original

Because more people are supposed to be insured, the health law trims funding that is used to defray the expenses of treating a large number of uninsured and poor patients.

Critical Decisions Await Patient, Family Members When Medicare Deadline Looms

KFF Health News Original

Every day, at least 10,000 people turn 65 and most become eligible for Medicare. That can raise lots of questions: for those still working, should they enroll or keep their company’s health plan? If they retire, how does that affect spouses and children?

Insurers Get Ready For Exchanges, But Exchanges May Not Be Ready For Them

KFF Health News Original

Insurers are spending big dollars on marketing, technology and risk analysis of the new health care landscape. But with exchanges supposed to go live in late 2013, where and how companies will plunge – and how deep – is far from clear.

Denver Debate: Obama And Romney On ‘Obamacare’

KFF Health News Original

The bulk of Wednesday night’s presidential debate in Denver focused on the topic of health care. In this segment, President Barack Obama and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney discuss the 2010 health law.

Medicare Revises Hospitals’ Readmissions Penalties

KFF Health News Original

Federal officials made small errors in calculating how much hospitals will be docked for having too many patients return within 30 days. Many hospitals will lose a bit more money under revised calculations.

Branding Health Insurance Exchanges To Make The Sale

KFF Health News Original

Just the word “exchange” sounds to many like off-putting government-speak, so California, like many other states, is eager to come up with a more appealing name for these new marketplaces.

House Republicans Attack Obama Administration On Medicare Advantage

KFF Health News Original

In this edition of Health on the Hill, KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey interviews CQ Roll Call’s Emily Ethridge about today’s House Ways and Means health subcommittee hearing on the health law’s cuts to the private Medicare Advantage program.