Latest KFF Health News Stories
Colorado Exchange Watchdog Likes What It Sees
Colorado lawmakers overseeing the set-up of the state’s health insurance exchange are generally pleased with how it’s going, but they are worried some residents will still be “left out in the cold,” without insurance even if the exchange works well. Colorado is one of 16 states and the District of Columbia that chose to set up […]
Minnesota Says Its Marketpace Rates Are Nation’s Lowest So Far
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota consumers will be able to buy a health plan for as little as $90.59 per month on MNsure, the new state health insurance marketplace, state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said Friday. Rothman said Minnesota has the lowest average rates for individuals and families compared to the other states that have revealed […]
Washington State Call Center Logs 900 Calls On 1st Day
This story was produced in partnership with The phones are already busy at the Washington State Exchange call center where customer service representatives are fielding hundreds of questions about the state’s new health insurance exchange, slated to open for enrollment Oct. 1. The call center, located in Spokane, opened on Tuesday and took 900 calls that day. […]
Physician Recruitment Trends: Demand Continues For Primary Care Docs
Doctors are reacting to changes in the health care system — and their job placements are proof. Merritt Hawkins, a national health care consulting and recruitment firm, shed some light on the situation through the company’s annual look at physician recruitment trends. The 2013 review was based on a survey of 3,097 permanent doctor and […]
Bill Clinton Calls For Obamacare Opponents And Supporters To Work Together
This story comes from our partner Stateline, the daily news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Former President Bill Clinton Wednesday championed the new Affordable Care Act, but urged Congress and the states to fix its worst problems. Speaking to an invitation-only audience at his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., Clinton touted the law’s […]
Washington State Panel OKs 7 Insurers For Exchange
This story was produced in partnership with In the end, it was a calm affair. The Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board met in a special session Wednesday afternoon to vote on the certification of health plans for the state’s new online health insurance marketplace in 2014. In less than an hour, the board voted unanimously […]
Baltimore Ravens To Host Ads for Maryland Health Exchange
Updated 8:15 pm Tuesday. The National Football League backed away from promoting Obamacare insurance marketplaces this summer after a sharp warning from Republicans. But the Baltimore Ravens seem to have stepped — or at least edged — into the gap. By including health insurance ads on their Gameday TV show and other content, the Super […]
Nearly Half Of U.S. Births Are Covered By Medicaid, Study Finds
About half the births in the United States are paid for by Medicaid — a figure higher than previous estimates — and the numbers could increase as the state-federal health insurance program expands under the Affordable Care Act, according to a study released Tuesday. All pregnant women with incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, just […]
Washington Ranks 2nd In Nation In Uninsured Growth
This story was produced in partnership with With about 16 percent of its residents uninsured, Washington state falls solidly in middie of the pack, with Texas having the highest percentage of residents without health insurance: more than 25 percent. Massachusetts, where a state health-insurance mandate has been in place for years, has the smallest percentage […]
Covered California Launches $80 Million Ad Campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP77OktlKGk Officials at Covered California — the Golden State’s health insurance marketplace — are placing a big bet on advertising to lure people to get health insurance. With a campaign boosted by $80 million from the federal government, they’ll tell people about the Affordable Care Act and encourage uninsured citizens to buy health insurance. Officials see the 15-month-long campaign — using […]
IRS Ruling On Same-Sex Couples Has Implications For Health Law
Thursday’s announcement that the federal government will give the same tax treatment to legally married same-sex couples as they do to heterosexual couples may have ripple effects for the 2010 health care law. The decision from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service means that the income of legally married same-sex couples will be […]
Survey: Americans Have Low Health Insurance Literacy
Premium, deductible, copay, all basic health insurance terms many Americans don’t understand, according to a recent poll. More than half could not correctly define at least one of these common financial terms related to health insurance, according to poll results released by the American Institute of CPAs. Ernie Almonte, chair of the AICPA’s National CPA […]
HHS Will Allow ‘Unbanked’ People To Use Prepaid Debit Cards On Exchanges
At the urging of advocates for low-income consumers, the Obama administration said Wednesday that it is moving ahead with a rule requiring health plans accommodate households that do not have traditional bank accounts. One in four of the uninsured eligible for federal insurance subsidies does not have a bank account, according to a report released […]
AMA President Optimistic About A Fix For Medicare’s Doctor Payment Formula
Debated and despised, the Medicare physician payment formula may finally be on the way out — at least that’s what AMA President Ardis Hoven believes. Known as the “sustainable growth rate” or SGR, the formula routinely threatens double-digit payment reduction to doctors until Congress steps in at the last minute to stop the cuts. Currently a […]
ACOs’ Coordinated Care Savings May Be Contagious
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) may actually be the unicorns we’ve been waiting for, spreading their cost-saving magic throughout the health system. An early cost-sharing program in Massachusetts designed to cut costs for private Blue Cross Blue Shield patients also lowered costs for Medicare patients who were seen by the same providers, according to a study published […]
Americans Hear More About Health Law, But Not From Most-Trusted Sources
The public’s awareness of new marketplaces is growing, but potential customers are getting much of their information about the health law from sources they don’t trust very much, according to a poll released Wednesday. Starting Oct. 1, people lacking insurance can begin enrolling in plans through online marketplaces, also called exchanges, which will be run by the […]
Administration Releases New Rules To Implement Health Law’s Individual Mandate
As congressional Republicans push for a delay in the 2010 health law’s individual mandate, the Obama administration Tuesday announced final regulations implementing the requirement that most Americans have health insurance coverage by Jan. 1 or pay a fine. The document from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service is in addition to regulations the Department of […]
CDC Study: Schools Are Getting Healthier
Nowadays, the hub for developing healthy habits isn’t just the gym or home. For kids, at least, it’s increasingly their schools, according to a study released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School districts across the country are demonstrating a range of improvements in terms of nutrition, exercise and tobacco policies. For instance, after […]
Many Breast-Feeding Moms Unaware Of Health Law Help
This story was produced in partnership with New moms crave information, whether it’s car-seat safety ratings, the pros and cons of pacifiers or how best to sooth a colicky infant. So it’s a little surprising that many moms aren’t up to speed on how the Affordable Care Act could benefit them. The law has specific […]
Colorado’s Insurance Commissioner Braces For Bumps In The Road
Colorado, which is preparing for the Oct. 1 launch of its new online insurance marketplace, expects bumps in the road as residents start enrolling in new health coverage options created by the Affordable Care Act. “We’re going to have 500,000 new customers,” said Marguerite Salazar, the state’s new insurance commissioner, during an Aug. 19 interview […]
