Latest KFF Health News Stories
New Law Offers Hope For Homeless Health Care
Many homeless people are uninsured and ineligible for Medicaid. But that will change beginning in 2014, when Medicaid greatly expands under the new health law.
New Plans For Uninsured Off To Slow Start
The new “high-risk pools” – the federally-subsidized program for uninsured people with health problems – are one of the first benefits of the health overhaul law passed this year, but not many people have applied and been enrolled in the plans springing up around the country.
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.
Health and Class: A New Look at Poverty and Illness
A new study looks at why more education and income sometimes means fewer colds and headaches.
Text: The Obama Administration’s New ‘Patient’s Bill Of Rights’
The White House today released a “Fact Sheet: The Affordable Care Act’s New Patient’s Bill of Rights,” the Obama administration’s summary of new regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Ranks Of The Uninsured Keep Growing
The U.S. census’ estimates of how many people in the country don’t have health insurance won’t be done until late summer, but the CDC is out with a snapshot of its own. And the findings aren’t pretty.
Feds To States: Set Up Health Insurance Pools For High-Risk Patients By July 1
The federal government is giving states until June 25 to say how they intend to run high-risk pools to insure people who have been denied coverage due to a pre-existing medical condition and have been uninsured for at least six months.
Experts Outline Ways To Enroll Children, Adults In Medicaid
Experts say states can employ a variety of strategies to identify and enroll eligible children in the Medicaid and CHIP programs this year
States, Community Groups Press Efforts To Sign Up Uninsured Children For Coverage
Federally funded initiatives to enroll kids in Medicaid and CHIP hold lessons for enrolling adults once health overhaul goes into effect in 2014.
‘Door Knockers’ Help Uninsured Kids Get Coverage
The “Walkers/Talkers” program in New Orleans sends workers into the poorest neighborhoods to find uninsured children and then helps sign them up for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
States, Community Groups Efforts to Sign Up Uninsured Children
The Walkers/Talkers program in New Orleans sends workers into the poorest neighborhoods to help sign uninsured children up for government health insurance programs.
COBRA Subsidy Starts Running Out For Some As Congress Grapples With Extension
The proposal to extend COBRA subsidies to those laid off through the end of the year is languishing in Congress. So the unemployed may soon pay more to remain on COBRA, look for insurance on the individual market, go on Medicaid or lose coverage altogether. And that could further tax a health system already struggling to keep up with the number of uninsured.
Week In Review: Doctor Payment Fight; State Budgets And Medicaid; Medicare Brochure Protests
Challenges from conservative Democrats forced party leaders this week to cut some major spending programs, such as extending COBRA benefits for workers being laid off and providing extra money to state Medicaid programs.
New Health Law Throws Lifeline to ‘Uninsurables’
In a new KHN feature, Michelle Andrews writes about the coming changes to health care. The new law offers relief for people who can’t get insurance because they are sick or have been sick. States can set up their own pools, or let the federal government do it.
COBRA Health Insurance Subsidies Waiting For Senate Action
People recently laid off are waiting – once again – to hear if they will be eligible for subsidies to stay on their employer’s health insurance.
Tennessee Removes About 100,000 People From Medicaid Rolls
The TennCare cuts, which followed the resolution of a long-running court battle, affected mostly elderly or disabled residents, including approximately 37,000 who had relied on the state program for all their health care needs.
True or False: Seven Concerns About The New Health Law
The bill signed by President Obama is long and technical, so it’s no wonder that consumers are confused. KHN staff writers check out several key concerns.
Some Will Remain Uninsured After Reform
When President Obama signed health care overhaul into law Tuesday, did he fulfill a campaign promise to “bring health care to all?”
How Health Reform Could Affect The ‘Young Invincibles’
Under the health bills being debated in Congress, young adults would be required to buy insurance – but they could buy low-cost “catastrophic” plans, requiring high deductibles. That’s igniting a fierce debate whether young adults – sometimes known as the “young invincibles” – would benefit from such plans.
Community Health Centers Providing Return On Investment
The federal stimulus package that sent nearly $2 billion to community health centers appears to have paid off in economic returns.
