KFF Health News Editors

Penalizing Hospitals For Being Unsafe: Why Adverse Events Are A Big Problem

KFF Health News Original

A Kaiser Health News article published Sunday about upcoming hospital penalties included an analysis of Medicare data by Dr. Ashish K. Jha, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. This week, Jha also wrote up his own take on the data. Originally posted on his Harvard blog, Dr. Jha’s copyrighted assessment is republished below, […]

‘Right-To-Try’ Laws On Experimental Drugs Stir Debate

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Julie Rovner participated in a Google Hangout with PBS NewsHour on state “right-to-try” laws, first approved in Colorado, which allow terminally ill patients to try potentially life-saving, but unapproved drugs to treat their conditions. Watch the discussion below:

Talking Medicare’s Hospital Fines For Too Many Patient Injuries

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Jordan Rau was on NPR and C-SPAN Monday to talk about coming Medicare penalties for about a quarter of the nation’s hospitals as detailed in his story More Than 750 Hospitals Face Medicare Crackdown On Patient Injuries. The penalties will ding hospitals up to 1 percent of their Medicare pay for having higher rates of […]

The Continuing Drama Over Medicaid Expansion

KFF Health News Original

With Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe throwing in the towel in his effort to push a Medicaid expansion through the state’s General Assembly, KHN’s Julie Rovner joined Judy Woodruff on PBS NewsHour to discuss where Medicaid expansion stands in states across the country. Watch that conversation in the video below.

How Are Insurers Responding To New Health Law Enrollees?

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Jay Hancock was on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Monday morning to talk about how insurers are responding to the health law. Hancock said the 8 million new customers have insurers pondering who they, how sick they are and how the new enrollees may affect insurance rates in 2015.

What Consumers Can Learn From Medicare Payment Data

KFF Health News Original

Wednesday the federal government published details on Medicare’s $77 billion in payments to physicians, drug testing companies and other medical practitioners during 2012. KHN’s Jordan Rau, who reported on what can be learned from the newly-released data, discussed Medicare payments to providers with NPR’s Melissa Block on “All Things Considered” Wednesday night. Audio of that conversation […]

Healthcare.gov Woes Frustrate In-Person Helpers Around The Country

KFF Health News Original

Last minute health insurance shoppers nationwide turned up in record numbers online Monday, and they also showed up in person at clinics, county health departments and libraries to sign up for Obamacare on the last official day of open enrollment. Here are dispatches from public radio reporters in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Houston — three of […]

An Obamacare Report Card

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Jenny Gold was on Boston’s WBUR’s On Point Thursday to talk about the latest developments with the health law — how many people have signed up and what they’re encountering in the process. Listen to audio of the conversation below or download it here.

State Snapshots Of Obamacare Enrollment Numbers

KFF Health News Original

Enrollment in the health law’s marketplaces surged in December, and the administration’s report on the numbers made headlines on Monday — but the national story isn’t the whole story. Health care is delivered in 50 different state markets, and each state is implementing the health law with varying degrees of success and failure, enthusiasm and […]

New Year Brings Many Key Provisions Of Health Law

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Julie Appleby appeared on PBS NewsHour Thursday to discuss the status of the health law rollout as of Jan. 1, a date that marks the start of many of the Affordable Care Act’s most important provisions. Watch video of the segment below:

Explaining Why Obama Let More Consumers Buy Catastrophic Plans

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey was on PBS NewsHour Friday to talk about the Obama administration’s plan to allow people who had their health insurance plans canceled to buy so-called “catastrophic” plans, which that are cheaper than ordinary plans but provide less coverage than others being sold under the Affordable Care Act. See video of the […]

How Is Healthcare.gov Performing Now?

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey was on NPR’s “Tell Me More” Monday morning to give an update on how the federal government’s troubled website for buying health insurance is performing. Officials said the site would be working for most people by Dec. 1 after a problem-plagued rollout in October kept many people from enrolling in coverage. […]