Latest KFF Health News Stories
After Tuition, Books, and Room and Board, Colleges’ Rising Health Fees Hit a Nerve
Many colleges require students to have health insurance coverage, and the college option can be costly. In addition, some schools mandate that students pay a fee to cover health services on campus.
Shortage Of Insurance Fraud Cops Sparks Campaign Debate
About a quarter of fraud investigator positions at the state Department of Insurance are open, and Steve Poizner has made the vacancies a focus of his campaign for insurance commissioner. His opponent, Ricardo Lara, says chasing criminals isn’t the only solution to rising health care costs.
Top Trump Health Official Takes Swipes At ACA, Single-Payer In Enemy Territory
After a San Francisco speech focused mostly on Medicare, Seema Verma fielded questions that underscored the administration’s differences with California on other key health care issues.
California’s ACA Rates To Rise 8.7% Next Year
The average increase in California is smaller than the double-digit hikes expected around the nation, due largely to a healthier mix of enrollees and more competition in its marketplace. Still, health insurance prices keep growing faster than wages and general inflation.
Más recortes a los fondos para programas de navegadores de ACA
Los Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid anunciaron que están reduciendo el dinero para financiar el trabajo de los navegadores, que ayudan a las personas a inscribirse y comprar o cambiar de plan de salud
Outrageous Or Overblown? HHS Announces Another Round Of ACA Navigator Funding Cuts
Advocates of the sweeping health law view this move by the Trump administration as its most recent act of sabotage. But not everyone views it as a mortal blow.
Listen: A Sudden Freeze On ACA Payouts And What It Means For You
The Trump administration suspended a program over the weekend that helps stabilize the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act, prompting some insurance companies to warn of higher premiums. KHN’s Julie Rovner and Chad Terhune explain the uncertain health care landscape in the U.S.
Could California Shape The Fate Of The Affordable Care Act In November?
With the primary now over, health care may well emerge as an issue that helps voters distinguish between candidates for governor, attorney general and other offices in the general election.
Calif. Leads Nation In Pushing Back Against Trump Administration Health Policies
In the face of federal efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, policymakers in the largest state are proposing laws and other changes to counter them. Beyond that, they’re aggressively pushing measures to expand health coverage beyond what the ACA envisioned.
¡Cuidado! La multa por no tener seguro que impuso el Obamacare todavía está vigente
Si bien la administración Trump derogó la multa por no tener seguro de salud que impuso la Ley de Cuidado de Salud Asequible, esta norma entrará en vigencia en 2019.
Ding Dong! The Obamacare Tax Penalty Is(n’t) Dead
When President Donald Trump signed the nation’s new tax law, he also killed the Affordable Care Act’s tax penalty — but not until 2019. Despite widespread confusion, experts caution that consumers still need to pay the tax penalty if they were uninsured last year or will be this year.
CVS-Aetna Merger A Bid To Bring Down Costs, Gain Competitive Edge
What will the mega-merger mean for consumers and the health care industry? Senior correspondent Chad Terhune offers insight.
Putting Money Where Its Mouthpiece Is: Calif. Outspends U.S. To Market Obamacare
The state insurance exchange is committing nearly five times more money than the federal government on ads urging people to sign up for health insurance, reflecting conflicting attitudes toward the Affordable Care Act.
Aseguradoras apelan a la ternura con cachorros para vender planes del Obamacare
En un período abierto de inscripción lleno de desafíos, las compañías usan fuertes historia de vida y perritos, para vender planes de salud.
Insurer Tries A Soft Touch — Puppies! — For This Year’s Hard Sell Of Obamacare Plans
Open enrollment for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchanges started last week. Across the country, municipalities, insurers and grass-roots groups are working hard to help folks navigate the hoops.
California Slaps Surcharge On ACA Plans As Trump Remains Coy On Subsidies
Covered California authorized a 12.4 percent average surcharge on silver-tier plans, the second-least expensive option sold on the exchange. It brings the total average premium increase on those plans to nearly 25 percent next year.
Anthem’s Retreat Leaves Californians With Fewer Choices, More Worries
The nation’s second-largest insurer is shrinking its presence on Obamacare exchanges and in the broader individual market in response to prevailing uncertainty. California is just the latest — and the biggest — example.
Covered California Expects 12.5% Average Rate Rise In 2018
The figure could be higher if President Trump ends an important consumer subsidy, which he has threatened to do. The exchange also announced that Anthem Blue Cross will pull out of Covered California and the overall individual market in 16 of the 19 regions it currently serves.
Rural Californians Want Price Relief From GOP Health Bill, But Unlikely To Get It
In far northern Lassen and Modoc counties, residents say Obamacare premiums are unaffordable. But under the proposed Senate bill, insurance premiums would increase even more.
Blue Shield CEO Says GOP’s ‘Flawed’ Health Bill Would Harm Sicker Consumers
CEO Paul Markovich said he opposes the Republican plan because it would allow insurers to once again discriminate against people with preexisting conditions. “We are better than that,” he said.