Latest Kaiser Health News Stories
Mom’s Policy, Medicaid Or A Health Exchange Plan: What’s A Grad To Do?
The federal health law has opened up new options for young adults but it can sometimes be confusing. A quick guide to the choices.
Pre-Obamacare, Preexisting Conditions Long Vexed States And Insurers
Before the federal health law guarantee that consumers cannot be turned down because of their medical history, it was difficult to balance insurers’ needs to make a profit and individuals’ needs for coverage.
GOP Overhaul Would Keep Obamacare’s ‘Cadillac Tax,’ But Delay It Until 2025
Although Republicans flirted with the idea of changing the tax code so that the value of employer-sponsored health insurance is added to workers’ tax liability, House leaders decided to instead keep the ACA’s tax on insurers and employers that provide generous coverage.
Health Insurance: What If You Could Take It With You?
“Portability” will likely be a buzz word in the health law repeal-and-replace debate, but the concept raises a number of complicated policy issues.
Treatment Gaps Persist Between Low- And High-Income Workers, Even With Insurance
People earning low wages are more likely than those with higher incomes to go to an emergency room or be admitted to the hospital for avoidable conditions, a study in Health Affairs finds.
Despite Prevention Guidelines, Few Smokers Seek CT Scans To Check For Lung Cancer
Lung cancer screening rates have not changed much even though the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that smokers get checked, according to a new study.
Federal Judge Denies Request To Delay EEOC Rules On Wellness Programs
AARP had sought a preliminary injunction because it argued the new regulations – which allow employers to tie participation to 30 percent of the cost of individual health coverage – could be coercive.
What Would A Public Insurance Option Look Like?
UCLA health policy expert Gerald Kominski says a “public option” health plan would look a lot like private insurance, and politics will determine whether it would happen on a state or national level.
Taxpayers Foot 70 Percent Of California’s Health Care Tab, Study Finds
The public spending on health care outpaces the nation.
Frustrated You Can’t Find A Therapist? They’re Frustrated, Too
Low payments and high hassles make many therapists shun insurance companies.
Montana Medicaid Expansion By-The-Numbers
Enrollment is nearly double where the state expected to be at the seven-month mark.
Seven Remaining Obamacare Co-Ops Prepare Survival Strategies
Two-thirds of the federally funded co-ops created by the health law to sell health insurance to individuals and small employers have folded and those that remain are diversifying to stay alive.
Obama Renews Call For A Public Option In Health Law
The president made the proposal as part of a comprehensive look at the Affordable Care Act’s legacy in an article under his byline in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Inaccurate Provider Lists A Major Barrier To Care, Study Finds
Research published in Health Affairs shows that new patients were able to get an appointment with a primary care doctor less than 30 percent of the time.
States Offer Privacy Protections To Young Adults On Their Parents’ Health Plan
Now that young people up to the age of 26 can stay on their family plan, it can be difficult for them to keep their medical information confidential.
UnitedHealth To Exit California’s Obamacare Market
Though United’s presence was small, its departure from the nation’s largest state underscores insurers’ ongoing dissatisfaction with Obamacare exchanges.
Sounds Like A Good Idea? Selling Insurance Across State Lines
Republicans have long touted a proposal to allow insurers to sell across state lines as a way to help keep coverage costs down. But there are some significant obstacles to making such a system work, as this video points out.
Zoom, a medical group and insurer, is targeting millennials in Oregon and Washington with quick, accessible care as well as fitness, yoga and cooking classes.
A May Health Affairs study examines how Medicare’s eligibility age affects spending and prices, as well as the volume of services used by patients.
High Court Ruling May Hinder Plans’ Efforts To Recoup Consumers’ Legal Awards
When consumers who have been injured sue and win an award, insurance plans routinely demand that they be reimbursed for medical costs that they covered. The Supreme Court this term threw a small chink into that strategy.
