The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
When Democrats passed their health overhaul bill back in March, they hailed it as the biggest domestic achievement since Medicare. But seven months later, most of the noise about the new law on the campaign trail is coming from opponents
Come with me to the land of happy health reform. It is a place where Republicans and Democrats find common ground, a place where physicians, hospitals and health insurers sit together as partners, a place where criticism is respectful, not rancorous. It is the world of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).
Health insurers can’t have different rules for when individual policies for children with medical problems than for healthy kids are sold, the Department of Health and Human Services said today.
After years of steady progress, the percentage of 2 year olds in private health plans being immunized dropped last year, while it went up for Medicaid patients.
Planned Parenthood and other groups are launching a campaign to include prescription contraception as part of the preventive services required in the new health law.
The Obama administration has issued McDonald’s (among others) a waiver on some regulations in the health law. But that hasn’t stopped the McDonald’s story from becoming propaganda in the campaign to discredit and, eventually, repeal health care reform.
One in six doctors works for a hospital, and the number is quickly growing. Both sides benefit: hospitals get a steady stream of patients and doctors say they can practice medicine without worrying about the hassles of running a private practice.
People who live in long-term care are much more likely to be sent to the hospital, sometimes unnecessarily, which can harm patients and drive up Medicare costs.
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services’ baseline budget request eliminates financing for some disabled people who are waiting to receive services in private homes, group homes or other community settings.
Workers are likely to see increases in premiums, deductibles and co-payments, as well as changes in dependent coverage and wellness options.
The Department of Health and Human Services has granted approximately 30 waivers to employers, insurers and unions that will allow them to offer limited benefit, or “mini-med,” health insurance plans.
The Department of Health and Human Services has granted approximately 30 waivers to employers, insurers and unions that will allow them to offer limited benefit, or “mini-med,” health insurance plans.
It is no doubt useful politically for the administration to set up the private health insurance industry as its foil in this struggle. Many Americans have low regard for insurance companies. But this is largely a diversionary tactic on the part of [HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius].
From medical device makers to pharmacists to labor unions, a host of organizations want to ensure that accountable care organizations expand their business and influence.
Mark Rukavina of The Access Project and Neil Trautwein of the National Retail Federation discuss the Obama administration’s relaxation of the health law’s requirements for insurance plans for some employers.
Republicans think they have a winning issue in health care reform, calling for its repeal and slamming the new law as big government gone haywire-even before most of its provisions have taken effect. A new poll suggests it’s not so clear-cut, and some Democrats seem to agree.
A number of interest groups, state officials and ordinary citizens are seeking to have the health care law struck down in federal court, and action is heating up this week.
It will take years to make the law’s most important changes. But by the time they are in place, if all goes well, most Americans truly will be better off. The early stages are encouraging.
The agencies that oversee doctors and hospitals promised they will give unified guidance on how medical providers can form “accountable care organizations” without violating antitrust regulations. ACOs are a key part of the new health law.
When it comes to Medicare, where it is everybody’s money and overpriced technologies are a significant factor undermining the senior citizen health care program’s long-term financial viability, paying for products that don’t deliver better is out.
