Health PAC Giving: A Report Card On The Tightest Races
KHN analyzed 20 health-sector political action committees’ direct contributions to individual candidates in the 94 most competitive congressional races to determine the PACs’ win-loss records.
All Coverage
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Retirees Can Find Insuring Young Adult Children Difficult
Medicare doesn’t cover dependents, and many private retiree health plans are not affected by the new health law so they can kick young adults out after school ends.
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Researchers Say Common Test For Prostate Cancer May Not Work
More bad news on the prostate cancer front: A widely used test that’s supposed to help doctors and patients predict the outcome of most prostate cancers is basically worthless.
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Health On The Hill Transcript: Medical Loss Ratio, Doc Fix
HHS released regulations on the medical loss ratio, a provision in the health law that requires insurers spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars of health care. Meanwhile, before the Senate adjourned for Thanksgiving it passed a one-month ‘patch’ to prevent physicians who see Medicare patients from having their payments reduced.
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Health On The Hill – November 22, 2010
The Department of Health and Human Services released regulations Monday dealing with the medical loss ratio, a provision in the health law that requires insurers spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars of health care. Meanwhile, before the Senate adjourned for Thanksgiving the chamber passed a one-month patch to prevent physicians who see Medicare patients from having their payments reduced. The House is expected to approve the measure on Nov. 29 when it returns from the Thanksgiving break.
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New Law’s Health Insurance Regulations Could Mean Rebates For Consumers
Millions of Americans might be eligible for rebates starting in 2012 under regulations released Monday detailing the health care law’s requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on direct medical care.
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Big Hospitals Dictate Premiums Using Their Clout
Hospitals are using their size and pricing clout to define premiums for people around America, like in the Sutter Health system in California, where hospital prices are among the highest in the nation.
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Opinion Column
The Roadmap Lives
Rep. Paul Ryan, R- Wis., took the courageous step of going first with a bold plan — his Roadmap — to fundamentally restructure the tax and entitlement policies that threaten to push the federal budget past the breaking point. Now others, even some from the other side of the aisle, are joining him in sponsoring similar plans.
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‘Don’t Litigate, Innovate.’ How To Implement A Fully Funded Alternative To The New Health Care Overhaul — And It’s Already In The Law
What if a Republican governor and a Republican legislature had the ability to implement their version of health insurance reform and the federal government would have to pay for it? It’s a great idea. And I’m thrilled to say that a bi-partisan bill has already been introduced in the Senate by Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Scott Brown, R-Mass., that would help facilitate exactly this end.
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As Hospital System Expands, Patient Advocates Worry
Sutter Health, the most expensive health system in California, is expanding at a rapid pace and transforming itself into an “accountable care organization.” Some worry about the nonprofit hospital’s growing leverage.
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Health Industry Cool To Complete Repeal Of Reform Law
Republicans in Congress say their priority for next year is to build momentum for an eventual repeal of the new health law. But they could be in for a surprise: While repeal may be popular with Republican voters, the GOP could face pushback from some allies in the health care industry.
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Insurers’ Payments To Hospitals Vary Significantly By Region
A study of four major insurers’ payments to hospitals finds great differences among different parts of the country. San Francisco is the most expensive city among the eight areas in the study.
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Opinion Column
The Texas Medicaid Scenario — Why It’s Never Going To Happen
Withdrawing from Medicaid would be political suicide. Despite post-election bluster, no governor or legislature will seriously attempt such a maneuver because of the related administrative, economic and organizational difficulties.
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Opinion Column
The Medicare Doc Fix: Physicians Again Are Staring Into The Abyss
At the end of November, the most recent “doc fix” will expires. Without congressional action, physicians who see Medicare patients will face an across-the-board 23% reduction in their fees. If nothing happens by January, physicians would face an additional 7 percent reduction.
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Compared To Other Countries, U.S. Patients Have More Access To Specialists, Less To Primary Care
A new study finds that U.S. consumers report greater access to specialty health care but also have a tougher time seeing a doctor on the day they need help than consumers in many of other Western countries.
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Can Florida Really Alter Medicaid?
Florida Republican leaders said Tuesday they want to overhaul the Medicaid program and don’t want the federal government tying their hands. But their message may fall on deaf ears in Washington.
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Vulnerable Democrat Looks For Alternatives To Health Insurance Mandate
Facing what could be a tough reelection fight in 2012, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., is looking for politically safer alternatives to the individual insurance mandate that takes effect in 2014.
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Berwick Pushes Quality Of Health Care, Defends Reform Law
In his first appearance before a congressional committee since becoming administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Donald Berwick told the Senate Finance Committee that the health law would help make the delivery of medical care more efficient and reduce its cost. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey talks about the hearing.
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Opinion Column
Letter: Nursing Home Trade Association CEO Responds To Medicaid Opt Out Proposal
The 11/12 New York Times news article produced in partnership with Kaiser Health News, “Battle Lines Drawn Over Medicaid in Texas” reflects the post-election reality faced by vulnerable populations and the providers who care for them, on a variety of significant levels.
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New Deficit Report Recommends Seniors Pay More For Medicare
A blue-ribbon bipartisan panel of experts, chaired by former budget director Alice Rivlin and former Sen. Pete Domenici, recommends major changes to the way the government pays for health care.
