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Activists want to rewrite laws to recognize someone as a person from the moment a sperm fertilizes an egg. But a redefinition could threaten the use of a long list of commonly used contraceptives.
A prestigious Institute of Medicine panel says Medicare’s methods of evaluating regional costs are disturbingly imprecise and need to be overhauled.
With enrollment falling far short of expectations, the Obama administration announces changes to make federally run high risk insurance plans both more affordable and more accessible.
In today’s Health on the Hill segment, Christine Vestal of Stateline joins KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Jackie Judd to assess the progress
In today’s Health on the Hill segment, Christine Vestal of Stateline joins KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Jackie Judd to assess the progress
Originally conceived as a way to provide care in rural areas without hospitals, these freestanding ERs are cropping up in more developed areas.
Under laws in more than two dozen states and new Medicare rules that went into effect earlier this year, hospitals are required to report infections, risking their reputations as sterile sanctuaries, or pay a penalty. That’s left hospital administrators weighing the cost of ‘fessing up against the cost of fines.
Even as some Republicans distance themselves from the House-passed budget that would fundamentally change the Medicare program, the conservative seniors group 60 Plus’ celebrity spokesman Pat Boone is boosting the plan.
KHN’s “Insuring Your Health” columnist Michelle Andrews talks with Jackie Judd about the provisions in the health law that provide for free preventive tests. While the law doesn’t apply to all insurance plans, it should cut costs for many people.
Former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday that a controversial GOP plan to dramatically overhaul Medicare clearly was a factor in the Democrats’ victory Tuesday in a House special election in a heavily Republican Western New York district.
Changing Medicare is looking politically risky, so budget-cutters may focus on Medicaid instead. That, too, could prove unpopular because a recent poll shows the public does not favor large cuts to the program.
The author is responding to a column originally published on KHN on May 9, 2011.
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein says his state, which is well ahead of many in implementing the overhaul, is eager to leverage federal help to improve health options.
Among the GOP’s bushel of would-be presidents, Romney’s dramatic health reforms command all the press – but rival Tim Pawlenty may have overseen the more radical changes, at least on paper.
An issue for voters — both in this week’s New York special election and in the run up to 2012 — has to do with the differences in the two parties’ visions for Medicare’s future. After all, Medicare cuts come in all different shapes and sizes.
Sixty Plus, a 19-year-old organization, has become increasingly active in pushing Republican candidates and causes, will be effective in next year’s elections. It tried to have an impact on this week’s congressional race in New York.
A group of doctors who want to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of primary care tinkered with some Top 5 lists for of dos and don’ts for pediatricians, family doctors and internists. They found that less is often more.
Kaiser Family Foundation survey finds about 60 percent of Americans want Congress to keep Medicaid in its current form.
Mark Parkinson, head of the largest nursing home lobby, says some nursing homes will be hurt by the law’s requirement to offer workers insurance but they still favor the overhaul to bring health care costs under control.
