The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
In discount health plans, consumers pay a fee for access to a network that offers reduced charges for doctor visits and other care, but the patient is responsible for paying all costs up front. State officials and consumer groups say some of the plans are not legitimate.
The federal government says current law will likely keep it from following the lead of some private insurance companies that will begin offering coverage this year to young adults.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the tax credit offered to small business owners to cover their employees could be a burden; others say it will help them afford insurance for their workers.
Gaps in insurance policies make oral drugs too pricey for some cancer patients.
President Barack Obama’s fiscal commission meets today for the first time. Here’s a guide to help you follow the proceedings.
Cancer patient Jere Carpentier would prefer taking a pill to having intravenous chemotherapy in a doctor’s office. But she
The new health law mandates that states adhere to several changes, including setting up high-risk health insurance pools by June. Jackie Judd and Noam Levey discuss where efforts now stand.
The new health law mandates that states adhere to several changes, including setting up high-risk health insurance pools by June.
Among the many goals of the new health law is one that hasn’t received much attention: to improve women’s experiences in the health insurance world.
There is a hidden cost how we fund health insurance in the U.S.: insurers have more information about health care than the taxpayers that help fund it. The system’s opacity gives insurers the upper hand in debates over government payment rates.
Doctors who accept speaking fees, five-star meals and other compensation from pharmaceutical or medical device companies will soon see their names — and the value of the gifts they accept — revealed on the Web.
President Obama’s fiscal commission faces a daunting task in reducing the deficit.
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services confirms that some discounts states received from drugmakers will now be shifted to the federal government.
The first Kaiser Health Tracking Poll released since health overhaul became law shows that most people are confused — not angry.
CLASS takes a step towards moving long-term care financing from the welfare-like Medicaid program to an insurance-based system. But CLASS alone won’t get there. Private insurance, currently a niche product that covers only about seven million Americans, will have to play an important role as well.
Many African-Americans hope the health care overhaul will cut the high rates of chronic disease in their communities. But not everyone is convinced the bill will ease the health disparities they face.
Former physical education teacher Andrew Jones, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, spent five years in nursing homes in Georgia and Connecticut. The 56-year-old was able to move out of the nursing home system in 2009 with the help of a federally-funded state program, known as “Money Follows the Person.”
A program, known as “Money Follows the Person,” aims to help elderly and disabled people in nursing homes live on their own and save tens of millions of dollars for Medicaid. But many states are having trouble finding affordable housing, and fewer than 6,000 people have moved. The goal is 37,000 by 2013.
An analysis of lung cancer screening finds that 21 to 33 percent of the suspicious nodules found by CT scans are false alarms, resulting in extra scans and biopsies, which cost an average of an extra $1,100.
The new health care law could shift billions of dollars from cash-strapped states to the federal government by changing the way Medicaid prescription drug rebates are treated.
