Kaiser Health News

Biography: The editorially independent news organization delivers important coverage of health care policy and politics for older Americans.

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Pressure Rising to Avoid Cuts in Health Programs

Posted on 02/20/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | PoliticsBy Mary Agnes Carey, Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News Pressure is mounting for Washington to find a way to avoid the automatic spending reductions set to begin March 1, with President Barack Obama Tuesday urging Congress to stop the “meat-cleaver approach” that he says will undermine U.S. military strength and “eviscerate job creating investments in education and energy and medical research.” But while both Democrats and Republicans say they don’t want the billions of dollars in cuts to kick in, there’s …

Feds to Run Insurance Marketplaces in Half the States

Posted on 02/18/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | PoliticsBy Phil Galewitz and Alvin Tran, Staff Writers, Kaiser Health News It’s official. The Obama administration will be running new health insurance marketplaces in half the states — including the major population centers of Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania. The federal government had hoped more states this week would agree to form a partnership exchange — the deadline to apply was Friday — but the offer was largely rebuffed. New Jersey, Ohio and Florida, several of the biggest states that had not …

Study: Older People to See Lower Rates Under Health Law

Posted on 02/7/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Julie Appleby, Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News How the federal health law will affect premiums is among the most asked – and most controversial – questions in the final months before new rules kick in requiring most Americans to carry coverage. A white paper out Wednesday considers how the law will affect premiums for people who buy their own coverage because they don’t get it through their jobs. The answer? It all depends, said the analysts at the Kaiser …

Aggressive Care Still the Norm for Dying Older Patients

Posted on 02/6/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Alvin Tran of Kaiser Health News Although federal data show that fewer Medicare beneficiaries are dying in hospitals, new research suggests that doesn’t mean they’re getting less aggressive care in their final days. Researchers at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University and others reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association Tuesday that even as deaths in acute hospitals declined between 2000 and 2009, the use of intensive care units in the final 30 days …

Do Medicare Advantage Plans Skim Off The Healthiest?

Posted on 02/4/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Jordan Rau, Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News New research finds that many seniors who switch from their HMO-style Medicare Advantage plan to traditional Medicare have higher levels of significant health problems, fueling concerns that the private plans cater to more profitable, healthy beneficiaries but don’t provide the most attractive care for the very ill. More than 13 million people, a quarter of all Medicare beneficiaries, are enrolled in these private plans. Enrollment has been growing, in part because the …

Consumers Face Long Waits When Medicare Is ‘Secondary Payer’

Posted on 01/29/2013 by Kaiser Health News | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthBy Michelle Andrews for Kaiser Health News Anyone who sues for personal injury probably knows that the process may take time. But for Medicare beneficiaries, too often it’s not only the legal system that grinds slowly. Lawyers and policy experts say bureaucratic inefficiency at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) can add months or even years to the process. During that period, a beneficiary often must wait until Medicare is reimbursed for its costs before he or …