Health Care Costs
‘Social Impact Bonds’ Tap Private Money for Public Health
AP South Carolina hopes to use a Social Impact Bond to attack its high rate of premature births. But some question whether such “pay-for-success” contracts are useful or cost-effective. (AP) South Carolina is turning to an unusual source to finance a new program intended to reduce the state’s high rate of premature births: private investors. […]
A Quarter of Latinos Are Uninsured
© Rollie Hudson As patient access manager at La Clinica del Pueblo in Washington, D.C., William Joachin helps Latino immigrants access health care. One in four Latinos living in the U.S. does not have health insurance. In the “sala de espera,” or waiting room, at La Clinica del Pueblo, a community health center in Washington, […]
Medicaid ADHD Treatment Under Scrutiny
© AP Amid national concerns that too many children are being medicated for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), some state Medicaid programs are stepping up oversight of diagnoses and treatments. ATLANTA – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, affects one in every seven school-aged children in the U.S., and between 2003 and 2011 the number […]
A New Look at Why Surgical Rates Vary
© AP Using a robotic arm and computer screen display, Dr. Thomas Pevny, left, performs a partial knee replacement on a patient at Aspen Valley Hospital in Aspen, Colo. in 2012. Knee replacement surgery is one of the procedures that the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice says varies widely in the rate […]
Next Steps for States and ACA
Models hand out stickers and juice at a mall in Denver, encouraging people to get health coverage under the ACA. States that ran their own exchanges already are making plans for next year’s enrollment, which starts Nov.15 and runs until February 15, 2015. (AP) DENVER – Like other states that opted to run their own […]
Tough Road for States Seeking Customized Medicaid Expansion
Explore the Stateline infographic. Of the 25 states that already have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, all but Arkansas, Iowa and Michigan simply added newly eligible adults to their existing Medicaid programs. That was the easiest approach. In contrast, the states that haven’t yet expanded Medicaid but are considering doing so want to […]
Governors, Lawmakers Return to Capitols With an Eye on November
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, left, a Republican who is running for re-election, meets with supporters during a November campaign stop in Philadelphia. Corbett is a member of an ambitious and partisan class of governors first elected in 2010 who now face re-election. (AP) Governors and legislators will wrestle this spring with how to spend newfound […]
Grants Help States Combat High-Cost, Low-Quality Health Care
A nurse practitioner examines a child at the Mid-County Health Center in Portland, Ore. Oregon is one of six states that is using grants under the ACA to experiment with new ways to pay for health care. (AP) The primary aim of the Affordable Care Act is to reduce the number of uninsured Americans. Even […]
Projected Obamacare Premiums Vary Widely Among States
Uninsured patients fill out paperwork at Wesley Health Center in Phoenix. HHS released its projections about the cost of insurance on the new health exchanges that launch Oct. 1. (AP) The cost of health insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchanges shows monthly premiums varying widely from state to state, depending on the kind of […]
The ACA’s ‘Family Glitch’ Could Hurt Families Who Need CHIP
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett stops to talk to Jonathan Ortiz while touring Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital in Hershey, Pa. Corbett added enough money to the state’s CHIP budget this year to cover 9,300 more children. (AP) The Affordable Care Act is primarily aimed at insuring more adults, including parents. In the process, a substantial […]
Nurse Practitioners Slowly Gain Autonomy
In Portland, Oregon, nurse practitioner Kirsten Roberts exams a newborn. Oregon is one of the 17 states that allow nurse practitioners to work without a doctor’s supervision, and more states are considering it. (AP) When the federal health law takes effect in January, some 30 million more Americans are expected to have health insurance, many […]
Current Medicaid Patients Miss Out on Better Preventive Care
The new federal health care law won’t offer better preventive care to those who already qualify for Medicaid. Earlier this year, a woman rallies for better health care in Texas. (AP) A hallmark of President Obama’s health law is that it requires insurers to cover early detection and disease prevention services at no cost to […]