Kaiser Health News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently awarded 26 innovation grants to advance ideas that are designed to add efficiency and quality to the health system while generating savings. KHN takes a look at four of these projects.

The Department for Health and Human Services released guidelines detailing the requirements states must meet in their proposals if they want to gain federal approval to operate these insurance markets.

If the law is upheld, Republicans plan to take to the floor to "tear out" the law's most controversial provisions, Politico reports. Meanwhile, in related news, Reuters reports on the questionable fate of lesser known, but still controversial, aspects of the health law -- billions of dollars in new taxes.

The Associated Press reports on this trend.

News outlets report on the details of the ad campaign, which is being paid for by Crossroads GPS, and also provide fact checking regarding some of its assertions.

But The Associated Press reports that shareholders rejected the call for more disclosure about the insurers' contributions.

Medicaid and other health program cuts are on the minds of state lawmakers around the nation. In Maine, the governor signed Medicaid cuts into law Wednesday, and California and Kansas are weighing similar cuts as they struggle to balance their budgets.

Politico looks at how a court decision to make emergency contraception accessible to women younger than age 17 could put both President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney on the spot.

The House is considering a bill that would ban abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Elsewhere, Missouri lawmakers consider allowing businesses to opt-out of a mandate to cover contraception in their health plans, and another Catholic university -- this one in Florida -- considers dumping its health plan instead of complying with the mandate.

The Health and Human Services secretary was invited in January to address graduates of the Public Policy Institute at the Jesuit institution.

State lawmakers grapple with health care issues including establishing a new monitor for disabled care in New York, avoiding cuts for undocumented immigrant care in D.C. and a Massachusetts revamp of the state medical board.

At a Wednesday hearing, members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee considered various strategies to make the health system more efficient.

A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.

Even as congressional leaders met with President Barack Obama on budget matters, the Senate voted on -- and rejected -- a series of budget proposals. Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner draws a line in the sand regarding the next vote to raise the federal debt limit.

A selection of state health policy news from Massachusetts, California, Kansas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New York, Georgia and Alaska.

This week's selections include articles from The Associated Press, Forbes, The Atlantic and Huffington Post.

Take a look at KHN's lighter side, featuring today's cartoon and health policy haiku.

Until 1950, TB was the No. 1 cause of death in Alaska. That legacy means that a large number of Alaskans still carry the bacteria that can cause the disease.

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the deadline set by the federal government regarding the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges.

A reader asks Michelle Andrews how to get the negotiated rates insurers pay even when paying for a medical procedure directly.