health reform

New Medicare Center Aims to Test Ideas to Save Money, Improve Care

Among its many provisions, the federal health care reform law allocates $10 billion over the next decade for Medicare and Medicaid to test new ways of paying doctors and hospitals, part of an effort to save money and improve patient…

Open Enrollment: What to Watch this Year

For the tens of millions of Americans covered by Medicare, it's time to to begin poring over handbooks and pamphlets and considering health insurance options. Medicare open enrollment begins Monday and lasts until December 31, giving seniors their yearly chance…

For Massachusetts Doctors, Two Sides to Reform

Massachusetts passed a comprehensive health care reform law in 2006 that proved to be a model for the national law passed this year. Tonight on the NewsHour, health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser looks at how reform is working out in…

In Massachusetts, A Health Care Reform Preview

Fall in Franklin County, Mass. (Flickr Creative Commons/banspy) A recent post-election poll confirmed the national split over health reform -- 49 percent of respondents wanted to see the law repealed or rolled back, while 40 percent wanted to…

Poll: In Election, Economic Concerns Trumped Views on Health Care Reform

One week after the midterm elections, pollsters and pundits are continuing to mull over the factors that caused voters to give the GOP a sweep of the House. Now, a new poll released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds…

What Does a GOP-Controlled House Mean for Health Care Reform?

A protest against the health reform law on March 17, 2010. Photo by AFP Many of the Republicans who swept to victory in the House Tuesday night campaigned on a promise to "repeal and replace" the health care reform…

Ad Buys Show Mainly Republicans, Not Democrats, are Running on Reform

With less than a week left to go before Election Day, a new round of ads is hitting TV screens targeting health care reform and the politicians who voted for it. The ads are the latest salvo in…

Regulators Approve Strict New Rules for Insurance Company Spending

State health insurance officials on Thursday approved rules that will guide how much money insurers must spend on patient care under the new health care reform law. The vote capped months of debate, and it provides an early glimpse…

As Medicare Moves Toward Pay-for-Performance, Study Highlights Need for Better Data

Much of the coverage of the health care reform law in its early stages has focused on efforts to expand health insurance coverage. But the law has another focus as well -- improving the quality and value of medical care.

Judge Allows Multistate Health Reform Lawsuit to Move Forward

In a blow to the Obama administration, a federal judge in Florida ruled Thursday that a lawsuit challenging some of the major tenets of health care reform can go forward. The suit was brought by 20 state attorneys general, led…