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June 18, 2013 KHNYou're in luck, if you live in the District of Columbia or one of the 21 states that have put in place specialists to handle questions and complaints private health insurance. Otherwise the maze could prove daunting.

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June 17, 2013 The next move in the health care law is all about coverage for people who don't have health insurance. President Obama has been trying to clear up some of the confusion over who gets coverage, and when. But many questions remain to be answered.

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June 11, 2013 Big Data raises concerns about more than just privacy. The debate opening up before us is an essential one for a culture dominated by science and technology. Who determines if a technology is adopted? Who determines when and how it will be deployed? Who owns our data? What are our rights in this new world?

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June 11, 2013 KHNThe Affordable Care Act sets annual limits on the amount that people will owe out of pocket for prescription drugs starting in 2014. But sick people in some plans won't get relief until the following year because the federal government is giving certain health plans extra time to comply.

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June 10, 2013 Nearly 1 in 4 tell pollsters they're having a hard time paying for needed prescription medicine; 1 in 3 say they struggled to pay bills from hospitals or doctors last year.

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May 28, 2013 KHNInherited mutations of some genes can contribute to breast cancer risk. There are tests for a range of these uncommon mutations, but whether an insurer will pay for them varies, too.

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May 27, 2013 KHNBariatric surgery has a good track record in combating the health risks of obesity. But new health exchanges in Mississippi and other Southern states won't pay for it, even though those states have some of the nation's highest rates of obesity.

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May 24, 2013 KHNIt's the first disclosure of prices in the nation's most populous state for individual health insurance that complies with the Affordable Care Act. The menu of affordable options surprised some consumer advocates and analysts who had been expecting premiums to be much higher.

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May 21, 2013 KHNRewards to policyholders for claims that don't meet the annual deductible can be a boon for healthy people. But the approach might not pass the smell test in 2014 when the federal health law bans discriminating against people based on their health status.

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May 21, 2013 KHNMost health plans accept a credit card for the first month's premium and then require customers to pay monthly with a check or an electronic transfer from a bank account. For people without a banking relationship, these transactions can be tricky.

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May 17, 2013 Even cancer patients with health insurance can face steep copayments for drugs, a sizable share of hospital bills and significant incidental expenses. So wouldn't it make sense for doctors and patients to talk about financial issues up front?

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April 30, 2013 SCPRThe federal health law allows states to charge smokers up to 50 percent more for a health plan sold through the new exchanges. But a bill moving forward in the California Legislature would prevent that from happening.

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April 22, 2013 KHNLaw enforcement agencies are reporting an increase in health insurance scams across the country. Many of the scammers seem to be preying on the public's confusion over the massive changes taking place in the nation's health care system.

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