Latest KFF Health News Stories
Are 5 Million Nondisabled Medicaid Recipients Watching TV All Day? That’s Unsupported
CNN pundit Scott Jennings said almost 5 million nondisabled Medicaid recipients “simply choose not to work” and “spend six hours a day socializing and watching television.” But a recent analysis found only about 300,000 cited a lack of interest in working as the reason they were unemployed.
Georgia Shows Rough Road Ahead for States as Medicaid Work Requirements Loom
President Donald Trump signed legislation that requires many Medicaid recipients to prove they’re working to qualify for health care coverage, allocating $200 million for states that expanded Medicaid to prepare systems to verify people’s eligibility. Georgia’s program, which has been expensive and difficult to administer, has had limited enrollment.
$50B Rural Health ‘Slush Fund’ Faces Questions, Skepticism
Lawmakers added a $50 billion program for rural health to President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package with promises it would help plug the hole left by Medicaid cuts. Rural hospital and clinic leaders worry the infusion won’t reach the right places.
Surprise Medical Bills Were Supposed To Be a Thing of the Past. Surprise — They’re Not.
The No Surprises Act, which was signed in 2020 and took effect in 2022, was heralded as a landmark piece of legislation that would protect people who had health insurance from receiving surprise medical bills. And yet bills that take patients by surprise keep coming.
Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed
For-profit hospitals provide most inpatient physical therapy but tend to have worse readmission rates to general hospitals. Medicare doesn’t tell consumers about troubling inspections.
To Keep Medicaid, Mom Caring for Disabled Adult Son Faces Prospect of Proving She Works
A proposed work requirement would make Medicaid expansion enrollees prove they’re working or meet other criteria. Most already work, but millions are expected to lose coverage if the provision passes, many from red tape. A Missouri mother who cares for her disabled son would probably be subject to the rule.
5 Takeaways From Health Insurers’ New Pledge To Improve Prior Authorization
Dozens of health insurance companies pledged on Monday to improve prior authorization, a process often used to deny care. The announcement comes months after the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, whose death in December sparked widespread criticism about insurance denials.
Federal Proposals Threaten Provider Taxes, Key Source of Medicaid Funding for States
Republican proposals to tighten the use of special taxes to fund Medicaid programs could deprive states of billions of dollars for safety net health care. In California, any such limit would come on top of Medicaid cuts proposed by California Democrats in response to a $12 billion state deficit.
What Are ‘Improper’ Medicaid Payments, and Are They as High as a Trump Official Said?
The vast majority of improper payments stem from documentation mistakes and do not fit the definition of waste, fraud, or abuse. They also typically stem from health care providers’ actions, not beneficiaries’ abuse.
Government Watchdog Expects Medicaid Work Requirement Analysis by Fall
This fall, the U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to release a report on how much it costs to run Georgia Pathways to Coverage — the country’s only active Medicaid work requirement program — as other states and Congress consider similar programs.
Preparan análisis sobre el requisito de trabajo para Medicaid
La idea de un mandato nacional que requiera que los beneficiarios de Medicaid trabajen, estudien o realicen otras actividades que cumplan los requisitos para mantener la cobertura está ganando terreno.
When Hospitals Ditch Medicare Advantage Plans, Thousands of Members Get To Leave, Too
Breakups between health providers and Advantage plans are increasingly common. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has allowed whole groups of patients to leave their plans.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Can Congress Reconcile Trump’s Wishes With Medicaid’s Needs?
When Congress returns next week, it will be writing a budget reconciliation bill that’s expected to cut taxes but also make deep cuts to Medicaid. But at least some Republicans are concerned about cutting a program that aids so many of their constituents. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Rae Ellen Bichell about her story on how care for transgender minors is changing in Colorado.
The Ranks of Obamacare ‘Fixers’ Axed in Trump’s Reduction of Health Agency Workforce
These fixers, officially known as caseworkers, unraveled complex and arcane health insurance rules to solve people’s coverage issues. They worked in a little-known federal department with which most consumers never interact — until they need help.
How Much Will That Surgery Cost? 🤷 Hospital Prices Remain Largely Unhelpful.
Health care price transparency is one of the few bipartisan issues in Washington, D.C. But much of the information that hospitals and health plans have made available to the public is not helpful to patients, and there’s no conclusive evidence yet that it’s lowering costs or increasing competition.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Federal Health Work in Flux
It’s the Trump administration vs. the federal courts, as the Department of Government Efficiency continues to try to cancel federal contracts and programs and fire workers. But in the haste to cut things, jobs and programs are being eliminated even if they align with the new administration’s goal to “Make America Healthy Again.” Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Congressman Blames Trump Team for Ending Telehealth Medicare Benefit. Not Quite Right.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California warned of Trump administration “cuts” to Medicare telehealth access hitting March 31. But if Medicare recipients lose telemedicine benefits that day, it will be because Congress failed to act.
Watch: The Dr. Oz Show Comes to Congress
The Senate Finance Committee questioned Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. KFF Health News reporters discussed the biggest takeaways from the hearing.
Some CT Scans Deliver Too Much Radiation, Researchers Say. Regulators Want To Know More.
Unnecessarily high radiation doses in scans have been linked to cancers. Under new federal rules, doctors and imaging centers have to more closely track and report the doses of radiation that patients receive.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Courts Try To Curb Health Cuts
Some of the Trump administration’s dramatic funding and policy shifts are facing major pushback for the first time — not from Congress, but from the courts. Federal judges around the country are attempting to pump the brakes on efforts to freeze government spending, shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, eliminate access to health-related webpages and datasets, and limit grant funding provided by the National Institutes of Health. Meanwhile, Congress is off to a slow start in trying to turn President Donald Trump’s agenda into legislation, although Medicaid is clearly high on the list for potential funding cuts. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Maya Goldman of Axios News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Mark McClellan, director of the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy and a former health official during the George W. Bush administration, about the impact of cutting funding to research universities.
