Latest News On CMS

Latest KFF Health News Stories

With ICE Using Medicaid Data, Hospitals and States Are in a Bind Over Warning Immigrant Patients

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration’s move to give deportation officials access to Medicaid data is forcing hospitals and states to consider alerting immigrant patients that information from emergency medical coverage applications could be used in efforts to remove them from the country.

Sick of Fighting Insurers, Hospitals Offer Their Own Medicare Advantage Plans

KFF Health News Original

Breakups between insurers and health systems, on top of plan cuts, left more than 3.7 million Medicare Advantage enrollees facing a tough choice last year: find new insurance or new doctors. But hospital systems say their Advantage plans can avert such upheaval, giving patients peace of mind.

These 3 Policy Moves Are Likely To Change Health Care for Older People

KFF Health News Original

Two Trump administration regulatory rollbacks affect nursing home staffing and home care workers, and a new AI experiment in Medicare has alarmed eldercare advocates and congressional Democrats.

Medicaid Tries New Approach With Sickle Cell: Companies Get Paid Only if Costly Gene Therapies Work

KFF Health News Original

The government is using sickle cell treatments to test a new strategy: paying only if the therapies benefit patients. With more expensive treatments on the horizon, the program — created by the Biden administration and continued under President Trump — could help Medicaid save money and treat more patients.

States Race To Launch Rural Health Transformation Plans

KFF Health News Original

Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the “quality” of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing “Make America Healthy Again” initiatives.

Sticker Shock: Obamacare Customers Confront Premium Spikes as Congress Dithers

KFF Health News Original

With subsidies that give consumers extra help paying their health insurance premiums set to expire, lawmakers are again debating the Affordable Care Act. The difference this time: It’s happening in the middle of ACA open enrollment.

Plan-Switching, Sign-Up Impersonations: Obamacare Enrollment Fraud Persists

KFF Health News Original

Investigators from the Government Accountability Office were able to register nearly 20 fake ACA enrollments in a probe of healthcare.gov. The federal government paid subsidies to insurers for some of the fake customers.

How Delays and Bankruptcy Let a Nursing Home Chain Avoid Paying Settlements for Injuries and Deaths

KFF Health News Original

Genesis HealthCare’s bankruptcy case in Dallas will allow the nursing home chain to avoid paying millions of dollars it promised for residents who were injured or died while in its care. Families say bankruptcy nullifies one of the main ways to hold nursing home owners accountable for poor care.

Tracking Applications for Rural Health Transformation Funds

KFF Health News Original

KFF Health News is working to collect and post complete application materials, by state, here and will update this repository as new materials, released in response to public records requests, arrive.

Republicans Left Tribes Out of Their $50B Rural Fund. Now It’s Up to States To Share.

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.

Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications

KFF Health News Original

Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare.

KFF Health News Original

Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by KFF Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health providers are so skimpy they violate legal requirements.

Concerns Over Fairness, Access Rise as States Compete for Slice of $50B Rural Health Fund

KFF Health News Original

Amid public forums and local cries for help, states are also talking with large health systems, technology companies, and others amid intensifying competition for shares of a $50 billion fund to improve rural health.

Trump’s HHS Orders State Medicaid Programs To Help Find Undocumented Immigrants

KFF Health News Original

Federal health authorities have taken the “unprecedented” step of instructing states to investigate certain individuals on Medicaid to determine whether they are ineligible because of their immigration status, with five states reporting they’ve received more than 170,000 names collectively.

A Ticking Clock: How States Are Preparing for a Last-Minute Obamacare Deal

KFF Health News Original

Even if Congress strikes a deal soon to extend more generous Affordable Care Act subsidies, the prices and types of ACA plans available could change dramatically. Unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval could cloud this year’s open enrollment season, which begins in most states on Saturday.

Officials Show Little Proof That New Tech Will Help Medicaid Enrollees Meet Work Rules

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration says it’s developing a digital tool to help people prove they’re meeting new Medicaid work requirements. KFF Health News talked to officials from the two states running pilot programs and found little evidence of new — or effective — technology.

States Jostle Over $50B Rural Health Fund as Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Trigger Scramble

KFF Health News Original

States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it’s not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid cuts loom.