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While Democratic congressional candidates are floating the restoration of federal Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid funding, Oregon officials are crafting a more ambitious plan to implement universal coverage in their state.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated 100,000 more immigrants will be uninsured by 2034 because of Medicaid eligibility changes under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that take effect Oct. 1. A KFF Health News survey of nine states found many more are at imminent risk of losing health coverage.
The case was brought by a marketing company that wants to define as employees people who download an app and agree to have their internet activity tracked so they can buy into its employee health plan. Such plans are generally exempt from some state and Affordable Care Act rules.
Native Hawaiians will have to comply with the new work requirements in President Donald Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, despite facing significant obstacles to employment and healthcare.
A nonprofit and a local public health agency are subsidizing marketplace health insurance for Austin music artists, even as shifting marketplace conditions make the program a more expensive proposition. It’s becoming a model for other cities and sectors.
Stephanie Halver’s doctor recommended she get a breast MRI, partly because of her family’s cancer history. Her insurer approved the scan, but unlike mammograms, breast MRIs aren’t universally covered as zero-cost preventive care.
The $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program is set to flood rural America with new AI health tools. That’s despite little evidence on whether health-related AI can improve access to care and patient health in those communities.
California lawmakers gave public school teachers 14 weeks of paid leave in the state’s new budget, a long-sought benefit for the largely female workforce. Gov. Gavin Newsom previously opposed similar measures.
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Final regulations on Medicaid work requirements say enrollees must regularly obtain documentation — possibly from medical professionals — to prove that they’re too sick to work. Doctors say the rules put them in a tough spot.
A ballot measure to eliminate Missouri’s income tax would give the state legislature broad authority to levy new sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. Critics say that could mean adding a sales tax on medical services or prescription medicines. Those types of taxes are unusual, but not unheard of, in the U.S.
With the federal Medicaid work requirements looming in January, Democrats are considering state legislation to call out big companies that employ workers enrolled in the safety net health program. Business giants such as Amazon and Walmart said the figures are misleading.
Washington state has launched the first program to help cover home care and other supports. Several other states are paying attention.
Thousands of people who had a Medicare drug plan with zero-dollar premiums last year got small premium increases this year — and didn’t know it. They were dropped from their coverage for failing to pay amounts as little as $8, and most can’t get it again until 2027.
Starting in July, the government will cap what graduate students may borrow in federal loans, forcing many toward private lenders with higher interest rates. The borrowing limits will affect students pursuing healthcare degrees, and some clinicians and student loan experts worry they may impede efforts to diversify the healthcare workforce.
Medicare is testing the use of artificial intelligence to preapprove several healthcare services. Federal health officials say prior authorization can help reduce fraud and contain costs. But doctors and patients describe the trial as “horrendous” and full of red tape so far.
Four years after the Volunteer State enacted the nation’s first law allowing drugstores to sell ivermectin without patient-specific prescriptions, dozens of pharmacies dispense the drug in highly concentrated pills — many with the help of one anti-vaccine physician.
Despite widespread support in polls for legalizing aid in dying, the number of people who go through with the practice remains very small.
Last spring, a woman started exhibiting unusual memory problems after a hike in Arizona. It turns out she was experiencing a disorder called transient global amnesia. She has fully recovered, but a dispute over nearly $60,000 in hospital charges has been a source of stress for over a year.
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