Medicaid&theUninsured 061721
Zooming Into the Statehouse: Nursing Home Residents Use New Digital Skills to Push for Changes
Susan Jaffe
Connecticut residents who learned how to communicate with family and friends through digital technology when their nursing homes closed to visitors last year used that skill to testify remotely during legislative hearings on bills affecting them.
Many New Moms Get Kicked Off Medicaid 2 Months After Giving Birth. Illinois Will Change That.
Christine Herman, WILL / Illinois Public Media
Each year, hundreds of thousands of new mothers lose Medicaid coverage after 60 days when their income exceeds limits. But deadly childbirth complications persist months longer.
Newsom Wants to Spend Millions on the Health of Low-Income Mothers and Their Babies
Anna Almendrala
Democratic legislators back measures that would end the “pink tax” on diapers and menstrual products, provide mental health support, and pilot a guaranteed-income program.
Expanding Insurance Coverage Is Top Priority for New Medicare-Medicaid Chief
Julie Rovner
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the administration will focus on getting more people insured and is interested in finding a way to alleviate the gap keeping low-income families in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid from enrolling in Affordable Care Act health plans.
Caring for an Aging Nation
Lydia Zuraw and Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
The number of Americans 65 and older is expected to nearly double in the next 40 years. Finding a way to provide and pay for the long-term health services they need won't be easy.
Colorado Will Pay Hospitals to Close Expensive Free-Standing ERs
Phil Galewitz
The state, concerned about the high cost of care at these stand-alone facilities, is offering hospitals more Medicaid money if they convert them to other uses, such as primary care or mental health centers.
Why Your Dentist Might Seem Pushy
Daryl Austin
Dentists know how to maximize the profits in your mouth. But sometimes it’s outright fraud — to the tune of billions every year.
New Montana Laws Enshrine Health Care Alternatives, for Better or Worse
Andrea Halland
Direct primary care and health care sharing ministries can offer people more accessible or cheaper health care options, but they lack the benefits of traditional insurance and aren’t regulated.
Can a Subscription Model Fix Primary Care in the US?
Bernard J. Wolfson
Medical subscriptions, a $199 million CEO payday and the race to fix primary care in the U.S. One Medical is betting big that a subscription model can fix primary care. But the firm faces competition from CVS, Target and large hospital systems.
Doctor on Call? Lawmakers Debate How Much to Pay for Phone Appointments
Rachel Bluth
Phone visits became an option for many Medicare and Medicaid patients during the pandemic. Now policymakers are deciding whether they’re worth the money.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Our 200th Episode!
The federal approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease has reignited the debate over drug prices and the way the Food and Drug Administration makes decisions. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden seeks to gain goodwill overseas as he announces the U.S. will provide 500 million doses of covid vaccine to international health efforts. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. And to mark the podcast’s 200th episode, the panelists discuss what has surprised them most and least over the past four years.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade on the Ropes
The newly conservative Supreme Court will hear a case that could overturn the nationwide right to abortion and cause political upheaval. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s abrupt announcement that vaccinated people can take off their masks in most places has caused upheaval of its own. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.