KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Health Spending? Only Congress Knows
December 15, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Top negotiators in Congress have agreed to a framework for government spending into next year, but there are details to iron out before a vote — such as the scheduled Medicare payment cuts that have providers worried. Also, the Biden administration reopens its program allowing Americans to request free covid-19 home tests, as hopes for pandemic preparedness measures from Congress dim. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Diagnosis: Debt
February 21, 2023
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Featured Stories Debt At A Glance Tell Us About Your Medical Debt Have you been forced into debt because of a medical or dental bill? Have you had to make any changes in your life because of such debt? Have you been pursued by debt collectors for a medical bill? We want to hear about […]
Change to Gilead Assistance Program Threatens PrEP Access, HIV Advocates Say
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
June 10, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Safety-net clinics especially are bracing for how the drugmaker’s policy shift could reduce their budgets and hamstring their ability to provide care to an at-risk population.
Anti-Abortion Groups Shrug Off Election Losses, Look to Courts, Statehouses for Path Forward
By Rachana Pradhan
November 22, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Anti-abortion groups have lost seven consecutive elections on state ballot measures about abortion. They say they’re unfazed and plan to keep focusing on lawmakers and courts to notch wins.
Smaller Employers Weigh a Big-Company Fix for Scarce Primary Care: Their Own Clinics
By Phil Galewitz
October 27, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Company health clinics are most common at large workplaces, but some small employers say they see advantages, too: healthier workers, lower costs, and better access to primary care.
‘It’s Becoming Too Expensive to Live’: Anxious Older Adults Try to Cope With Limited Budgets
By Judith Graham
September 7, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Three women explain how life’s surprises can catapult their efforts to carefully manage limited budgets and lead to financial distress.
Readers Rail at Social Security Overpayments and Insurers’ Prior Authorizations
September 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Medicare Patients Win the Right to Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage
By Susan Jaffe
January 28, 2022
KFF Health News Original
If federal officials accept a court’s decision, some patients will get a chance to seek refunds for their nursing home and other expenses.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing With Drug Prices
January 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: On Government Spending, Congress Decides Not to Decide
September 29, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Congress has once again decided not to decide how to fund the federal government in time for the start of the fiscal year, racing toward a midnight Sept. 30 deadline to pass a stopgap bill that would keep the lights on for two more months. However, it does appear the FDA’s program that gets drugmakers to help fund some of the agency’s review staff will be renewed in time to stop pink slips from being sent. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews filmmaker Cynthia Lowen, whose new documentary, “Battleground,” explores how anti-abortion forces played the long game to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Después de un aborto espontáneo, trabajadoras no tienen ni tiempo libre ni ayuda de las empresas
By Bryce Covert
January 26, 2022
KFF Health News Original
El aborto espontáneo, que se produce en una cuarta parte de los embarazos, es la forma más común de pérdida de un embarazo. Y, sin embargo, no hay leyes nacionales que protejan a las personas cuando necesitan tomarse un tiempo para afrontar la pérdida.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Biden Declares the Pandemic ‘Over’
September 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
President Joe Biden, in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” declared the covid-19 pandemic “over,” stoking confusion for members of his administration trying to persuade Congress to provide more funding to fight the virus and the public to get the latest boosters. Meanwhile, concerns about a return of medical inflation is helping boost insurance premiums even as private companies race to get their piece of the health pie. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Lauren Weber of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories they think you should read, too.
Buy and Bust: After Platinum Health Took Control of Noble Sites, All Hospital Workers Were Fired
By Sarah Jane Tribble
September 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Two Missouri towns are without operating hospitals after private equity-backed Noble Health left both facilities mired in debt, lawsuits, and federal investigations. The hospitals’ new operator, Platinum Health, agreed to buy them in April for $2 and laid off the last employees in early September.
5 Things to Know About the New Drug Pricing Negotiations
By Arthur Allen and Rachana Pradhan and David Hilzenrath
August 30, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration unveiled the first 10 drugs subject to price negotiations, taking a swipe at the pharmaceutical industry. But what does it mean for patients?
Republican Debate Highlights Candidates’ Views on Abortion
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs
August 24, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Though health policies in general got little airtime, the discussion of whether candidates support a federal abortion ban underscored how Republicans, in a post-Roe environment, face political challenges on the issue.
A Covid Test Medicare Scam May Be a Trial Run for Further Fraud
By Susan Jaffe
May 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Before the covid-19 public health emergency ended, Medicare advocates around the country noticed a rise in complaints from beneficiaries who received at-home covid tests they never requested. Bad actors may have used seniors’ Medicare information to improperly bill the federal government — and could do it again, say federal investigators.
After a Brief Pandemic Reprieve, Rural Workers Return to Life Without Paid Leave
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
January 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Coastal and politically progressive states have passed stronger paid sick and family leave policies, but many workers in rural America are left out, facing tough decisions when choosing between caring for themselves or sick family members or keeping their jobs.
Los hospitales derivan pacientes de atención primaria a centros de salud “semejantes” para mejorar las finanzas
By Phil Galewitz
Photos by Heidi de Marco
September 9, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Pero, a diferencia de los centros de salud comunitarios, los semejantes no reciben una subvención federal anual para cubrir los costos operativos. Tampoco obtienen la cobertura económica del gobierno federal para casos de negligencia médica.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Judicial Body Blow to the ACA
March 30, 2023
Podcast
A federal judge in Texas has dealt a big setback to the Affordable Care Act. The same judge who tried in 2018 to declare the entire ACA unconstitutional has now ruled that the law’s main provisions for preventive care are unconstitutional and, therefore, unenforceable nationwide. Also this week, North Carolina became the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade’s (Possibly Last) Anniversary
January 20, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Jan. 22 marks the 49th — and very likely last — anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. The court’s conservative supermajority seems poised to overturn later this year the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Also this week, the Biden administration turns 1, with much of its domestic and health agenda yet unrealized. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, about what a post-Roe world might look like.