As Big Pharma and Hospitals Battle Over Drug Discounts, Patients Miss Out on Millions in Benefits
By Sarah Jane Tribble Emily Featherston, InvestigateTV
November 16, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The number of pharmacies dispensing 340B discounted drugs soared to more than 31,000 this year. Drugmakers struck back by halting some discounts. Hospitals say they are losing millions of dollars — and cutting back services to patients — as a result.
Another GOP Primary Debate … Another Night of Verbal Clashes
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs
November 9, 2023
KFF Health News Original
In a faceoff that took some strange turns, five presidential hopefuls focused on foreign affairs and inflation but still revealed the party’s political struggles over its abortion position. Once again, former President Donald Trump did not appear on the debate stage.
How Measles, Whooping Cough, and Worse Could Roar Back on RFK Jr.’s Watch
By Arthur Allen
December 6, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.
‘Until It Is Fixed’: Congress Ramps Up Action on Social Security Clawbacks
By David Hilzenrath Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group
December 15, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, vowed to meet monthly with Social Security officials until the problems surrounding overpayment demands are fixed.
Doubts Abound About a New Alzheimer’s Blood Test
By Judith Graham
October 26, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Quest Diagnostics is selling a blood test online to consumers. But results may not be reliable or easy to interpret. And it isn’t covered by insurance.
Para las farmacéuticas, la pelea entre Trump y Harris es entre dos enemigos de la industria
By Stephanie Armour
August 26, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Legisladores de ambos partidos atacan cada vez más a la industria, por los precios de los medicamentos que la mayoría de los estadounidenses consideran irrazonables.
Diagnosis: Debt
February 21, 2023
Page
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 […]
Three Things About the Abortion Debate That Many People Get Wrong
By Julie Rovner
July 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The commonly repeated myths include arguments that only women who are pregnant are affected by the decision overturning Roe v. Wade, that Democratic lawmakers could have codified abortion protections before, and that Congress can easily get rid of federal laws restricting abortion.
Guía para entender a las subvariantes de ómicron
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
May 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
¿Qué tan diferentes son estas subvariantes entre sí? ¿Puede la infección por una subvariante proteger a alguien de la infección por otra? Y, ¿qué tan bien funcionan contra estas variantes las vacunas que se desarrollaron antes de la aparición de ómicron?
Community Health Centers’ Big Profits Raise Questions About Federal Oversight
By Phil Galewitz Bram Sable-Smith
August 15, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Nonprofit federally funded health centers are a linchpin in the nation’s health care safety net because they treat the medically underserved. The average profit margin is 5%, but some have recorded margins of 20% or more in three of the past four years.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Supreme Court and the Abortion Pill
March 28, 2024
Podcast
The Supreme Court this week heard its first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, about an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. But while it seems likely that this case could be dismissed on a technicality, abortion opponents have more challenges in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health issues are heating up on the campaign trail, as Republicans continue to take aim at Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act — all things Democrats are delighted to defend. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who wrote a KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about Medicare and a very expensive air-ambulance ride. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
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.
Hospitals Divert Primary Care Patients to Health Center ‘Look-Alikes’ to Boost Finances
By Phil Galewitz
Photos by Heidi de Marco
September 9, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Medicare and Medicaid pay “look-alike” health centers significantly more than hospitals for treating patients, and converting or creating clinics can help hospitals reduce their expenses.
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.
Scientists Fear What’s Next for Public Health if RFK Jr. Is Allowed To ‘Go Wild’
By Arthur Allen
Updated November 14, 2024
Originally Published November 14, 2024
KFF Health News Original
As federal health scientists await a potential takeover by RFK Jr. and other medical skeptics in the second Trump administration, some are preparing résumés or retirement papers.
A New Test Could Save Arthritis Patients Time, Money, and Pain. But Will It Be Used?
By Arthur Allen
December 20, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Stories of chronic pain, drug-hopping, and insurance meddling are all too common among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Precision medicine offers new hope.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott Off Base in Claim That Rise in Medicare Premiums Is Due to Inflation
By Phil Galewitz
November 24, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The Republican senator says President Joe Biden’s “inflation crisis” caused Medicare to raise monthly premiums, which will add hundreds of dollars to beneficiaries’ costs. But Medicare experts say inflation was not to blame and most beneficiaries will shoulder a much smaller increase than what Rick Scott claims.
Clinics Say State’s New Medicaid Drug Program Will Force Them to Cut Services
By Samantha Young
January 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
On Jan. 1, California started buying prescription drugs for its nearly 14 million Medicaid enrollees, a responsibility that had primarily been held by managed-care insurance plans. State officials estimate California will save hundreds of millions of dollars by flexing its purchasing power, but some health clinics expect to lose money.
Harris, alguna vez la voz de Biden sobre el aborto, tendría un enfoque abierto en temas de salud
By Stephanie Armour Julie Appleby Julie Rovner
July 21, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Mientras los demócratas reconstruyen su candidatura presidencial a pocos meses de las elecciones, se esperaría que, de ser la nueva nominada, Harris adoptase una postura agresiva en apoyo al acceso al aborto y en otros temas controversiales de salud.
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.
