KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Chaos Continues in Federal Health System
February 6, 2025
Podcast
The Senate has yet to confirm a Health and Human Services secretary, but things around the department continue to change at a breakneck pace to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders. Payment systems have been shut down, webpages and entire datasets have been taken offline, and workers — including those with civil service protections — have been urged to quit or threatened with layoffs. Meanwhile, foreign and trade policy changes are also affecting health policy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about a young woman, a grandfathered health plan, and a $14,000 IUD.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': American Health Under Trump — Past, Present, and Future
September 19, 2024
Podcast
Dreaming of a Trump victory, Republicans have a wish list of health policy changes — including loosening Affordable Care Act regulations to make cheaper coverage available and ending Medicare drug price negotiations. Meanwhile, after a publicly reported death stemming from a state abortion ban, Vice President Kamala Harris is emphasizing the consequences of Trump’s work to overturn Roe v. Wade. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University join KFF Health News senior editor Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.
The GOP Keeps Pushing Medicaid Work Requirements, Despite Setbacks
By Renuka Rayasam Andy Miller
April 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Work requirements in Medicaid expansion programs are back on the agenda in many statehouses — despite their lackluster track record. In Mississippi, the idea has momentum from GOP lawmakers advancing legislation to expand Medicaid. In Kansas, the Democratic governor proposed work requirements to try to soften Republican opposition to expansion. (She’s had little luck, so […]
Biden Team’s Tightrope: Reining In Rogue Obamacare Agents Without Slowing Enrollment
By Julie Appleby
Updated May 8, 2024
Originally Published May 7, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Federal regulators face a growing challenge — how to prevent rogue health insurance agents from switching unknowing consumers’ Obamacare coverage without making the enrollment process so cumbersome that enrollment declines.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Ax Falls at HHS
March 27, 2025
Podcast
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a proposed reorganization for the department — which, counting those who already have left the agency, amounts to about a 25% cut in its workforce. And its planned “Administration for a Healthy America” will collapse several existing HHS agencies into one. Meanwhile, the department continues to cut billions in health spending while the nation faces measles outbreaks in several states and the continuing possibility of another pandemic, such as bird flu. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news.
States Push Medicaid Work Rules, but Few Programs Help Enrollees Find Jobs
By Sam Whitehead Phil Galewitz Katheryn Houghton
April 15, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Republicans are pushing to implement requirements that Medicaid recipients work in order to obtain or retain coverage. Some states try to help enrollees find jobs. But states lack the data to show whether they’re effective.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Florida Limits Abortion — For Now
April 4, 2024
Podcast
The Florida Supreme Court handed down dual abortion rulings this week. One said voters will be allowed to decide in November whether to create a state right to abortion. The other ruling, though, allows a 15-week ban to take effect immediately — before an even more sweeping, six-week ban replaces it in May. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is doubling down on his administration’s health care accomplishments as he kicks off his general election campaign. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health, and Tami Luhby of CNN join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health care analyst Jeff Goldsmith about the growing size and influence of UnitedHealth Group in the wake of the Change Healthcare hack.
California Is Expanding Insurance Access for Teenagers Seeking Therapy on Their Own
By April Dembosky, KQED
March 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A California law that takes effect this summer will grant minors on public insurance the ability to get mental health treatment without their parents’ consent, a privilege that their peers with private insurance have had for years. But the law has become a flashpoint in the state’s culture wars.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Can Congress Reconcile Trump’s Wishes With Medicaid’s Needs?
April 24, 2025
Podcast
When Congress returns next week, it will be writing a budget reconciliation bill that’s expected to cut taxes but also make deep cuts to Medicaid. But at least some Republicans are concerned about cutting a program that aids so many of their constituents. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Rae Ellen Bichell about her story on how care for transgender minors is changing in Colorado.
How a Duty To Spend Wisely on Worker Benefits Could Loosen PBMs’ Grip on Drug Prices
By Arthur Allen
December 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
As criticism of pharmacy benefit managers heats up, fear of lawsuits is driving some big employers to drop the “Big Three” PBMs — or force them to change.
It’s Called an Urgent Care Emergency Center — But Which Is It?
By Renuka Rayasam
June 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Suffering stomach pain, a Dallas man visited his local urgent care clinic — or so he thought, until he got a bill 10 times what he’d expected.
Families of Transgender Youth No Longer View Colorado as a Haven for Gender-Affirming Care
By Rae Ellen Bichell
Illustration by Oona Zenda
April 14, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Colorado was long considered a haven for gender-affirming care. But under this Trump administration, hospitals in the state have limited the treatments available for people under 19. Some services have been restored, but trans youth and their families say the state isn’t the rock they thought it was.
The Politics Holding Back Medicaid Expansion in Some Southern States
By Drew Hawkins, Gulf States Newsroom
August 8, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Ten states have not expanded Medicaid, leaving 1.5 million people ineligible for the state and federal insurance program and also unable to afford private insurance. Seven of those states are in the South, where expansion efforts may have momentum but where lawmakers say political polarization is holding them back.
Millions Were Booted From Medicaid. The Insurers That Run It Gained Medicaid Revenue Anyway.
By Phil Galewitz
April 26, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Big health insurers that have contracts with state Medicaid programs find themselves making more money even as enrollment in Medicaid programs has dropped. Here’s why.
When Copay Assistance Backfires on Patients
By Julie Appleby
March 15, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Drugmakers offer copay assistance programs to patients, but insurers are tapping into those funds, not counting the amounts toward patient deductibles. That leads to unexpected charges. But the practice is under growing scrutiny.
Across the South, Rural Health Care Has Become ‘Trendy.’ Medicaid Expansion Has Not.
By Lauren Sausser
February 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
State legislatures nationwide, including several in the South, are spending millions to improve rural health outcomes and access. For years, though, most Southern states have refused billions of federal dollars to provide public health insurance to more low-income adults. That isn’t likely to change with Trump back in office.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Long Road to Reining In Short-Term Plans
July 13, 2023
Podcast
President Biden made good on a campaign promise this week with a proposal that would limit short-term health insurance plans that boast low premiums but also few benefits. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s decision to outlaw affirmative action programs could set back efforts to diversify the nation’s medical workforce. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” about how a hospital couldn’t track down a patient, but a debt collector could.
Your Doctor or Your Insurer? Little-Known Rules May Ease the Choice in Medicare Advantage
By Susan Jaffe
March 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Disputes between hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans are leading to entire hospital systems suddenly leaving insurance networks. Patients are left stuck in the middle, choosing between their doctors and their insurance plan. There’s a way out.
Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirements Costing Taxpayers Millions Despite Low Enrollment
By Andy Miller Renuka Rayasam
March 20, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage program has seen anemic enrollment while chalking up millions in start-up costs — largely in technology and consulting fees. Critics say the money’s being wasted on a costly and ineffective alternative to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Less Than Two Weeks To Go
October 24, 2024
Podcast
With Election Day rapidly approaching, abortion is gaining traction as a voting issue, according to public opinion polls. Meanwhile, states with abortion bans are reviving the lawsuit — dismissed by the Supreme Court on a technicality this year — that could roll back the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Tricia Neuman, senior vice president of KFF and executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy, about Medicare open enrollment and the changes to the federal program for 2025.
