For Insurance Industry, A Time Of Upheaval
April 28, 2021
Morning Briefing
Some universities that took a financial hit after being forced to shut down during the pandemic are suing FM Global, saying their insurance policies included coverage for losses due to “communicable diseases.” Also in the news: Humana, Medicare Advantage, price transparency rules and more.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ACA Turns 14
March 21, 2024
Podcast
Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Medicare Advantage Plans Expanding
October 2, 2020
Morning Briefing
A number of health insurers are pitching more expansive Medicare Advantage plans. It’s a lucrative line of business.
CMS Hikes Medicare Advantage Plan Payments, Finalizes New Drug Rules
January 19, 2021
Morning Briefing
The agency will also give Part D plans the ability to create a “preferred” specialty tier of high-cost drugs with lower cost-sharing for enrollees by Jan. 1, 2022. That change could mean lower prices for expensive medications, Modern Healthcare reports.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Paging the HHS Secretary
February 3, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is drawing criticism for his hands-off handling of the covid crisis even though the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA report to him. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor looks to enforce mental health “parity laws” that have failed to achieve their goals. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a large emergency room bill for a small amount of medical care.
Technology Divide Between Senior ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-Nots’ Roils Pandemic Response
By Judith Graham
July 24, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Older adults with the ability to use technology have more access to virtual social interactions and telehealth services, and more opportunities to secure essential supplies online. Those who don’t know how to use it or can’t afford it are at greater risk of social isolation, forgoing medical care and being without food or other necessary items.
Catering To Medicare Advantage Patients A Growth Industry
November 2, 2020
Morning Briefing
Medicare Advantage patients are also a lucrative market, hence a boom in clinics catering to the chronically ill seniors. Other news about Medicare includes fining of hospitals for excessive readmissions.
As Medicare Enrollment Nears, Popular Price Comparison Tool Is Missing
By Susan Jaffe
October 8, 2019
KFF Health News Original
For more than a decade, customers used the online plan finder to compare dozens of policies. Yet after a redesign of the website, the search results no longer list which plan offers a customer the best value. Federal officials say it will be fixed before enrollment begins next week.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': When an Anti-Vaccine Activist Runs for President
May 25, 2023
Podcast
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s official entry into the presidential race poses a thorny challenge for journalists: how to cover a candidate who’s opposed to vaccines without amplifying misinformation. And South Carolina becomes the latest state in the South to ban abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani about her project to track the billions of dollars coming from opioid makers to settle lawsuits.
Medicare: comienza la inscripción sin una herramienta popular para comparar precios
By Susan Jaffe
October 8, 2019
KFF Health News Original
El viejo buscador de planes proporcionaba grandes ahorros, según expertos. Pero luego de un rediseño, perdió muchas de sus funciones clave.
Coronavirus Fuels Explosive Growth In Telehealth ― And Concern About Fraud
By Fred Schulte
April 22, 2020
KFF Health News Original
“Unscrupulous providers” could take advantage of the boom in treatment delivered via voice or video calls.
Missouri Firm With Silicon Valley Ties Faces Medicare Billing Scrutiny
By Lauren Weber Fred Schulte
July 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Amid an overall crackdown on private insurers’ Medicare billing practices, a new government audit and a whistleblower suit allege St. Louis-based Essence Group Holdings Corp.’s Medicare Advantage plans overcharged taxpayers.
Readers and Tweeters Ponder Vaccines and Points of Fairness
August 23, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Insurers Running Medicare Advantage Plans Overbill Taxpayers By Billions As Feds Struggle To Stop It
By Fred Schulte Lauren Weber
July 16, 2019
KFF Health News Original
An enhanced government effort to catch insurers that overcharge Medicare faces resistance from the insurance industry.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 50th, ERISA
August 15, 2024
Podcast
What does a law to protect worker pensions have to do with how health insurance is regulated? Far more than most people may think. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, turns 50 in September. The law fundamentally changed the way the federal and state governments regulate employer-provided health insurance and continues to shape health policy in the United States. In this special episode of “What the Health?”, host and KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner speaks to Larry Levitt of KFF, Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and Ilyse Schuman of the American Benefits Council about the history of ERISA and what its future might hold.
Error del Seguro Social pone en riesgo cobertura de Medicare de 250,000 adultos mayores
By Susan Jaffe
June 6, 2019
KFF Health News Original
El problema abarca a la cobertura de medicamentos recetados (Medicare parte D) y a los beneficiarios que tienen planes médicos de Medicare Advantage.
Website Errors Raise Calls For Medicare To Be Flexible With Seniors’ Enrollment
By Susan Jaffe
December 6, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Members of Congress and others complain Medicare’s revamped Plan Finder had problems. Federal officials say they can help consumers who got bad information change their plans next year. But details about how switching will work are yet to come.
Florida Spine Surgeon and Device Company Owner Charged in Kickback Scheme
By Fred Schulte
September 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin and SpineFrontier were the subject of a recent KHN “Spinal Tap” investigation.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': To End School Shootings, Activists Consider a New Culprit: Parents
February 8, 2024
Podcast
For the first time, a jury has convicted a parent of a school shooter of charges related to the child’s crime, finding a mother in Michigan guilty of involuntary manslaughter and possibly opening a new legal avenue for gun control advocates. Meanwhile, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case challenging the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, a medical publisher has retracted some of the journal studies that lower-court judges relied on in their decisions. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
