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.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Walz Record
August 8, 2024
Podcast
Vice President Kamala Harris this week officially became the Democratic nominee for president and named Minnesota governor and former U.S. congressman Tim Walz as her running mate. Meanwhile, a new study finds the number of abortions taking place since the overturn of “Roe v. Wade” continued to rise into early this year, despite the imposition of abortion bans around the country. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Nursing Home Surprise: Advantage Plans May Shorten Stays to Less Time Than Medicare Covers
By Susan Jaffe
October 4, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Private Medicare Advantage health plans are increasingly ending coverage for skilled nursing or rehab services before medical providers think patients are healthy enough to go home, doctors and patient advocates say.
Under Fire for Massive Health System Hack, Biden Team Leans on Insurers
By Darius Tahir
March 19, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration has hit on a strategy to deal with the massive, industry-paralyzing cyberattack on a UnitedHealth Group unit: pressuring insurers to fix it. Federal officials have been in constant conversation with senior leaders at UnitedHealth and across the industry, including at a Monday meeting where Department of Health and Human Services and White […]
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Congress Punts to a Looming Lame-Duck Session
September 26, 2024
Podcast
Congress left Washington for the campaign trail this week, but not before approving a spending bill that expires shortly before Christmas. Lawmakers will be busy after the election working on not just the legislation needed to keep the government running, but also several health programs set to expire. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to downplay abortion as Democrats press it as a campaign issue. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Readying for Republican Rule
November 14, 2024
Podcast
With Republicans now set to control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives starting in January, their health agenda remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that just about anything could be on the table, from Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, to drug prices and public health. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups are preparing to fight the implementation of abortion rights ballot measures just passed by voters in seven states. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage for Denying Care and Overcharging
By Fred Schulte
June 29, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The Government Accountability Office and the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office say seniors enrolled in the program are suffering and taxpayers are getting bilked for billions of dollars a year.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump’s Nontraditional Health Picks
November 21, 2024
Podcast
Not only has President-elect Donald Trump chosen prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump also has said he will nominate controversial TV host Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees coverage for nearly half of Americans. Meanwhile, the lame-duck Congress is back in Washington with just a few weeks to figure out how to wrap up work for the year. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Riley Ray Griffin of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Varney, who has been covering a trial in Idaho challenging the lack of medical exceptions in that state’s abortion ban.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Health of the Campaign
October 4, 2024
Podcast
The 2024 presidential race is taking on a familiar tone — with Democrats accusing Republicans of wanting to ban abortion and repeal the Affordable Care Act and Republicans insisting they have no such plans. Voters will determine whom they believe. Meanwhile, for the second time in a month, a state judge overturned an abortion ban, but few expect the decision to settle the matter. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post “Bill of the Month,” about a teenage athlete whose needed surgery lacked a billing code.
An Arm and a Leg: The ‘Shkreli Awards’ — For Dysfunction and Profiteering in Health Care
By Dan Weissmann
January 27, 2025
Podcast
The Lown Institute, a health care think tank, holds a contest every year for the most outrageous stories of greed in health care.
States Get in on the Prior Authorization Crackdown
By Bram Sable-Smith
February 15, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Last month, my colleague Lauren Sausser told you about the Biden administration’s crackdown on insurance plans’ prior authorization policies, with new rules for certain health plans participating in federal programs such as Medicare Advantage or the Affordable Care Act marketplace. States are getting in on the action, too. Prior authorization, sometimes called pre-certification, requires patients […]
Sent Home To Heal, Patients Avoid Wait for Rehab Home Beds
By Felice J. Freyer
Updated March 12, 2025
Originally Published March 12, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Many patients ready to leave the hospital end up lingering for days or weeks — occupying beds that others need and driving up costs — because of a lack of open spots at nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. A few health systems are addressing this problem by moving post-acute rehab into the home.
Covid and Medicare Payments Spark Remote Patient Monitoring Boom
By Phil Galewitz Holly K. Hacker
March 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Demand for help monitoring patients’ vital signs remotely has taken off since a Medicare change in 2019. Dozens of companies now push the service to help overburdened primary care doctors — and as a revenue stream. But some policy experts say its growth has outpaced oversight and evidence of effectiveness.
Longtime Head of L.A. Care To Retire After Navigating Major Medi-Cal Changes
By Bernard J. Wolfson
September 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
John Baackes, who steered Medi-Cal’s largest health plan following the Affordable Care Act expansion, and later prepared it for a state overhaul of Medi-Cal, will retire after this year. Baackes believes low payments to doctors and other providers, along with an acute labor shortage, hamper Medi-Cal’s success.
Readers and Tweeters See Ways to Shore Up Primary Care
July 17, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Biden Plan To Save Medicare Patients Money on Drugs Risks Empty Shelves, Pharmacists Say
By Susan Jaffe
June 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
President Joe Biden is campaigning for reelection on his efforts to cut costs for Medicare patients at the pharmacy counter. But independent pharmacists say one strategy makes it unaffordable for them to keep some brand-name medicines in stock.
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.
Lack of Affordability Tops Older Americans’ List of Health Care Worries
By Judith Graham
Updated July 10, 2024
Originally Published July 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Rising health care costs are fueling anxiety among older Americans covered by Medicare. They’re right to be concerned.
1st Biden-Trump Debate of 2024: What They Got Wrong, and Right
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs
June 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A debate marked by President Joe Biden’s faltering performance featured clashes over insulin costs, inflation, abortion, immigration, and Jan. 6.
Operating in the Red: Half of Rural Hospitals Lose Money, as Many Cut Services
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
March 7, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A recent report finds half of America’s rural hospitals are losing money, and many are struggling to stay open. Researchers and advocates worry the hospitals’ financial spiral will have immediate and long-term health effects on their communities.
