Readers and Tweeters Diagnose Greed and Chronic Pain Within US Health Care System
January 19, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Biden Rule Cleared Hurdles to Lifesaving HIV Drug, but in Georgia Barriers Remain
By Rebecca Grapevine, Healthbeat
February 6, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A new rule requires insurers to improve coverage of PrEP, which can prevent HIV, but Georgians face challenges getting the drug.
Biden Administration Blocks Two Private Sector Enrollment Sites From ACA Marketplace
By Julie Appleby
August 22, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Regulators have been under the gun to curb unauthorized Obamacare enrollment and switching of plans. Separately, a pending lawsuit was amended with additional defendants and new allegations regarding tactics to garner greater ACA sales commissions.
How Your In-Network Health Coverage Can Vanish Before You Know It
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
March 15, 2024
KFF Health News Original
One of the most unfair aspects of medical insurance is this: Patients can change insurance only during end-of-year enrollment periods or at the time of “qualifying life events.” But insurers’ contracts with doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies can change abruptly at any time.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Finally Fixing the ‘Family Glitch’
October 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration has decided to try to fix the so-called “family glitch” in the Affordable Care Act without an act of Congress. The provision has prevented workers’ families from getting subsidized coverage if an employer offer is unaffordable. Meanwhile, Medicare’s open enrollment period begins Oct. 15, and private Medicare Advantage plans are poised to cover more than half of Medicare’s 65 million enrollees. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner 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.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Our 300th Episode!
June 1, 2023
Podcast
When KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” podcast launched in 2017, Republicans in Washington were engaged in an (ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. The next six years would see a pandemic, increasingly unaffordable care, and a health care workforce experiencing unprecedented burnout. In the podcast’s 300th episode, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explores the past and possible future of the U.S. health care system with three prominent “big thinkers” in health policy: Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania, Jeff Goldsmith of Health Futures, and Farzad Mostashari of Aledade.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Let’s Talk About the Weather
July 20, 2023
Podcast
It’s been the summer of broken weather records around the world — for heat, rain, and wildfire smoke — advertising the risks of climate change in a big way. But, apparently, it’s not enough to break the logjam in Washington over how to address the growing climate crisis. Meanwhile, in Texas, women who were unable to get care for pregnancy complications took their stories to court, and Congress gears up to — maybe — do something about prescription drug prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join Julie Rovner, KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Meena Seshamani, the top administrator for the federal Medicare program.
What to Know About Home Care Services
By Reed Abelson, The New York Times
December 4, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Finding an aide to help an older person stay at home safely takes work. Here’s a guide.
Trump Froze Out Project 2025 in His Campaign. Now Its Blueprint Is His Health Care Playbook.
By Stephanie Armour
February 24, 2025
KFF Health News Original
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump distanced himself from the conservative governing plan after Democratic attacks. But now it’s increasingly viewed as a blueprint for his administration’s plans for federal health programs.
Medicare Advantage Plans Send Pals to Seniors’ Homes for Companionship — And Profits
By Phil Galewitz
March 15, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Many Medicare Advantage plans send caregivers to the homes of seniors periodically to help with housework and provide companionship. But the workers may also prod seniors into activities that boost the plans’ Medicare ratings and federal reimbursements.
Readers Scrutinize Federal Cuts and Medical Debt
May 12, 2025
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Estafas a Medicare con pruebas para covid pueden generar otros fraudes
By Susan Jaffe
May 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
La cobertura de Medicare para las pruebas caseras de covid-19 finalizó hace pocos días, pero las estafas generadas por este beneficio temporal podrían tener consecuencias persistentes para las personas mayores.
Misleading Ads Play Key Role in Schemes to Gin Up Unauthorized ACA Sign-Ups, Lawsuit Alleges
By Julie Appleby
Updated July 22, 2024
Originally Published July 19, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Misleading money-for-groceries ads helped lure people to call centers where some were enrolled in Affordable Care Act coverage — or switched from their existing plans — without their express permission, a new lawsuit alleges.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Senators Have Mental Health Crises, Too
February 23, 2023
Podcast
When U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression this month, he got an unusual reaction from his colleagues in Congress: compassion. It’s a far cry from how politicians once kept their mental health issues under wraps at all costs. Meanwhile, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is stirring up controversy by proposing that all politicians over age 75 be required to pass a mental competency test to hold office. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN chief Washington correspondent 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.
States Target Health Insurers’ ‘Prior Authorization’ Red Tape
By Bram Sable-Smith
February 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they’ll pay for patients’ drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further.
Concerns Grow Over Quality of Care as Investor Groups Buy Not-for-Profit Nursing Homes
By Harris Meyer
March 13, 2024
KFF Health News Original
For-profit groups own more than 70% of U.S. nursing homes. Industry leaders and researchers wonder whether corporations and investors can succeed where not-for-profit organizations have struggled. Or, will quality of care suffer in the name of making money?
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': New Year, New Congress, New Health Agenda
January 9, 2025
Podcast
Health is unlikely to be a top priority for the new GOP-led 119th Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. But it’s likely to play a key supporting role, with an abortion bill already scheduled for debate in the Senate. Meanwhile, it’s unclear when and how the new Congress will deal with the bipartisan bills jettisoned from the previous Congress’ year-end omnibus measure — including a major deal to rein in the power of pharmacy benefit managers. In this “catch up on all the news you missed” episode, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Biden Wins Early Court Test for Medicare Drug Negotiations
February 15, 2024
Podcast
A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the Biden administration’s Medicare prescription-drug price negotiation program. But the suit turned on a technicality, and several more court challenges are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health policy pops up in Super Bowl ads, as Congress approaches yet another funding deadline. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat 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 they think you should read, too.
What Happens to Health Programs if the Federal Government Shuts Down?
By Julie Rovner
September 27, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Medicare and Medicaid shouldn’t be affected, but confusion can be expected.
America Worries About Health Costs — And Voters Want to Hear From Biden and Republicans
By Julie Appleby Phil Galewitz
Updated March 8, 2024
Originally Published March 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The presidential election is likely to turn on the simple question of whether Americans want Donald Trump back in the White House. But health care tops the list of household financial worries for adults from both parties.
