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.
Medicare Plans’ ‘Free’ Dental, Vision, Hearing Benefits Come at a Cost
By Phil Galewitz
October 27, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The ads for supplemental Medicare Advantage plans describe vision and dental benefits, even grocery discounts and food deliveries. But look at the fine print.
Feds Move to Rein In Prior Authorization, a System That Harms and Frustrates Patients
By Lauren Sausser
March 13, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The federal government wants to change the way health insurers use prior authorization — the requirement that patients get permission before undergoing treatment. Designed to prevent doctors from deploying expensive, ineffectual procedures, prior authorization has become a confusing maze that denies or delays care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. New rules may not be enough to solve the problems.
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.
Researcher: Medicare Advantage Plans Costing Billions More Than They Should
By Fred Schulte
November 11, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Some insurers pocketed ‘eye-popping’ overpayments, billing records show.
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.
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?': 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.
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?': 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.
Rural Hospitals Are Caught in an Aging-Infrastructure Conundrum
By Markian Hawryluk
January 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Small, community hospitals face challenges in paying for the capital improvement projects they need to stay open.
AARP’s Billion-Dollar Bounty
By Fred Schulte
June 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
With its latest venture into primary care clinics, is America’s leading organization for seniors selling its trusted seal of approval?
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ‘Unwinding’ of Medicaid
April 6, 2023
Podcast
As of April 1, states were allowed to begin reevaluating Medicaid eligibility for millions of Americans who qualified for the program during the covid-19 pandemic but may no longer meet the income or other requirements. As many as 15 million people could lose health coverage as a result. Meanwhile, the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is projected to stay solvent until 2031, its trustees reported, taking some pressure off of lawmakers to finally fix that program’s underlying financial weaknesses. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Daniel Chang, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a child not yet old enough for kindergarten whose medical bill landed him in collections.
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.
With Trump Front of Mind, New Hampshire Voters Cite Abortion and Obamacare as Concerns
By Phil Galewitz
January 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
New Hampshire’s primary election was dominated by voters’ feelings about Donald Trump. But health care remains a concern — and for Democrats, preserving abortion access is a priority.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: News You Might Have Missed
April 14, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Congress is in recess, so the slower-than-average news week gives us a chance to catch up on underreported topics, like Medicare’s coverage decision for the controversial Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm and ominous new statistics on drug overdose deaths and sexually transmitted diseases. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
New Alzheimer’s Drug Raises Hopes — Along With Questions
By Judith Graham
August 11, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Clinics serving Alzheimer’s patients are working out the details of who will get treated with the new drug Leqembi. It won’t be for everyone with memory-loss symptoms.
Medicare Enrollment Blitz Doesn’t Include Options to Move Into Medigap
By Harris Meyer
November 9, 2021
KFF Health News Original
TV ads and mailings targeting seniors tout Medicare Advantage plans this time of year, but millions choosing traditional Medicare make a costly and difficult decision about Medigap coverage, which gets much less attention.
New Weight Loss Drugs Carry High Price Tags and Lots of Questions for Seniors
By Judith Graham
July 25, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Although nearly 40% of Americans 60 and older are obese, Medicare doesn’t cover weight loss medications. Meanwhile, studies haven’t thoroughly examined new drugs’ impact on older adults.
This Open Enrollment Season, Look Out for Health Insurance That Seems Too Good to Be True
By Bram Sable-Smith
November 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Complaints about misleading health insurance marketing are soaring. State insurance commissioners are taking notice. They’ve created a shared internal database to monitor questionable business practices, and, in the future, they hope to provide a public-facing resource for consumers. In the meantime, consumers should shop wisely as open enrollment season begins.
