Study Finds Medicare Advantage Patients Experience Worse Home Care
March 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Compared to people with traditional Medicare, patients on Medicare Advantage had worse outcomes and less home health care. Also: how Advantage costs are rising; virtual mental health company Talkspace aims at Medicare; and more.
Morning Briefing for Friday, October 18, 2024
October 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Storm fallout on health care, teen tobacco use, Medicare Advantage plans, flu shot, emergency abortion care, and more. Plus, your weekend reads.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': 2023 Is a Wrap
December 21, 2023
Podcast
2023 was another busy year in health care. As the covid-19 pandemic waned, policymakers looked anew at long-standing obstacles to obtaining and paying for care in the nation’s health care system. Meanwhile, abortion has continued to be an issue in much of the nation, as states respond to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the constitutional right to the procedure. This week, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and wrap up the year in health. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau about his joint KFF Health News-New York Times series “Dying Broke.”
Insurers Collected Billions In Dubious Medicare Advantage Payments: Watchdog Report
October 25, 2024
Morning Briefing
A HHS watchdog reports that insurers like UnitedHealth, Humana were paid an estimated $7.5 billion last year from health risk assessments that diagnosed serious health conditions for which patients had no follow-up care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declined to crack down on the practice though.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump 2.0
November 8, 2024
Podcast
As Donald Trump readies for his return to the White House — with the backing of a GOP majority in the Senate and, possibly, the House — the entire health care industry is waiting to see what happens next. Clearly on the agenda: the future of abortion and reproductive rights, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and public health’s infrastructure. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Jackie Fortiér, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post “Bill of the Month” feature, about a 2-year-old who had a very expensive run-in with a rattlesnake.
Medicare Advantage Plans’ Quality Ratings From CMS Fall Again
October 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Only 40% of Medicare Advantage health prescription drug plans achieved a four-star rating or higher under the current criteria used by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to grade quality. The federal health agency has sought to make it harder to win top scores — in 2022, 68% of plans were four stars or higher.
Insurers To Shift A Bit From Medicare Advantage To Special Needs Plans
October 9, 2024
Morning Briefing
Health insurance companies are expected to pull back slightly from Medicare Advantage investing in 2025. Instead, Modern Healthcare reports, they will focus on Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans, or D-SNPs, which cover people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Other industry news is on employer plans, executive jobs, and more.
Cigna Scaling Back Medicare Advantage Offerings In 8 States In 2025
September 20, 2024
Morning Briefing
Modern Healthcare reports that the move by group’s health insurance unit will affect members of certain health plans in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. Meanwhile, Atrium Health cancels many past medical debt judgments.
Biden Administration Confirms 2025 Medicare Advantage Payments To Drop
April 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
Stat notes that the government wasn’t convinced by insurer and lobbyist efforts arguing that Medicare Advantage payouts wouldn’t cover the costs for people using health care. Also, experts warn Medicare coverage for Wegovy could hike monthly payments for many.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, November 30, 2023
November 30, 2023
Morning Briefing
Medicare Advantage, a possible Cigna-Humana merger, covid wastewater tracking, Medicaid expansion, women’s health, and more are in the news.
Say What? Hearing Aids Available Over-the-Counter for as Low as $199, and Without a Prescription
By Phil Galewitz
October 17, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The cheaper over-the-counter aids are for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss — a market of tens of millions of people, many of whom have until now been priced out because prescription devices can cost thousands of dollars.
Hospitals Said They Lost Money on Medicare Patients. Some Made Millions, a State Report Finds.
By Fred Clasen-Kelly
October 25, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A North Carolina state treasurer’s report found hospitals give conflicting information about whether they profit from Medicare patients. Experts said the findings are significant because they suggest the federal government has failed to closely watch the billions of dollars in tax breaks that nonprofit hospitals have received.
Officials Try To Keep Medicare Part D Premiums Steady As Elections Loom
August 5, 2024
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports on nurse visits that are less about treating Medicare Advantage recipients and more about allowing insurers to get more government cash.
Morning Briefing for Monday, October 23, 2023
October 23, 2023
Morning Briefing
Opioid settlements, Medicare Advantage, finding covid shots, Medicaid enrollments, AI chatbots, dementia, and more are in the news.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, October 19, 2023
October 19, 2023
Morning Briefing
Social Security clawbacks, maternal health, NIH nominee hearing, Medicare Advantage, Paxlovid cost, and more are in the news.
Medicare Advantage Patients Complain To CMS About Lean Provider Networks
June 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
CMS sought comments on ways that it can improve Medicare Advantage. The majority of feedback came from providers, but beneficiaries also weighed in with horror stories about deficient networks.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Health Funding in Question in a Speaker-Less Congress
October 12, 2023
Podcast
A bitterly divided Congress managed to keep the federal government running for several more weeks, while House Republicans struggle — again — to choose a leader. Meanwhile, many people removed from state Medicaid rolls are not finding their way to Affordable Care Act insurance, and a major investigation by The Washington Post attributes the decline in U.S. life expectancy to more than covid-19 and opioids. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Victoria Knight of Axios, 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 physician-author-playwright Samuel Shem about “Our Hospital,” his new novel about the health workforce in the age of covid.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, November 7, 2023
November 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Election Day, Medicare Advantage rules, gun violence, virus surveillance, abortion law, opioids, smoking, and more are in the news.
Five Key Health Insurers Reveal 2025’s Medicare Advantage Plans
October 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
The announcements by Cigna, CVS, Humana, Centene, and UnitedHealth were made ahead of the beginning of Medicare Advantage enrollment, which begins Oct. 15. Among other news, a top California health plan will offer one of the world’s top-selling drugs, Humira, for free to show how skirting middlemen can improve drug affordability.
Hospitals Push For Medicare Advantage Boost To Cover 340B Drugs
April 23, 2024
Morning Briefing
Hospitals are arguing that since a Supreme Court ruling has reversed cuts made to 340B rates in 2018, Medicare Advantage reimbursement must be adjusted accordingly. Separately, a study shows drug representatives who meet with doctors have no effect on cancer patients’ survival rates.
