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What the Health? From KFF Health News: The Open Enrollment Mixing Bowl

October 19, 2023 Podcast

Open enrollment for Medicare beneficiaries with private health plans began Oct. 15, to be followed Nov. 1 by open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans. The selection for both is large — often too large to be navigated easily alone. And people who choose incorrectly can end up with unaffordable medical bills. Meanwhile, those on both sides of the abortion issue are looking to Ohio’s November ballot measure on abortion to see whether anti-abortion forces can break their losing streak in statewide ballot questions since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Rachana Pradhan April 17, 2025 KFF Health News Original

A KFF Health News analysis underscores how the terminations have spared no part of the country, politically or geographically. Of the organizations that had grants cut in the first month, about 40% are in states President Donald Trump won in November.

At Urgent Care, He Got 5 Stitches and a Big Surprise: A Plastic Surgeon’s Bill for $1,040

By Rachana Pradhan August 2, 2021 KFF Health News Original

The Biden administration is weighing how to treat urgent care clinics as part of broad regulations banning surprise, out-of-network medical bills. At the heart of the matter: What counts as an emergency?

How to Get Rid of Medical Debt — Or Avoid It in the First Place

By Yuki Noguchi, NPR News July 1, 2022 KFF Health News Original

Medical bills can add stress to the already stressful experience of dealing with a medical crisis. And if you can’t pay those bills, they can linger, wreaking havoc on your financial goals and credit. Here’s how to protect yourself.

Meet the Florida Group Chipping Away at Public Benefits One State at a Time

By Katheryn Houghton and Samantha Liss May 8, 2025 KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” platform has boosted the agenda of a conservative think tank that’s been working for more than a decade to reshape the nation’s public assistance programs.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: The Campaign’s Final Days

October 31, 2024 Podcast

It’s the final days of the 2024 campaign, and Republicans are suddenly talking again about making changes to the Affordable Care Act if former President Donald Trump wins. Meanwhile, new reporting uncovers more maternal deaths under state abortion bans — and a case in which a Nevada woman was jailed after a miscarriage. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Irving Washington, a senior vice president at KFF and the executive director of its Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative.

The Ambulance Chased One Patient Into Collections

By Bram Sable-Smith July 27, 2022 KFF Health News Original

After a car wreck, three siblings were transported to the same hospital by ambulances from three separate districts. The sibling with the most minor injuries got the biggest bill.

HealthSherpa and Insurers Team Up To Curb Unauthorized ACA Enrollment Schemes

By Julie Appleby July 16, 2024 KFF Health News Original

The initiative targets the biggest incentive driving fraudulent sign-ups and plan switches: the commissions that rogue agents or large call centers seek.

Sick of Fighting Insurers, Hospitals Offer Their Own Medicare Advantage Plans

By Susan Jaffe January 26, 2026 KFF Health News Original

Breakups between insurers and health systems, on top of plan cuts, left more than 3.7 million Medicare Advantage enrollees facing a tough choice last year: find new insurance or new doctors. But hospital systems say their Advantage plans can avert such upheaval, giving patients peace of mind.

Obamacare Sign-Ups Drop, but the Extent Won’t Be Clear for Months

By Julie Appleby February 10, 2026 KFF Health News Original

Experts say Affordable Care Act sign-up data won’t be clear until people who were enrolled have paid — or haven’t paid — their new, often much higher, premiums.

Rx For Clarity: Calif. Considers Bilingual Drug Labels

By April Dembosky, KQED July 30, 2014 KFF Health News Original

Every Saturday morning, a steady stream of Chinese and Vietnamese patients line up at the Paul Hom Asian Clinic in Sacramento, Calif. Most of them speak little to no English. Patient assistance director Danny Tao says people come here to get free medical consultations and drug prescriptions. But, he says that when patients take those […]

Montana Creates Emergency ‘Drive-Thru’ Blood Pickup Service for Rural Ambulances

By Arielle Zionts June 17, 2024 KFF Health News Original

The network is aimed at helping rural patients, who face higher rates of traumatic injuries and death but may not live near a hospital with a stockpile of blood.

The Quiet Collapse of America’s Reproductive Health Safety Net

By Céline Gounder Updated October 30, 2025 Originally Published October 30, 2025 KFF Health News Original

The HHS office that administers the Title X family planning program has been effectively shut down. And with cuts to federal funding for other family health programs, expected Medicaid cuts, and the potential lapse of ACA subsidies, health leaders fear they are seeing the biggest setback to U.S. reproductive care in half a century.

Health Insurance Price Data: It’s Out There, but It’s Not for the Faint of Heart

By Julie Appleby July 27, 2022 KFF Health News Original

Health insurers and self-insured employer plans are now required to post their negotiated rates for almost every type of medical service. But navigating through the trove of information is no easy task.

Shattered Dreams and Bills in the Millions: Losing a Baby in America

By Lauren Weber September 23, 2022 KFF Health News Original

On top of fearing for their children’s lives, new parents of very fragile, very sick infants can face exorbitant hospital bills — even if they have insurance. Medical bills don’t go away if a child dies.

As Federal Health Grants Shrink, Memory Cafes Help Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers

By Lydia McFarlane, WVIA June 10, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Memory cafes are small social gatherings for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers. The events are cheap to run and can offer measurable benefits. Memory loss experts say they may become an even more important tool in the face of federal cuts to health programs.

Clinics Sour on CMS After Agency Scraps 10-Year Primary Care Program Only Months In

By Andrew Jones February 13, 2026 KFF Health News Original

A planned 10-year federal program called Making Care Primary was supposed to help primary care doctors by easing administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on improving patients’ health. A year after the Trump administration eliminated the program, federal officials created an alternative plan that favors companies.

An $80,000 Tab for Newborns Lays Out a Loophole in the New Law to Curb Surprise Bills

By Jay Hancock Photos by Heidi de Marco February 23, 2022 KFF Health News Original

The insurance company said that the birth of the Bull family’s twins was not an emergency and that NICU care was “not medically necessary.” The family’s experience with a huge bill sent to collections happened in 2020, but it exposes a hole in the new No Surprises law that took effect Jan. 1.

A Billing Expert Saved Big After Finding an Incorrect Charge in Her Husband’s ER Bill

By Bram Sable-Smith October 25, 2022 KFF Health News Original

A medical billing specialist investigated her husband’s ER bill. Her sleuthing took over a year but knocked thousands of dollars off the hospital’s charges — and provides a playbook for other consumers.

Mental Health Therapists Seek Exemption From Part of Law to Ban Surprise Billing

By Julie Appleby February 3, 2022 KFF Health News Original

Some practitioners object to the way upfront cost estimates are designed, saying they could affect access to care and are burdensome. Other experts disagree.

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