Why Young Americans Dread Turning 26: Health Insurance Chaos
Young adults without jobs that provide insurance find their options are limited and expensive. The problem is about to get worse.
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
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Young adults without jobs that provide insurance find their options are limited and expensive. The problem is about to get worse.
Coronary artery calcium scans can offer a more precise estimate of a patient’s chances for major cardiac events. Some cardiologists say it remains underused.
Billions in opioid settlement money was meant to be spent on treating and preventing addiction — but what happens if it’s misspent? Some advocates say attorneys general need to pay closer attention. If they don’t, a new tool might empower the public.
States that run their own health insurance marketplaces fear an end to automatic Obamacare reenrollment under the tax and spending megabill would have an outsize effect on their policyholders.
Some of the nation’s most well-known beaches are managed by the National Park Service, which saw about 1,000 employees laid off in February by the quasi-agency Department of Government Efficiency, then led by Elon Musk. The void has become a serious public health and safety concern.
Health insurers issue millions of prior authorization denials every year, leaving many patients stuck in a convoluted appeals process, with little hope of meaningful policy change ahead. For doctors, these denials are frustrating and time-consuming. For patients, they can be devastating.
A GOP tax-and-spending bill the House approved Thursday would slash federal Medicaid reimbursement for states that offer health coverage to immigrants without legal status.
Families, nursing facilities, and home health agencies rely on foreign-born workers to fill health care jobs that are demanding and do not attract enough American citizens. The Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies threaten to cut a key source of labor for the industry, which was already predicting a surge in demand.
As politicians demand that more Medicaid recipients work, many people with disabilities say their state programs’ income and asset caps force them to limit their work hours or turn down promotions.
California’s governor is pressuring Oakland to allow more police pursuits as part of a crackdown on crime. But more pursuits mean a greater risk to public health, with more potential injuries and deaths among bystanders. Policies in cities including New York and San Francisco reflect divergent local priorities.
Patients and providers say health insurers’ preapproval requirements lead to delays and denials of needed medical treatments. Insurers argue that prior authorization keeps costs down.
State Medicaid and Affordable Care Act programs have long struggled to connect with lower-income Americans to help them access care. Now some are trying an alternative approach: meeting them at the laundromat.
California and Massachusetts are teaching immigrants their rights while Florida and Texas are collecting patients’ immigration status. As states offer differing guidelines for interacting with immigrant patients, hospitals around the U.S. say they won’t turn people away for care because of their immigration status.
A federal judge sided with 19 states seeking an injunction against a Biden administration rule allowing recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to enroll in Affordable Care Act coverage and qualify for subsidies amid the annual open enrollment period.
Many older adults living alone, isolated and vulnerable, struggle with health issues. But a noteworthy slice of this growing group of seniors maintain a high degree of well-being. Meet Hilda Jaffe, age 102.
Patient and consumer advocates fear a new Trump administration will scale back federal efforts to expand financial protections for patients and shield them from debt.
Victims of the opioid crisis, health advocates, and public policy experts have repeatedly called on state and local governments to transparently report how they’re using the funds they are receiving from settlements with opioid makers and distributors.
Americans are getting dental implants more than ever — and at costs reaching tens of thousands of dollars. Experts worry some dentists have lost sight of the soul of dentistry: preserving and fixing teeth.
The company faces more than 2,000 lawsuits alleging it sold defective knee and hip implants.
Nineteen states are seeking to stall a Biden administration rule that would allow recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in ACA coverage and qualify for subsidies. DACA provides work authorization and temporary deportation protection to people brought to the U.S. as children without immigration paperwork.
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