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In his first term, President Donald Trump granted pardons or clemency to more than 60 convicted fraudsters, including health care executives who defrauded Medicare out of hundreds of millions of dollars, courts and juries found. Now, Trump says cracking down on fraud is a priority.
Montana is the only state that doesn’t collect immunization reports from schools, creating a data gap for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and community health officials. With more than 480 measles cases reported in the U.S., state lawmakers are considering a bill to restart the data collection.
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson prompted both grief and public outrage about the ways insurers deny treatment. Republicans and Democrats agree prior authorization needs fixing, but patients are growing impatient.
A bill designed to force PBMs to pay higher fees to independent drugstores sailed through the state House, but lobbyists are marshaling their forces to kill the measure in the Senate.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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Health plans limit physical or occupational therapy sessions to as few as 20 a year, no matter the patient’s infirmities. The limits persist despite federal rules banning insurers from setting annual dollar limits on the care they will provide.
After leaving his job to launch his own business, an Illinois man opted for a six-month health insurance plan. When he needed a colonoscopy, he thought it would cover most of the bill. Then he learned his plan’s limited benefits would cost him plenty.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a proposed reorganization for the department — which, counting those who already have left the agency, amounts to about a 25% cut in its workforce. And its planned “Administration for a Healthy America” will collapse several existing HHS agencies into one. Meanwhile, the department continues to cut billions in health spending while the nation faces measles outbreaks in several states and the continuing possibility of another pandemic, such as bird flu. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news.
The anti-fluoride movement has more momentum than ever. In rural counties with few dentists, tooth decay could surge to levels that have not been seen in decades, experts warn.
The Trump administration is moving to end the “Housing First” approach despite warnings from providers and homelessness experts that the shift won’t work. But with homelessness rising, President Donald Trump could find allies in blue cities and states as the public clamors for streets to be cleaned up.
Bills before the legislature would license community health workers and make it easier for some other health professionals licensed in other states to do business in Montana.
Since the Trump administration began firing federal workers, they say they feel overwhelmed, have obtained or considered seeking psychiatric care and medication, and are anxious about paying their bills. And soon, their health insurance will run out.
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.
U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota, a Long Island Republican, told his constituents that he voted for the House-passed GOP budget resolution because it protects Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. However, the bill charges a committee with making cuts that likely can’t be attained without slashing Medicaid.
With the first licenses for providing psychedelic mushrooms issued, excitement and questions build about the fungi’s potential, affordability, and safety in the Centennial State.
Public health and science researchers are concerned about the Trump administration’s cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reductions in staff and budgets could undermine the nation’s ability to respond to threats, they say.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
