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Getting financial assistance from hospitals often involves filling out cumbersome forms. Some states now require hospitals to identify and automatically enroll patients eligible for charity care.
Rural voters rank the cost of living and cost of healthcare as top issues they want to hear about from midterm candidates as they face a tightening pocketbook pinch.
Steep jumps in health insurance premiums and deductibles are top of mind for many voters heading into midterm elections. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explains how rising costs may shape competitive races. She also distills plans from candidates on both sides of the aisle to bring costs down.
Stephanie Halver’s doctor recommended she get a breast MRI, partly because of her family’s cancer history. Her insurer approved the scan, but unlike mammograms, breast MRIs aren’t universally covered as zero-cost preventive care.
The new Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program promises eligible beneficiaries access to popular weight loss drugs for as little as $50 a month. But for some, having the very medical conditions these drugs are approved to treat means they don't qualify for the discount.
About half of U.S. adults say they can’t afford healthcare. California is among at least eight states that have set spending growth targets for the healthcare sector. It may soon impose enforcement penalties aimed at pushing hospitals and other providers to meet those goals.
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Hospitals and other medical providers are increasingly asking for payment before providing care, collecting more of what patients might owe as rising insurance deductibles add to Americans' financial pressures.
When surgery became unavoidable, a man with no insurance shopped around for the best price for a hernia repair — and saved thousands by traveling out of state.
Drugmakers provide financial assistance to help patients afford increasingly expensive medications. But some insurers do not count those payments toward a plan’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum and make patients pay instead.
Some Senate Democrats want to cap the amount beneficiaries in traditional Medicare have to pay toward care, but the move is expected to draw GOP opposition for potentially adding billions to Medicare costs.
The Trump administration finalized a rule that embraces new types of Obamacare coverage, including 30% higher out-of-pocket costs for some plans, and a more novel approach that allows insurers to offer coverage without set networks of doctors and hospitals.
Congress' decision not to extend enhanced marketplace tax credits has boosted the appeal of alternative health coverage with lower monthly premiums. Consumer advocates dismiss the plans as "junk insurance,” while proponents say patients need alternatives to pricey marketplace options.
Deductible. Copay. Out-of-pocket limit. What do these health insurance terms actually mean? We explain common phrases from insurance policies so navigating your plan is less of a headache.
The new TrumpRx program relies partly on connecting consumers with discount coupons offered by drugmakers. For insured patients, though, using a coupon can prove dicey.
Across the country, people are choosing lower monthly premiums in exchange for higher out-of-pocket risk. Reporter Jackie Fortiér explains what the shift means for Americans’ health and wallets.
Costs keep many Americans, even those with insurance, from getting dental care. Understanding how dental insurance works and leaning into preventive care can help keep dental problems — and bills — manageable.
An estimated 4.8 million people are expected to go without health coverage because Congress did not extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans. But even without a health plan, people will need medical care in 2026. Many of them have been thinking through their plan B to maintain their health.
Congress returned from its break facing a familiar question: whether to extend the expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans that expired at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke a promise to Bill Cassidy, the chairman of Senate health committee, by overhauling the federal government’s childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the number of diseases for which vaccines will be recommended. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
It’s been more than 10 years since the FDA first approved an HIV prevention drug. Today, people who could benefit from preexposure prophylaxis often struggle to access the lifesaving medicine or run into doctors without the education or empathy to offer affirming care. And those lapses can produce billing headaches.
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