Health Care Costs

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Arkansas’ Governor Says Medicaid Extension for New Moms Isn’t Needed

KFF Health News Original

Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days after delivery. Arkansas has not expanded what’s called postpartum Medicaid coverage, an option that gives poor women uninterrupted health insurance for a year after they give birth.

California May Regulate and Restrict Pharmaceutical Brokers

KFF Health News Original

California lawmakers are moving to rein in the pharmaceutical middlemen they say drive up costs and limit consumers’ choices. The bill sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom would require pharmacy benefit managers to be licensed in California and would ban some business practices. Newsom vetoed a previous effort three years ago.

The First Year of Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Is Mired in Red Tape

KFF Health News Original

Georgia must decide soon whether to try to extend a limited Medicaid expansion that requires participants to work. Enrollment fell far short of goals in the first year, and the state isn’t yet able to verify participants are working.

‘What Happens Three Months From Now?’ Mental Health After Georgia High School Shooting

KFF Health News Original

The recent shooting at Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta caused more than physical wounds. Medical experts worry a lack of mental health resources in the community — and in Georgia as a whole — means few options for those trying to cope with trauma from the shooting.

Longtime Head of L.A. Care To Retire After Navigating Major Medi-Cal Changes

KFF Health News Original

John Baackes, who steered Medi-Cal’s largest health plan following the Affordable Care Act expansion, and later prepared it for a state overhaul of Medi-Cal, will retire after this year. Baackes believes low payments to doctors and other providers, along with an acute labor shortage, hamper Medi-Cal’s success.

Harris and Trump Are Ready To Take on Big Pharma

KFF Health News Original

Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are both eager to take on high drug prices, leaving pharmaceutical companies on the defensive as they spend millions of dollars this election season. When Harris was California’s attorney general, she joined cases that resulted in almost $7.2 billion (about $22 per person in the United […]

An Arm and a Leg: Don’t Get ‘Bullied’ Into Paying What You Don’t Owe

Podcast

In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the “Bill of the Month” series, produced in partnership with NPR.

For Pharma, Trump vs. Harris Is a Showdown Between Two Industry Foes

KFF Health News Original

Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as more aggressive than former President Donald Trump in taking on pharmaceutical companies, but Trump allies say he would also make lowering drug costs a top priority.