Healthcare Costs Archives - Page 16 of 98

Next on Kennedy’s List? Preventive Care and Vaccine Harm

Episode 408

July 31, 2025

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, is eyeing an overhaul of two more key entities as part of his ongoing effort to reshape health policy. And President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that would enable localities to force some homeless people into residential treatment. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sara Rosenbaum, one of the nation’s leading experts on Medicaid, to mark Medicaid’s 60th anniversary this week.

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A portrait of a woman sitting at a dining room table.

Bill of the Month

A Tourist Ended Up With a Wild Bat in Her Mouth — And Nearly $21,000 in Medical Bills

Health insurance generally doesn’t cover treatment for injuries sustained shortly before a customer buys a policy. A Massachusetts woman found that out the hard way.

By Tony Leys

July 31, 2025

Letters to the Editor

Readers Weigh In on Making American Health Care Affordable Again

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

July 31, 2025

In Covered California, 112,600 immigrants, or nearly 6% of total enrollees, stand to lose their federal tax subsidies when President Donald Trump's tax and spending law takes effect in 2027, according to data provided by the exchange.

Asking Never Hurts

Lawfully Present Immigrants Help Stabilize ACA Plans. Why Does the GOP Want Them Out?

The GOP’s tax and spending law and a new rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will make it harder to enroll in Affordable Care Act health plans, will raise consumers’ out-of-pocket costs, and could prompt younger, healthier people, including lawfully present immigrants who will lose financial aid, to drop coverage.

By Bernard J. Wolfson

July 29, 2025

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Drill Down How Federal Cuts Will Affect Medicaid, Cancer Research, and Uninsured Rates

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

July 26, 2025

A vector illustration of someone with one hand to their face and a credit card in the other hand. They are sitting in front of a laptop on a table.

Diagnosis: Debt

Trump Voters Wanted Relief From Medical Bills. For Millions, the Bills Are About To Get Bigger.

Moves by the Trump administration to pare back Medicaid, rescind medical debt rules, and loosen vaccine requirements threaten to increase medical bills for millions of Americans.

By Noam N. Levey

July 25, 2025

Alcohol pads, syringes, vaccines, and bandages lie on a tray at a pediatrician's office

Fearing Medicaid Coverage Loss, Some Parents Rush To Vaccinate Their Kids

Worried parents are hurrying to get their children vaccinated, fearing future federal policy changes will limit access to free immunizations. Pediatricians worry that any changes to the childhood vaccine schedule will leave families without affordable options for essential shots.

By Jackie Fortiér

July 25, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Here Come the ACA Premium Hikes

Episode 407

July 24, 2025

Medicaid may have monopolized Washington’s attention lately, but big changes are coming to the Affordable Care Act as well. Meanwhile, Americans are learning more about what’s in Trump’s big budget law, and polls suggest many don’t like what they see. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews historian Jonathan Oberlander to mark Medicare’s 60th anniversary.

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An illustration of an unidentifiable male figure, wearing a red tie and dark grey suit, holding a golden scale. On the left scale, which is lighter and raised high, are medical items. On the right side is a restaurant worker, presumably on Medicaid.

Republicans Call Medicaid Rife With Fraudsters. This Man Sees No Choice but To Break the Rules.

Congressional Republicans successfully pushed to add hurdles to qualify for Medicaid by saying they would eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. This is the story of a Montana man who explains why he said he is breaking the rules to keep his health insurance and his job.

By Katheryn Houghton

July 23, 2025

KFF Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Are 5 Million Nondisabled Medicaid Recipients Watching TV All Day? That’s Unsupported

CNN pundit Scott Jennings said almost 5 million nondisabled Medicaid recipients "simply choose not to work" and "spend six hours a day socializing and watching television." But a recent analysis found only about 300,000 cited a lack of interest in working as the reason they were unemployed.

By Loreben Tuquero, PolitiFact

July 22, 2025

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Dig Into Megabill’s Slashing of Medicaid. Plus, How To Avoid Tick Bites.

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

July 19, 2025

A photo of two laptops with the HealthCare.gov website open.

Insurers and Customers Brace for Double Whammy to Obamacare Premiums

Consumers face both rising premiums and falling subsidies next year in Obamacare plans, with insurers seeking increases to cover not only rising costs but also some policy changes advanced by President Donald Trump and the GOP.

By Julie Appleby

July 18, 2025

A closely cropped photo of a senior woman holding a paper letter. She presses her hand to her lips as she makes a stressed expression.

Perspective

Surprise Medical Bills Were Supposed To Be a Thing of the Past. Surprise — They’re Not.

The No Surprises Act, which was signed in 2020 and took effect in 2022, was heralded as a landmark piece of legislation that would protect people who had health insurance from receiving surprise medical bills. And yet bills that take patients by surprise keep coming.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

July 18, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

The Senate Saves PEPFAR Funding — For Now

Episode 406

July 17, 2025

The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administration’s request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other FDA-approved drugs. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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A woman wearing glasses and a mask helps another woman balance on one leg while holding a ball

Broken Rehab

How To Find the Right Medical Rehab Services

Specialized hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and home health agencies provide rehab therapy. Insurers may limit the services you can get.

By Jordan Rau

July 15, 2025

In Rush To Satisfy Trump, GOP Delivers Blow to Health Industry

The health industry couldn’t persuade GOP lawmakers to oppose big Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill for many reasons. A big one: Congressional Republicans were more worried about angering Trump than a backlash from hospitals and low-income constituents back home.

By Phil Galewitz and Stephanie Armour

July 14, 2025

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Tally State and Local Health Care Implications of GOP Megabill

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

July 12, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Digesting Trump’s Big Budget Law

Episode 405

July 10, 2025

President Donald Trump’s big budget bill became his big budget law on July 4, codifying about $1 trillion in cuts to the Medicaid program. But the law includes many less-publicized provisions that could reshape the way the nation pays for and receives health care. Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, uncertainty reigns as both staff and outside recipients of federal funds face cuts. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported the latest KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” feature, about some very pricey childhood immunizations.

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Watch: She’s at High Risk of Breast Cancer. She Moved, and Her Screening Costs Soared.

This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series explores how the type of medical facility where a patient seeks care can affect the cost of that care — particularly when that facility is a hospital.

By Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV and Jamie Grey, InvestigateTV

July 10, 2025

Closeup of a doula assisting a pregnant woman by placing a belly band while she's sitting on a fitness ball, providing support and comfort during pregnancy

Doulas, Once a Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered by Medicaid — Even in GOP States

Even as states brace for significant reductions in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, conservative legislatures across the country are passing laws that grant doula access to Medicaid beneficiaries.

By Lauren Sausser and Katheryn Houghton

July 10, 2025

Trump 2.0

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