Healthcare Costs Archives - Page 19 of 99

Live From Aspen — Governors and an HHS Secretary Sound Off

Episode 403

June 26, 2025

In this special episode taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, three former governors — one of whom also served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — discuss how state and federal officials can work together to improve Americans’ health. Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, former Kansas governor and HHS secretary under President Barack Obama; Republican Chris Sununu, former New Hampshire governor; and Democrat Roy Cooper, former North Carolina governor, join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner.

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A man sits at an office desk that shows lots of signs of activity; stacks of paper, an open computer, and a name plate.

‘We Need To Keep Fighting’: HIV Activists Organize To Save Lives as Trump Guts Funding

While Congress fails to stave off cuts to HIV care, community leaders in Mississippi and beyond race to limit the damage.

By Amy Maxmen

June 24, 2025

The Week in Brief

With Enhanced Subsidies Set To Expire, Consumers Could Face Higher Obamacare Costs

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Daniel Chang

June 20, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Supreme Court Upholds Bans on Gender-Affirming Care

Episode 402

June 20, 2025

The Supreme Court this week said Tennessee may continue to enforce its law banning most types of gender-affirming care for minors. The ruling is likely to greenlight similar laws in two dozen states. And the Senate is preparing to vote on a budget reconciliation bill that includes even deeper Medicaid cuts than the House version. Victoria Knight of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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An Arm and a Leg

The Prescription Drug Playbook, Part I

Season 13, Episode 9

June 18, 2025

In Part 1 of a two-part series on dealing with the high price of prescription drugs, a father explains the strategies he used to get his daughter the medicine she needs to treat her epilepsy.

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Have Job-Based Health Coverage at 65? You May Still Want To Sign Up for Medicare

Patient advocates say they frequently hear from people who thought they didn’t need to sign up for Medicare when they turned 65 because they had group health coverage. That delay sometimes forces people to cover medical expenses themselves.

By Michelle Andrews

June 18, 2025

A photo of Senators John Thune, John Barrasso and Shelley Capito in the US Capitol.

‘MAGA’ Backers Like Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ — Until They Learn of Health Consequences

A new poll finds that most adults oppose the GOP bill that would extend many of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts while reducing spending on domestic programs including Medicaid. Most Trump backers support the plan until they learn that millions would lose health coverage and local hospitals would lose funding.

By Phil Galewitz

June 17, 2025

A woman in a blue tshirt with dark hair and red lipstick smiles at the camera. She is seated in front of a blue door

The Price You Pay for an Obamacare Plan Could Surge Next Year

An estimated 4 million Americans will lose health insurance over the next decade if Congress doesn’t extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, which expire at the end of the year. Florida and Texas would see the biggest losses, in part because they have not expanded Medicaid eligibility.

By Daniel Chang

June 17, 2025

A husband sits at the kitchen table. His wife is seen close on the left of the frame. She is blurred slightly as the camera is focused on the husband.

Deadly Denials

‘Not Accountable to Anyone’: As Insurers Issue Denials, Some Patients Run Out of Options

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.

By Lauren Sausser

June 16, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

RFK Jr. Upends Vaccine Policy, After Promising He Wouldn’t

Episode 401

June 12, 2025

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week did something he had promised not to do: He fired every member of the scientific advisory committee that recommends which vaccines should be given to whom. And he replaced them, in some cases, with vaccine skeptics. Meanwhile, hundreds of employees of the National Institutes of Health sent an open letter to the agency’s director, accusing the Trump administration of policies that “undermine the NIH mission.” Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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A photo of three US senators standing for a news huddle outside of the White House.

Four Ways Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Undermine Access to Obamacare

The combination of the House-passed spending and tax bill and the Trump administration’s regulatory action could change Affordable Care Act enrollment and the cost of insurance. The result, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is that millions of people may become uninsured.

By Julie Appleby

June 11, 2025

An Arm and a Leg

A Mathematical Solution for US Hospitals?

Season 13, Episode 8

June 4, 2025

An immigrant mathematician is on a mission to save U.S. hospitals billions of dollars and improve the lives of doctors, nurses, and patients. At one hospital, it's working.

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A close-up photo of a lecture with a sign reading "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" on its front. A person stands behind the lecture, but the top half of his face is out of the shot. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is seen standing to the right of the lecture.

Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Continues Assault on Obamacare

The domestic policy legislation the House advanced in May includes the most substantial rollback of the Affordable Care Act since President Donald Trump and his Republican allies tried to pass legislation in 2017 that would have largely repealed President Barack Obama’s signature domestic accomplishment.

By Phil Galewitz and Julie Appleby

June 3, 2025

A photo of a man standing outside under a shaded canopy of trees.

Bill of the Month

A Medicaid Patient Had a Heart Attack While Traveling. He Owed Almost $78,000.

Federal law says Medicaid must cover out-of-state emergency care. But a Florida man got a five-figure bill after a South Dakota hospital declined to charge his state’s Medicaid program.

By Arielle Zionts

May 29, 2025

A photo of a woman seated at her desk. Paperwork is in front of her and she is holding a pen in her hands.

Common Ground

In Arizona County That Backed Trump, Conflicted Feelings About Cutting Medicaid

Medicaid plays a vital role in many rural communities that favored President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. But residents still seem open to Republican proposals to cut perceived waste in the program.

By Noam N. Levey

May 28, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House

Episode 398

May 23, 2025

The House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy along with billions of dollars in cuts to health program spending. But the Senate is expected to make major changes to the measure before it can go to President Donald Trump for his signature. This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

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A photo of Mike Johnson speaking at a podium with a sign attached to it that reads "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."

Republicans Aim To Punish States That Insure Unauthorized Immigrants

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.

By Phil Galewitz and Christine Mai-Duc

May 23, 2025

A photo of President Trump seated at a desk, gesturing with his hands, holding a magic marker. Three men stand behind him; they are heads of federal health agencies.

How Trump Aims To Slash Federal Support for Research, Public Health, and Medicaid

One thing experts agree on: The damage from the funding cuts will be varied and immense.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

May 20, 2025

KFF Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Trump Exaggerates Speed and Certainty of Prescription Drug Price Reductions

According to the timeline in the May 12 executive order, prescription drug price reductions would not happen "almost immediately,” but rather could take months or years. And extending the savings to Americans outside federal health insurance programs such as Medicare would likely require congressional action.

By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact

May 20, 2025

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Unpack Drug Prices, Threats to Medicaid, and the Fluoridation of Water

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

May 17, 2025

Trump 2.0

Public Health

Audio Reports

Special Reports

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Healthcare Costs