Listen: Cheap Health Insurance Isn’t Always Cheap
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.
Healthcare Costs
121-140 of 1,951 results
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The Accidental Architect of America’s Drug Patent Problem
Season 15, Episode 5An Arm and a Leg launches its “101” series with the story of Alfred Engelberg, a lawyer who’s been crusading to improve access to generic drugs by fixing loopholes in a law he helped draft more than 40 years ago.
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In Connecticut, Doctors Now Sue Patients Most Over Medical Bills, Surpassing Hospitals
Physicians, dentists, and other nonhospital providers account for more than 80% of health care debt collection cases in Connecticut courts, a CT Mirror-KFF Health News investigation finds.
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Journalists Talk Hot Health Topics: Urgent Care Clinics Performing Abortions and Doulas’ Pay
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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Your New Therapist: Chatty, Leaky, and Hardly Human
With high demand for mental health care, a wave of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots are being marketed as therapy apps — with little evidence they work and few regulations.
By Darius Tahir -
How To Make a High-Deductible Health Plan Work for You
Lower premiums often mean higher costs when you get sick and need care. Among the ways to plan ahead and soften the financial hit: health savings accounts, which act like a medical piggy bank.
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Rovner Recaps Medicaid Cuts’ Impact on Hospitals and Fields Caller Questions on Affordability
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner recently made the radio rounds to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of her appearances.
Abortion Pills, the Budget, and RFK Jr.
Episode 441This week, the Trump administration won a court battle to delay a ruling on access to the abortion pill mifepristone, angering its own anti-abortion allies. Meanwhile, the president’s budget arrived on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are unlikely to agree to its proposed cuts to Health and Human Services programs. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Maya Goldman of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
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Farm Bureau Health Plans Beat the ACA on Prices With an Age-Old Tactic: Rejecting Sick People
Fourteen states now allow health coverage through state farm bureaus. Though they generally share many features of Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, they aren’t insurance. Neither are they typically subject to federal or state health insurance requirements, and the benefits may be less generous or predictable than those of Obamacare plans.
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Urgent Care Clinics Move To Fill Abortion Care Gaps in Rural Areas
When the only clinic that offered abortions in Michigan’s rural Upper Peninsula closed, an urgent care facility stepped in to fill the gap. Now, others are considering similar moves as brick-and-mortar clinics close in blue states.
By Kate Wells -
This Northern Cheyenne Doula Was About To Start Getting Paid — Then Medicaid Cuts Hit
Montana was on track to start reimbursing doulas, who support new and expectant parents, through Medicaid this year. But state officials halted that plan amid a budget shortfall. Other such services deemed optional under Medicaid are at risk nationwide as states brace for federal cuts.
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Immigrant Seniors Lose Medicare Coverage Despite Paying for It
Rosa María Carranza has worked and paid taxes for more than two decades, but a provision in the GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill Act will make her and an estimated 100,000 other lawfully present immigrant seniors ineligible for Medicare. Now Carranza’s once secure retirement is in question.
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Journalists Capsulize Weight Loss News and ACA Premium Pressures
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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State-Run Insurance Plans for Foster Kids Leave Some of Them Without Doctors
North Carolina rolled out a $3.1 billion insurance plan for kids in foster care, but many doctors did not accept patients on the plan. The state is one of several experimenting with a model that has left kids’ guardians scrambling to find health care providers.
By Andrew Jones -
Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act Darkens Outlook for Government-Backed Clinics
About 17,000 federally funded health clinics stand to collectively lose $32 billion under GOP-backed fiscal policies in the next five years — just as more uninsured patients will rely on them for low-cost care.
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Readers Sound Off on Wage Garnishment, Work Requirements, and More
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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States Pay Deloitte, Others Millions To Comply With Trump Law To Cut Medicaid Rolls
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add red tape and restrictions for those seeking Medicaid and SNAP benefits. And the costs to update computer systems that determine eligibility for those programs will be steep.
By Samantha Liss and Rachana Pradhan -
She Owed Her Insurer a Nickel, So It Canceled Her Coverage
When medical bills started rolling in, a teacher’s aide in Florida wondered why her insurance suddenly wasn’t covering them. The answer? She owed a balance of 5 cents, so her insurer canceled her policy.
A Headless CDC
Episode 439The Trump administration faces the challenge of naming a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who can both satisfy the Make America Healthy Again movement and get confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, a new Senate bill to rescind the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone is again elevating the abortion debate, which some Republicans would prefer to stay on the back burner until after the midterms. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown University Law Center’s Katie Keith about the state of the Affordable Care Act on its 16th anniversary.
Steep Health Care Costs Steer Americans to Tough Decisions
Season 14, Episode 4Two Americans explain how the skyrocketing cost of health insurance influenced their decision to buy — or skip — health insurance in 2026.