Latest KFF Health News Stories
En su primer cara a cara, Harris y Trump se enfrentan por el Obamacare y el aborto
Los dos candidatos presidenciales abordaron una amplia gama de temas, desde cifras de empleo e inflación hasta el aborto y la inmigración, en intercambios marcados por ataques personales.
Longtime Head of L.A. Care To Retire After Navigating Major Medi-Cal Changes
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
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
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
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.
Turning 26 and Struggling To Find Health Insurance? Tell Us About It.
KFF Health News and The New York Times are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.
Para las farmacéuticas, la pelea entre Trump y Harris es entre dos enemigos de la industria
Legisladores de ambos partidos atacan cada vez más a la industria, por los precios de los medicamentos que la mayoría de los estadounidenses consideran irrazonables.
Journalists Talk Shooting’s Toll on Children and State Handling of Opioid Settlement Funds
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Patient Underwent One Surgery but Was Billed for Two. Even After Being Sued, She Refused To Pay.
A collection agency sought court authority to garnish a patient’s wages to pay a disputed surgery bill. But after the patient showed up in court to argue the bill was bogus, the judge declined to let the bill collector seize her money.
En medio de las expulsiones de Medicaid, muchos estados deciden expandirlo
Esta ampliación de las afiliaciones en estos estados se producen en medio de la mayor conmoción en las casi seis décadas de historia del programa.
Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding,’ Many States Wind Up Expanding
The end of pandemic-era Medicaid coverage protections coincided with changes in more than a dozen states to expand coverage for lower-income people, including children, pregnant women, and the incarcerated.
New Lines of Attack Form Against the Affordable Care Act
While fighting potential fraud in government programs has long been a conservative rallying cry, recent criticisms of the Affordable Care Act represent a renewed line of attack on the program when repealing it is unlikely.
Watch: How Patients Get Charged Hospital Prices for Doctor’s Office Care
This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series digs into patients’ getting charged hospital prices for doctor’s office care. For five years, a patient got the same injection from the same office. Then it changed how it billed and she owed more than $1,100 for one treatment.
Watch: Where the Presidential and VP Candidates Stand on Health Policy
How do the top-of-the-ticket candidates compare on abortion, medical debt, and more? Here’s what you need to know.
Medi-Cal’s Dental Care Gap: Getting a Tooth Pulled Is Easy — Much Harder To Get an Implant
California is among a growing number of states that offer dental benefits to low-income residents, but some lawmakers want the state to go further by covering more cleanings and costlier implants. Dentists and health experts worry the approach doesn’t address the root of the problem: Many providers don’t accept Medicaid.
How Little Denmark Got Homegrown Giant Novo Nordisk To Lower Ozempic Prices
As Congress pushes for Medicare to cover payment for anti-obesity drugs, Denmark — Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk’s home — has limited coverage of the drug after cost overruns “emptied all the money boxes in the entire public health system.”
The Politics Holding Back Medicaid Expansion in Some Southern States
Ten states have not expanded Medicaid, leaving 1.5 million people ineligible for the state and federal insurance program and also unable to afford private insurance. Seven of those states are in the South, where expansion efforts may have momentum but where lawmakers say political polarization is holding them back.
Urgent Care or ER? With ‘One-Stop Shop,’ Hospitals Offer Both Under Same Roof
Hospitals in several states are partnering with a private equity-backed company to offer combined emergency and urgent care in a single building. But patients may not realize prices vary between the two services — often by a lot.
What’s Behind New Combined Urgent Care-ER Facilities
It’s Saturday afternoon, and your 4-year-old is bleeding from a gash on his face after a playtime mishap. Should you go to the emergency room or the urgent care clinic? VHC Health in Arlington, Va., plans to soon join a small but growing number of hospitals moving to resolve this dilemma by offering both types […]
Why Many Nonprofit (Wink, Wink) Hospitals Are Rolling in Money
Legal maneuvering, industry lobbying, and lax IRS oversight leave lots of room for “operating surpluses.”
