Health Care Costs

"Health Care Costs" Main

Latest Morning Briefing Stories

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Live From Aspen: Health and the 2024 Elections

Podcast

Health policy may not be the top issue in this year’s presidential and congressional elections, but it’s likely to play a key role. President Joe Biden and Democrats intend to hold Republicans responsible for the Supreme Court’s unpopular ruling overturning the right to abortion, and former President Donald Trump aims to take credit for government efforts to lower prescription drug prices — even in cases in which he played no role. Meanwhile, some critical health care issues, such as those involving Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, are unlikely to get discussed much, even though the party in power after the elections would control the future of those programs. This week, in an episode taped before a live audience at the Aspen Ideas: Health festival in Aspen, Colorado, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Super Bowl Parade Shooting Survivors Await Promised Donations While Bills Pile Up

KFF Health News Original

Families of the people hurt during the Feb. 14 mass shooting are carrying what one expert calls “victimization debt.” In the third story of our series “The Injured,” we learn about the strain of paying small and large medical bills and other out-of-pocket costs.

Sobrevivientes del tiroteo en el desfile de los Chiefs esperan las donaciones prometidas mientras acumulan cuentas médicas

KFF Health News Original

Los costos médicos para los sobrevivientes del tiroteo son muy altos y no terminarán pronto. Según un estudio de la Escuela de Medicina de Harvard, el gasto médico promedio para alguien que recibió un disparo se eleva a casi $30,000 el primer año.

How Two States Reveal a Deeper Divide on Insuring Kids’ Health

KFF Health News Original

Arizona and Florida lawmakers saw trouble ahead for children in 2023, with states slated — as the covid-19 pandemic waned — to resume disenrolling ineligible people from Medicaid. So, legislators in both states voted to expand a safety net known as the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which covers those 18 and younger in […]

Presidential Politics, Polka and Wisconsin

KFF Health News Original

Wisconsin, the land of fried cheese curds and the Green Bay Packers, is one of a half-dozen key battleground states where President Biden is trying to make health care a key issue in his expected November matchup with former president Donald Trump. Biden narrowly won Wisconsin in 2020, after it went for Trump in 2016. […]

Biden Plan To Save Medicare Patients Money on Drugs Risks Empty Shelves, Pharmacists Say

KFF Health News Original

President Joe Biden is campaigning for reelection on his efforts to cut costs for Medicare patients at the pharmacy counter. But independent pharmacists say one strategy makes it unaffordable for them to keep some brand-name medicines in stock.

Weight-Loss Drugs Are So Popular They’re Headed for Medicare Negotiations

KFF Health News Original

The steep prices — and popularity — of Ozempic and similar weight-loss and diabetes drugs could soon make them a priority for Medicare drug price negotiations. List prices for a month’s supply of the drugs range from $936 to $1,349, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. The Inflation Reduction Act President Biden signed in […]

California Becomes Latest State To Try Capping Health Care Spending

KFF Health News Original

California is the ninth state to set annual health spending targets for the industry. Already hospitals and doctors are voicing resistance to the fledgling Office of Health Care Affordability, even as they avoid overtly opposing its goals.

Presidential Election Could Decide Fate of Extra Obamacare Subsidies

KFF Health News Original

Most states that saw enrollment in the Obamacare marketplace double from 2020 to 2024 are in the South. But the enhanced federal subsidies that attracted people with $0 premiums and low out-of-pocket costs will expire next year.

Farmworkers Face High-Risk Exposures to Bird Flu, but Testing Isn’t Reaching Them

KFF Health News Original

Federal officials are offering $75 to dairy workers who agree to be tested for bird flu. Advocates say the payments aren’t enough to protect workers from lost wages and health care costs if they test positive.

Los Angeles County Launches Ambitious Plan To Tackle Medical Debt. Hospitals Groan.

KFF Health News Original

Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous county, is spearheading a comprehensive plan to tackle a $2.9 billion medical debt crisis. Hospitals are still getting on board with the project, which is helmed by the public health department.