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At least 2 million seniors will receive notice this fall that their Medicare Advantage plans will disappear at year’s end, some without a comparable alternative. Here’s a look at this increasingly common problem with Medicare Advantage, and what it says about Medicare as a whole.
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Hours after experiencing a flare-up related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Kenney Blewett of Kyle, Texas, died by suicide in June. A medication his doctor prescribed days earlier to ease his breathing problems hadn’t been filled due to an “insurance issue,” his pharmacy explained via email.
The Make America Healthy Again movement held a shindig in Washington, D.C., this week. But rather than moms arguing to get chemicals out of their kids’ food, the room was full of Trump administration officials and industry representatives looking to promote health-related products. Meanwhile, the administration for the second year in a row is refusing to spend money Congress appropriated. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll of AcademyHealth.
Getting financial assistance from hospitals often involves filling out cumbersome forms. Some states now require hospitals to identify and automatically enroll patients eligible for charity care.
President Donald Trump has championed sprawling health policy changes under the Make America Healthy Again movement, but a KFF-Associated Press survey of rural voters found people aren’t seeing the initiatives reach their communities.
Potent sedating medications are often used on agitated people with dementia in long-term care facilities despite federal efforts to discourage their use. A clash over whether to drug a Michigan woman illuminates the wrenching decisions families and guardians face.
Staff raced against rising floodwater to evacuate 36 residents from a nursing home in New Richland, Minnesota. It’s one of 100 facilities KFF Health News identified as facing some of the nation’s worst flood risk.
Autumn Daniels went to the hospital with a severe migraine. After four hours in the waiting room, she left to try a different facility — but the ER still charged her.
The death penalty is legal in 27 states, and lethal injection is the primary method. That means involving medical professionals to store, test, and inject the drugs. After a botched execution in Tennessee, doctors and nurses there say medical professionals need to be removed from the process completely.
Some states have considered barring companies that own a PBM from also owning brick-and-mortar pharmacies, as CVS does. Two states have followed through. A similar proposal at the federal level has gained prominent sponsors, aligning conservative, business-friendly Republicans with Democrats traditionally more open to government regulation.
Recent outbreaks of foodborne illness and high-profile recalls have made this issue a concern of voters.
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Four states will vote on abortion-related ballot measures in November, marking the fourth time in five years that millions of Americans will weigh in on their states’ abortion rules. The measures follow the Supreme Court’s “Dobbs” decision, which upended federal abortion protections.
The disease has long been a risk of coal mining, an industry the Trump administration is trying to reinvigorate.
As the oldest baby boomers turn 80, researchers worry there won’t be enough room in nursing facilities for a rapidly graying nation.
“Brain cancer” or “H4 G34-mutant”? As knowledge about genetics advances, some doctors say cancers should be defined by their mutations, not the tissues where they manifest.
Like many Americans, Joshua and Ashley Durham saw their health insurance premiums rise by hundreds of dollars a month this year. Despite being healthcare practitioners all too aware of the risks, they chose to go uninsured. Others, though, can’t afford to go without.
Some mental health experts favor suicide prevention steps that are applied broadly, with protections that aren’t tied to an individual’s specific risk.
To get drugs and devices out faster, the FDA lets companies conduct studies of safety or efficacy after the products are approved. In many cases, such “postmarket” studies are behind schedule or overdue, records show.
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