Insurance Archives - Page 18 of 189

GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits

Episode 397

May 15, 2025

GOP-controlled House committees approved parts of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” this week, including more than $700 billion in cuts to health programs over the next decade — mostly from Medicaid, which covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress for the first time since taking office and told lawmakers that Americans shouldn’t take medical advice from him. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, 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 Gavin Newsom speaking before an audience.

Newsom’s Pitch as He Seeks To Pare Down Immigrant Health Care: ‘We Have To Adjust’

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that he’s proud his state expanded health care to all low-income residents regardless of immigration status but that tough budget times call for some adjustments. The Democrat’s new budget proposes scaling back benefits to adults living in the country illegally, as well as charging them a $100 monthly premium.

By Christine Mai-Duc and Vanessa G. Sánchez

May 15, 2025

A photo of Mike Johnson standing at a podium with two men behind him: Tom Emmer and Steve Scalise.

The GOP’s Trying Again To Cut Medicaid. It’s Only Gotten Harder Since 2017.

Donald Trump is back in the White House, the GOP controls Congress, and Republicans have dusted off their 2017 plans to reshape Medicaid, the government health program for those with low incomes or disabilities.

By Phil Galewitz

May 14, 2025

A photo of Governor Gavin Newsom speaking at a podium with the governor's seal on it.

After Promising Universal Health Care, California Governor Must Reconsider Immigrant Coverage

Gov. Gavin Newsom was elected to office in 2019 on a promise of universal health care. He dramatically expanded coverage, but after six years, the Democrat is forced to contemplate deep cuts — including to the nation’s largest health care expansion to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.

By Angela Hart and Christine Mai-Duc

May 13, 2025

An Arm and a Leg

A Health Policy Veteran Puts 2025 in Perspective

Season 13, Episode 7

May 12, 2025

Two stories from Washington, D.C., give listeners a sense of what changes the Trump administration has been making to health policy, with KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner and Arthur Allen.

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A photo of California state Senator Akilah Weber Pierson indoors. Behind her is a wall covered in colorful art prints.

A California Lawmaker Leans Into Her Medical Training in Fight for Health Safety Net

As California’s budget deadline looms, state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, a physician-turned-lawmaker, says state leaders may soon have to make some tough decisions on health care spending. With the state’s Medi-Cal program billions of dollars short, California’s health care safety net is at risk — even without federal cuts to Medicaid.

By Christine Mai-Duc

May 9, 2025

A photo illustration of a person's head with their brain drawn as tangled threads. Three hands work to unknot the threads.

Trump Team Faces Key Legal Decision That Could Put Mental Health Parity in Peril

The administration is facing a May 12 deadline to declare if it will defend Biden-era regulations that aim to enforce laws requiring parity in insurance coverage of mental and physical health care.

By Aneri Pattani

May 9, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP

Episode 396

May 8, 2025

Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade — as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.

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A photo of the exterior of a community hospital in rural Colorado. Two pedestrians walk across the sidewalk in front of it.

Seeking Spending Cuts, GOP Lawmakers Target a Tax Hospitals Love To Pay

Republicans, on the hunt for spending cuts, are eyeing a special kind of Medicaid tax that nearly every state uses to boost funding for hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers.

By Phil Galewitz

May 8, 2025

A mother leans over her child, who is in a wheelchair. They are both smiling.

As Republicans Eye Sweeping Medicaid Cuts, Missouri Offers a Preview

Congressional Republicans are looking to cut at least $880 billion from a pool of federal funding that includes Medicaid — and the program is likely to take a major hit. A previous budget crunch in Missouri offers a window into how cuts ripple through people’s lives.

By Bram Sable-Smith

May 7, 2025

A photo illustration shows the exterior of the White House seen behind a blurred picture of an American flag waving in the wind against a blue sky.

Trump Policies at Odds With ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Push

On the surface, President Donald Trump embraced the MAHA movement with a pledge to end the nation’s high rates of chronic disease. But the broader Trump agenda may prove to be the biggest barrier this effort confronts.

By Stephanie Armour

May 7, 2025

A photo of a large, modern office building in Maryland. In front of it are the American flag, a flag with insignias for six military branches, and the National League of Families POW/MIA flag.

At Social Security, These Are the Days of the Living Dead

In recent weeks, Social Security has been plagued by problems related to technology, system errors, and even the marking of living people as dead.

By Darius Tahir

May 6, 2025

The Week in Brief

Work Requirements Might Cut Medicaid Spending. But at What Cost?

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

By Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead

May 2, 2025

A photo of the exterior of a concrete office building: the headquarters of the Government Accountability Office.

Government Watchdog Expects Medicaid Work Requirement Analysis by Fall

This fall, the U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to release a report on how much it costs to run Georgia Pathways to Coverage — the country’s only active Medicaid work requirement program — as other states and Congress consider similar programs.

By Sam Whitehead and Renuka Rayasam

May 2, 2025

Spotlight

Covered California Pushes for Better Health Care as Federal Spending Cuts Loom

Monica Soni, Covered California’s chief medical officer, oversees an effort to hold health plans financially accountable for the quality of care they provide, including childhood vaccination rates, which have fallen in California and nationwide. She worries federal spending cuts could soon bring turbulence to the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace.

By Bernard J. Wolfson

May 2, 2025

An adult with short brown hair, wearing a black T-shirt, stands in front of a stoop and is directly facing the camera.

Bill of the Month

The Patient Expected a Free Checkup. The Bill Was $1,430.

Carmen Aiken of Chicago thought their medical appointment would be covered because the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to pay for a long list of preventive services. But after the appointment, Aiken received a bill for more than $1,400.

By Samantha Liss and Lauren Sausser

April 30, 2025

A photo of a clipboard resting horizontally on a table with a piece of paper that reads, "Medicare Advantage." In front of it are an open pill bottle spilled yellow capsules, a stethoscope, and a pen.

When Hospitals Ditch Medicare Advantage Plans, Thousands of Members Get To Leave, Too

Breakups between health providers and Advantage plans are increasingly common. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has allowed whole groups of patients to leave their plans.

By Susan Jaffe

April 28, 2025

The Week in Brief

Montana Hospitals Preserve Medicaid Expansion, Fend Off Regulations

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

By Mike Dennison

April 25, 2025

Donald Trump is pictured from afar. The raised hands of reporters are seen in the foreground.

What ‘Fertilization President’ Trump Can Learn From State Efforts To Expand IVF Access

State-level efforts to regulate fertility coverage reveal the gauntlet of budgetary and political hurdles such initiatives face — obstacles that have led to millions of people being left out even when mandates become law.

By Sarah Kwon

April 25, 2025

A photo of members standing on the Montana Senate floor.

Hospitals’ Lobbying Frustrates Montana Lawmakers Who Sought To Boost Oversight

Montana’s powerful hospital lobby was instrumental in renewing the state’s Medicaid expansion program and has also fended off most legislation to increase state oversight of their business.

By Mike Dennison

April 23, 2025

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