Insurance

Latest KFF Health News Stories

La inscripción de Medicare es temporada abierta para estafadores

KFF Health News Original

Funcionarios federales dicen que están aumentando las quejas de personas mayores engañadas para que compren pólizas sin su consentimiento, o atraídas por información cuestionable, que pueden no cubrir sus medicamentos ni incluir a sus médicos.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Why Health Care Is So Expensive, Chapter $22K

KFF Health News Original

Congress is making slow progress toward completing its ambitious social spending bill, although its Thanksgiving deadline looks optimistic. Meanwhile, a new survey finds the average cost of an employer-provided family plan has risen to more than $22,000. That’s about the cost of a new Toyota Corolla. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Rebecca Love, a nurse academic and entrepreneur, about the impending crisis in nursing.

Medicare’s Open Enrollment Is Open Season for Scammers

KFF Health News Original

Medicare officials say complaints are rising from seniors lured into private plans with misleading information or enrolled without their consent. In response, officials have threatened to penalize the private companies selling Medicare Advantage and drug plans if they or agents working on their behalf mislead consumers.

As Workers Struggle With Pandemic’s Impact, Employers Expand Mental Health Benefits

KFF Health News Original

Many job-based health plans broadened their mental health and substance use coverage to make sure workers had the support they needed this year as pandemic stress lingered, the annual KFF survey finds. Also, the proportion of employers offering health insurance to their workers remained steady, and increases for premiums and out-of-pocket health expenses were moderate.

Medicare Enrollment Blitz Doesn’t Include Options to Move Into Medigap

KFF Health News Original

TV ads and mailings targeting seniors tout Medicare Advantage plans this time of year, but millions choosing traditional Medicare make a costly and difficult decision about Medigap coverage, which gets much less attention.

California Law Aims to Strengthen Access to Mental Health Services

KFF Health News Original

The law doesn’t take effect until July, but its passage should force insurers to expand their rosters of therapists. Here’s how you can challenge your health plan’s mental health services until then.

If Congress Adds Dental Coverage to Medicare, Should All Seniors Get It?

KFF Health News Original

Health equity advocates see a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide a dental benefit to millions of older Americans as Congress considers expanding Medicare services. But complicating that push is a debate over how many of the more than 60 million Medicare recipients should receive dental coverage.

What’s Scarier Than Covid? Halloween Health Haikus

KFF Health News Original

A huge thank you to our readers who participated in our third annual KHN Halloween Haiku Contest. Based on a review by our expert panel of judges, we unmask the winner and serve a sampling of finalists.

Medicare Punishes 2,499 Hospitals for High Readmissions

KFF Health News Original

The federal government’s hospital penalty program finishes its first decade by lowering payments to nearly half the nation’s hospitals for readmitting too many Medicare patients within a month. Penalties, though often small, are credited with helping reduce the number of patients returning for another Medicare stay within 30 days.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dems Agree to Agree, But Not on What to Agree On

KFF Health News Original

Negotiations on the health parts of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda are getting serious but have yet to produce a deal every Democrat can support. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration remains without a nominated leader but manages to take the first steps toward approving over-the-counter hearing aids. Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins, Tami Luhby of CNN and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too.

Cómo hacer desaparecer una deuda médica: 5 consejos para usar la asistencia caritativa del hospital

KFF Health News Original

La Ley de Cuidado de Salud a Bajo Precio (ACA), también conocida como Obamacare, requiere que los hospitales sin fines de lucro pongan a disposición de los pacientes de bajos ingresos asistencia financiera, y que publiquen esas políticas en línea.