How To Pick Health Insurance — In the Worst Year Ever
As millions face skyrocketing health insurance premiums, the “An Arm and a Leg” team navigates their own limited options.
Insurance
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Sticker Shock: Obamacare Customers Confront Premium Spikes as Congress Dithers
With subsidies that give consumers extra help paying their health insurance premiums set to expire, lawmakers are again debating the Affordable Care Act. The difference this time: It’s happening in the middle of ACA open enrollment.
Crunch Time for ACA Tax Credits
Episode 426Dec. 15 is the deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act plans that begin Jan. 1, and Congress remains at odds over letting expanded tax credits for the plans’ premiums expire and increasing the cost of insurance for millions of Americans. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to remake vaccine policy to reflect ideology rather than science. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown professor Linda Blumberg about the GOP’s health plans.
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Health Care Consolidation and Rising Costs Happen, but Obamacare Is Not the Key Culprit
The debate over expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits has given Republicans room to resurface old criticisms — such as blaming the ACA for mergers and consolidation within the health care industry.
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Plan-Switching, Sign-Up Impersonations: Obamacare Enrollment Fraud Persists
Investigators from the Government Accountability Office were able to register nearly 20 fake ACA enrollments in a probe of healthcare.gov. The federal government paid subsidies to insurers for some of the fake customers.
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Out-of-Pocket Pain From High-Deductible Plans Means Skimping on Care
High-deductible health insurance plans are increasingly common, and many more enrollees will likely need to choose such plans for the coming year. For those with chronic conditions like diabetes, the gamble can mean compromised care and long-term consequences.
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Trump’s Idea for Health Accounts Has Been Tried. Millions of Patients Have Ended Up in Debt.
Republican calls to give Americans cash instead of health insurance subsidies double down on a decades-old strategy of moving people into high-deductible plans with health savings accounts.
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Watch: What Do Republicans Really Want on Health Care?
On “What the Health? From KFF Health News,” distributed by WAMU, chief Washington correspondent and podcast host Julie Rovner sat down with Avik Roy, a GOP health policy adviser, to talk about how health care has evolved as a Republican Party issue.
By Julie Rovner -
Journalists Dig Into Maine HIV Outbreak and Ever-Closer End to Enhanced ACA Subsidies
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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Even as SNAP Resumes, New Work Rules Threaten Access for Years To Come
Even as the federal government resumed funding the nation’s largest food assistance program, people risk losing access to the aid because of new rules.
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They Need a Ventilator To Stay Alive. Getting One Can Be a Nightmare.
Few nursing homes are set up to care for people needing help breathing with a ventilator because of ALS or other infirmities. Insurers often resist paying for ventilators at home, and innovative programs are now endangered by Medicaid cuts.
By Jordan Rau -
Medicaid Work Rules Exempt the ‘Medically Frail.’ Deciding Who Qualifies Is Tricky.
People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
By Samantha Liss and Sam Whitehead -
After Series of Denials, His Insurer Approved Doctor-Recommended Cancer Care. It Was Too Late.
Eric Tennant’s doctors recommended histotripsy, which would target, and potentially destroy, a cancerous tumor in his liver. But by the time his insurer approved the treatment, Tennant was no longer considered a good candidate. He died in September.
The GOP Circles the Wagons on ACA
Episode 423Republicans are solidifying their opposition to extending pandemic-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and seem to be coalescing around giving money directly to consumers to spend on health care. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to leave his mark on the agency, with the CDC altering its website to suggest childhood vaccines could play a role in causing autism. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy.
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Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare.
Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by KFF Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health providers are so skimpy they violate legal requirements.
By Susan Jaffe -
Ticked Off Over Preauthorization: Walk-In Patient Avoided Lyme Disease but Not a Surprise Bill
A Maine woman sought care at a clinic for a tick bite, then paid full price after her insurer denied coverage. Its reason? She didn't have preapproval for the walk-in visit, even though testing later detected the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.
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Journalists Untangle Issues of Health Care Costs and Food Benefits
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
The Government Is Open
Episode 422The record-long federal shutdown is over after a small group of Democrats agreed to a deal with most Republicans that funds the government through January — but, notably, does not extend more generous Affordable Care Act tax credits. Plus, new details are emerging about how the Trump administration is using the Medicaid program to advance its policy goals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
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Readers Take Congress to Task and Offer Their Own Health Policy Fixes
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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Health Care Costs Jump to the Fore as Candidates Jockey To Be California Governor
During a California gubernatorial debate, candidates promised to protect people’s access to health care and fight back against Trump administration cuts. With the contest a year away, polling shows voters want the next governor to minimize out-of-pocket health care costs, increase mental health care, and expand caregiving services.