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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Biorhythms And Birth Control: FDA Stirs Debate By Approving ‘Natural’ App

KFF Health News Original

Critics worry about the message federal officials are sending by approving a new birth control option, which uses a mobile phone app for women to track their body temperature and menstrual cycle to avoid pregnancy. But the more choices the better, some reproductive health experts say.

States Leverage Federal Funds To Help Insurers Lower Premiums

KFF Health News Original

Even as it chips away at Obamacare, the Trump administration is solidly behind state-based initiatives to cover high-cost patients, known as “reinsurance” programs. It approved two more last month.

Feds Urge States To Encourage Cheaper Plans Off The Exchanges

KFF Health News Original

Many insurers added surcharges to policies they sold to individuals last year to make up for a cut in federal funding. Now, federal officials suggest that states encourage insurers to sell policies without those surcharges outside of the marketplace to help people who don’t get a premium subsidy.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Coming Soon: ‘Long-Term Short-Term’ Plans

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner talk about the latest Trump administration efforts to address high drug prices, what’s next for short-term health insurance plans and insider trading charges against a New York GOP congressman.

In Weary Post-Storm Puerto Rico, Medicaid Cutbacks Bode New Ills

KFF Health News Original

The island’s government must squeeze $840.2 million in annual savings from Medicaid by 2023, part of the U.S. territory’s agreement with the federal government as Puerto Rico claws its way back from fiscal oblivion. Experts warn such drastic cuts defy actuarial science.

Watch: What You Should Know About The New Rule On Short-Term Health Plans

KFF Health News Original

Under the Trump administration’s new rule, these plans can now last as long as 12 months — instead of the Obama-era 90-day limit — and be renewed for two additional years. Critics say these changes are part of another swipe at the Affordable Care Act.

Listen: Why Red States Challenging ACA Tread Precariously On A Popular Protection

KFF Health News Original

Many of the GOP-led states seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act could end up jeopardizing the health of their own residents, who suffer from preexisting conditions at rates higher than the national average. The ACA requires insurers to cover people with histories of illness and not charge them more for it. If the law is overturned, that protection could be lost, as California Healthline reporter Harriet Rowan explains on “The VICE Guide to Right Now” podcast.

Trump Administration Loosens Restrictions On Short-Term Health Plans

KFF Health News Original

The administration says these plans, which can now last as long as 12 months and be renewed for two years, will give consumers another less-pricey insurance option. Critics say the new rule is yet another swipe at the Affordable Care Act.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Let’s Talk Politics

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call talk about health care’s emergence as a possible voting issue in the coming midterm elections. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Emmarie Huetteman about July’s “Bill of the Month”: a transgender woman’s “bait-and-switch” $92,000 surgical bill.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Congress And Health Care. Again.

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner talk about the new push on health legislation by Republicans in the House, as well as developments on Medicaid work requirements, drug prices and the fate of children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexican border. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health stories of the week.

A Transgender Woman’s Quest For Surgery Caught In Political Crosswinds

KFF Health News Original

Dramatic policy swings, from an unprecedented expansion of transgender rights under the Obama administration to the unpredictable reduction of trans rights under President Donald Trump, have left many trans Americans feeling the whiplash.