Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Wash, Dry, Enroll: Finding Medicaid Help at the Laundromat
State Medicaid and Affordable Care Act programs have long struggled to connect with lower-income Americans to help them access care. Now some are trying an alternative approach: meeting them at the laundromat.
Indiana Governor Appoints Business Leader To Shake Up Health Care
Gloria Sachdev, a pharmacist by training, has spent years taking on the health care establishment in Indiana, working to pull down high hospital prices and make information public to patients. Now, in a newly created position in the governor’s Cabinet, she’s no longer fighting from the outside.
Most Insurance Covers IUDs. Hers Cost More Than $14,000.
The Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans to cover preventive care, including many forms of contraception, without cost to patients — but not if they’re “grandfathered” plans, which predate the law.
Trump’s Funding ‘Pause’ Throws States, Health Industry Into Chaos
A sweeping Trump administration order threw the nation’s health system into disarray Tuesday, as states and the health industry tried to make sense of what looked like a freeze on federal Medicaid funding.
Covered California Hits Record Enrollment, but Key Subsidies in Jeopardy
Enhanced federal subsidies and more state aid for out-of-pocket costs have made health insurance purchased through California’s marketplace more affordable. It’s unclear if the incoming Republican Congress will extend the enhanced subsidies beyond 2025.
Covered California alcanza récord de inscripciones, pero peligran subsidios clave
La principal preocupación de los funcionarios de Covered California es la inminente expiración de los subsidios federales adicionales para pagar las primas de los seguros.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Hello, Trump. Bye-Bye, Biden.
With just days to go before the official launch of a new administration, the GOP-led Congress is putting together plans on how to enact incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda, with a particular emphasis on cutting spending on the Medicaid program. Meanwhile, the Biden administration makes major moves in its last days, including banning a controversial food dye and ordering cigarette companies to minimize their nicotine content. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News “Bill of the Month” feature, about a colonoscopy that came with a much larger price tag than estimated.
New California Laws Target Medical Debt, AI Care Decisions, Detention Centers
California has a few major changes coming to its health policy landscape in 2025. New laws that took effect Jan. 1 ban medical debt from credit reports, allow public health inspections of private immigration detention centers, and ban toxic chemicals in makeup.
Trump’s Return Puts Medicaid on the Chopping Block
Republicans in Washington are working on plans to shrink Medicaid, the nearly $900-billion-a-year government health insurance program that covers 1 in 5 Americans.
Cinco cambios críticos que puede sufrir Medicaid bajo Trump
Los republicanos en Washington afirman que planean utilizar recortes de financiamiento y cambios regulatorios para reducir drásticamente Medicaid, el programa de salud federal gerenciado por los estados
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': New Year, New Congress, New Health Agenda
Health is unlikely to be a top priority for the new GOP-led 119th Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. But it’s likely to play a key supporting role, with an abortion bill already scheduled for debate in the Senate. Meanwhile, it’s unclear when and how the new Congress will deal with the bipartisan bills jettisoned from the previous Congress’ year-end omnibus measure — including a major deal to rein in the power of pharmacy benefit managers. In this “catch up on all the news you missed” episode, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Medicaid Expansion Debate Will Affect Other Health Policy Issues Before Montana Legislature
Legislative leaders say the decision whether to renew Montana’s Medicaid expansion program this year will loom over behavioral health spending and hospital regulation, among other topics.
Health Care Is Newsom’s Biggest Unfinished Project. Trump Complicates That Task.
As Gov. Gavin Newsom enters the second half of his final term, health care stands out as his most ambitious but glaringly incomplete initiative for California residents. The issue will likely shape his national profile for better or worse. And now, Donald Trump brings a new wrinkle.
La salud, un proyecto inconcluso del gobernador de California
Algunas de las iniciativas emblemáticas de Newsom en materia de salud, que podrían definir su perfil en el escenario nacional, están en peligro con el regreso de Donald Trump a la Casa Blanca.
Health Insurers Limit Coverage of Prosthetic Limbs, Questioning Their Medical Necessity
Advocates say it is discrimination and are arguing for “insurance fairness” on the grounds that people who have joints surgically replaced typically don’t face the same kinds of coverage challenges.
Journalists Wrap Up 2024 With Topics From Trump 2.0 to Frustration With Health Industry
KFF Health News staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
In Settling Fraud Case, New York Medicare Advantage Insurer, CEO Will Pay up to $100M
A whistleblower suit alleged a health insurer bilked Medicare by exaggerating how sick patients were.
Employers Press Congress To Cement Health Price Transparency Before Trump’s Return
Donald Trump’s first administration advanced rules forcing hospitals and insurers to reveal prices for medical services. Employers don’t want to risk backtracking during Trump’s second administration.
Federal ACA Marketplace Enrollment Lagging
It’s open enrollment season for the Affordable Care Act — and there are ongoing challenges. First up, enrollment. New and returning sign-ups through healthcare.gov — the federal marketplace that serves 31 states — are well below last year’s rate. New enrollments were just over 730,000 in early December, compared with 1.5 million at the same time last year. To give consumers in those states more time to […]
He Went in for a Colonoscopy. The Hospital Charged $19,000 for Two.
A man in Chicago with a troubling symptom underwent a common procedure. Then he wanted to know why the hospital charged nearly three times its own cost estimate.
