Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Biden Administration Tightens Broker Access to Healthcare.gov To Thwart Rogue Sign-Ups
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it has received more than 200,000 complaints in the first six months of the year about people being signed up for Obamacare plans or switched to new plans without their consent.
En la convención republicana de Trump se escuchó poco y nada sobre atención de salud
La atención médica constituye la mayor parte del presupuesto federal, casi $2 mil millones, así como el 17% de la producción económica del país.
At Trump’s GOP Convention, There’s Little To Be Heard on Health Care
Republicans were once the party of Obamacare repeal and abortion opposition. They’ve said little about either issue in Milwaukee.
Misleading Ads Play Key Role in Schemes to Gin Up Unauthorized ACA Sign-Ups, Lawsuit Alleges
Misleading money-for-groceries ads helped lure people to call centers where some were enrolled in Affordable Care Act coverage — or switched from their existing plans — without their express permission, a new lawsuit alleges.
Her Hearing Implant Was Preapproved. Nonetheless, She Got $139,000 Bills for Months.
Even when patients double-check that their care is covered by insurance, health providers often send them bills as they haggle with insurers over reimbursement, which can last for months. It’s stressful and annoying — but legal.
An Arm and a Leg: The Woman Who Beat an $8,000 Hospital Fee
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Georgann Boatright, a patient in Mississippi who was willing to drive to another state to avoid paying a steep fee to her local hospital.
HealthSherpa and Insurers Team Up To Curb Unauthorized ACA Enrollment Schemes
The initiative targets the biggest incentive driving fraudulent sign-ups and plan switches: the commissions that rogue agents or large call centers seek.
California Health Care Pioneer Goes National, Girds for Partisan Skirmishes
Anthony Wright, a champion for Californians’ health care rights, will take the helm of Families USA in Washington, D.C., where he plans to campaign for more affordable and accessible care nationally. He leaves Health Access California, where he helped outlaw surprise medical billing, require companies to report drug price increases, and cap hospital bills for uninsured patients.
‘A Bottomless Pit’: How Out-of-Pocket TMJ Costs Drive Patients Into Debt
Millions of Americans suffer from temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders. The high cost and poor insurance coverage of TMJ care can bury patients in debt even as the treatments do more harm than good.
If Lawsuit Ends Federal Mandates on Birth Control Coverage, States Will Have the Say
An ongoing lawsuit aims to set aside the Affordable Care Act’s requirements that insurers cover preventive care, such as contraception. If that happens, state reproductive health laws — varying across the country — would carry more weight, resuming the “wild West” dynamic from before Obamacare.
Lack of Affordability Tops Older Americans’ List of Health Care Worries
Rising health care costs are fueling anxiety among older Americans covered by Medicare. They’re right to be concerned.
An Arm and a Leg: Meet the Middleman’s Middleman
Why are patients facing bigger bills than they expect for out-of-network care? In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” the show explains the hidden mechanics of MultiPlan, a data firm that helps health insurers set these rates and make bigger returns.
Journalists Discuss Bird Flu, Tick-Borne Illnesses, and Lessons From Covid Response
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Live From Aspen: Health and the 2024 Elections
Health policy may not be the top issue in this year’s presidential and congressional elections, but it’s likely to play a key role. President Joe Biden and Democrats intend to hold Republicans responsible for the Supreme Court’s unpopular ruling overturning the right to abortion, and former President Donald Trump aims to take credit for government efforts to lower prescription drug prices — even in cases in which he played no role. Meanwhile, some critical health care issues, such as those involving Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, are unlikely to get discussed much, even though the party in power after the elections would control the future of those programs. This week, in an episode taped before a live audience at the Aspen Ideas: Health festival in Aspen, Colorado, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Super Bowl Parade Shooting Survivors Await Promised Donations While Bills Pile Up
Families of the people hurt during the Feb. 14 mass shooting are carrying what one expert calls “victimization debt.” In the third story of our series “The Injured,” we learn about the strain of paying small and large medical bills and other out-of-pocket costs.
Los costos médicos para los sobrevivientes del tiroteo son muy altos y no terminarán pronto. Según un estudio de la Escuela de Medicina de Harvard, el gasto médico promedio para alguien que recibió un disparo se eleva a casi $30,000 el primer año.
California Leaders Tussle With Health Industry Over Billions of New Dollars for Medi-Cal
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to pull funds earmarked for new investment in Medi-Cal to help plug California’s $45 billion deficit. A state budget passed June 13 by the legislature largely endorsed Newsom’s plan. Voters could settle the matter in an industry-backed initiative that has qualified for the November ballot.
How Two States Reveal a Deeper Divide on Insuring Kids’ Health
Arizona and Florida lawmakers saw trouble ahead for children in 2023, with states slated — as the covid-19 pandemic waned — to resume disenrolling ineligible people from Medicaid. So, legislators in both states voted to expand a safety net known as the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which covers those 18 and younger in […]
A Tale of Two States: Arizona and Florida Diverge on How To Expand Kids’ Health Insurance
Both Florida and Arizona want to expand eligibility for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, but their approaches to charging low-income families premiums for the coverage showcase the nation’s ideological divide on helping the disadvantaged.
Biden’s on Target About What Repealing ACA Would Mean for Preexisting Condition Protections
A Biden campaign ad highlighting how an Obamacare repeal would affect people with preexisting conditions is mostly true.
