Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Illinois, primer estado en ofrecer cobertura médica a adultos mayores indocumentados
Se espera que la normativa cubra inicialmente de 4,200 a 4,600 inmigrantes mayores. Defensores esperan que Illinois inspire a otros estados.
Illinois Is First in the Nation to Extend Health Coverage to Undocumented Seniors
As the pandemic hits Latino communities especially hard, Illinois is expanding public health insurance to all low-income noncitizen seniors. Advocates hope other states follow its lead.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: A Look Back at 2020 — What We Learned and Where We’re Headed
T.K. Dutes — a former nurse who is now a radio host and podcast-maker — interviewed ‘An Arm and a Leg’ host Dan Weissmann about what he learned in 2020, and what’s ahead for the show.
Many Health Plans Now Must Cover Full Cost of Expensive HIV Prevention Drugs
Most private insurance will be required to cover drugs, like Truvada, that offer protection against HIV infection, without making plan members share the cost.
Hospital Prices Just Got a Lot More Transparent. What Does This Mean for You?
Under a rule that kicked in Jan. 1, hospitals are required to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers. That’s a lot more information than was previously required, which was only the posting of “chargemasters” — the hospital-generated list prices that few consumers or health plans actually pay.
Retiree Living the RV Dream Fights $12,387 Nightmare Lab Fee
A gynecologist in Carlsbad, New Mexico, tested the 60-year-old grandmother for various sexually transmitted infections without her knowledge. Her share of the lab fee was more than $3,000.
Democrats Are Running Hard on Health Care in Georgia’s Senate Runoffs. Republicans? Not So Much.
Democrats are treating health care as a more critical issue than their Republican counterparts in Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoffs. It’s a strategy they hope will woo independents and motivate base voters. The results will determine which party controls the chamber during the first years of the Biden administration.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: All I Want for Christmas Is a COVID Relief Bill
Congress seems on the verge of finishing a long-delayed COVID-19 relief bill, which will reportedly include neither of the things each party wanted most — for Republicans, liability protections; for Democrats, funding for states and localities. That bill is likely to be tied to a package to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year and, possibly, include a fix for “surprise” medical bills that patients receive when they inadvertently receive care outside their insurance network. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner talks to Elizabeth Mitchell, president and CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health, about the future of employer-provided health insurance.
Readers and Tweeters Defend Front-Line Nurses and Blind Us With Science
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Shopping for Health Insurance? Here’s How One Family Tried to Pick a Plan
Host Dan Weissmann gives us an inside look at his family’s quest to pick health insurance for next year. COVID-19 makes it more complicated.
With Becerra as HHS Pick, California Plots More Progressive Health Care Agenda
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has already begun discussing California health care priorities with Xavier Becerra, tapped this week by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as his Health and Human Services secretary.
Xavier Becerra en sus propias palabras: “La atención de salud es un derecho”
El presidente electo Joe Biden eligió al fiscal general de California, Xavier Becerra, para dirigir el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales (HHS). Como fiscal general y durante sus 24 años en el Congreso, Becerra ha sostenido posiciones progresistas en cuestiones de atención de salud, peleando contra la administración Trump sobre planificación familiar, demandando al mayor sistema de salud de California por conducta monopólica, y definiendóse como un defensor del sistema de salud de pagador único.
Xavier Becerra in His Own Words: ‘Health Care Is a Right’
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. As attorney general and during his 24 years in Congress, he has staked progressive positions on health care issues, fighting the Trump administration on contraception, suing a major California health system for monopolistic behavior and calling himself a supporter of single-payer health care.
California Lawmakers to Newsom: Give All Immigrants Health Coverage
Given the pandemic’s disproportionate hit on minority communities, two Democratic lawmakers are pushing Newsom to agree to offer health care to all unauthorized immigrants. They planned to unveil legislation Monday — and a new strategy to make it happen.
Trump Rule Gives Small Companies a New Tool to Help Workers Buy Health Coverage
Instead of taking on the expense of traditional health plans, some small businesses are setting up an “individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement” that allows them to give workers money to put toward comprehensive coverage on the individual insurance market. But consumer advocates are concerned they may shortchange some workers.
Durante la inscripción de ACA, elegir un plan genera nuevas complicaciones de COVID
Las personas que compran su propio seguro médico enfrentan desafíos, en particular los pacientes que tuvieron COVID-19 y que presentan problemas de salud persistentes.
During ACA Open Enrollment, Picking a Plan Invites New COVID Complications
COVID-19’s “long haulers” — patients with lingering effects of the disease — have joined the ranks of Americans with preexisting conditions. For those shopping for health coverage on the individual market, here’s help navigating an uncharted insurance landscape.
After Kid’s Minor Bike Accident, Major Bill Sets Legal Wheels in Motion
It was a surprise even in a family of lawyers. The process called “subrogation” began with one Nevada family’s health insurer denying their claim for an emergency room visit after 9-year-old fell off his bike.
Were You Notified About Missing Tax Forms for Your ACA Subsidy? Blame COVID.
Some consumers who received tax credits to purchase insurance from Affordable Care Act marketplaces report they’ve received letters in error from the government saying they didn’t file the IRS forms to account for how much money they made and how much funding they received from the government.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
