Medicare

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Patients Want A ‘Good Death’ At Home, But Hospice Care Can Badly Strain Families

KFF Health News Original

Fewer Americans are dying in a hospital, under the close supervision of doctors and nurses. That trend has been boosted by an expanded Medicare benefit that helps people live out their final days at home in hospice care. But as home hospice grows, so has the burden on families left to provide much of the care.

Loopholes Limit New California Law To Guard Against Lofty Air Ambulance Bills

KFF Health News Original

A new state law limits what consumers owe if they’re transported by an air ambulance that’s not part of their insurance network to the amount that they’d be charged if they used an in-network provider. But the law won’t protect millions of consumers whose health plans aren’t regulated by the state.

One-On-One With Trump’s Medicare And Medicaid Chief: Seema Verma

KFF Health News Original

Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sat down for a rare interview with KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney. They discuss her views on President Donald Trump’s plan for sustaining public health insurance programs, how the administration would respond if Obamacare is struck down by the courts in the future and her thoughts on how the latest “Medicare for All” proposals would affect innovation and access to care.

Government-Funded Day Care Helps Keep Seniors Out Of Nursing Homes And Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

The aptly named Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly provides services funded by Medicaid and Medicare that range from medical and mental health care to hot lunches, recreation, transportation and haircuts. California’s newest PACE center opened recently in San Diego County.

What Would Happen If The ACA Went Away?

KFF Health News Original

The Affordable Care Act has been on the books for nearly a decade. Parts of it have become ingrained in our health system ― and in our everyday life. But this could change, depending on a long-awaited 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding the law’s constitutionality.

Website Errors Raise Calls For Medicare To Be Flexible With Seniors’ Enrollment

KFF Health News Original

Members of Congress and others complain Medicare’s revamped Plan Finder had problems. Federal officials say they can help consumers who got bad information change their plans next year. But details about how switching will work are yet to come.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: We Spend HOW MUCH On Health Care?

KFF Health News Original

The annual accounting of national health spending is out. And the 2018 health bill for the U.S. was $3.6 trillion, consuming nearly a fifth of the nation’s economy. Meanwhile, Congress is nearing the end of the year without having finished either its annual spending bills or several other high-priority health items. Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Markian Hawryluk about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month.”

The Case Of The ACA’s Disappearing Taxes

KFF Health News Original

When passing the Affordable Care Act, Democrats touted the fact that they had included many measures to pay for the bill’s expanded coverage. But nearly 10 years later, many of the “pay-fors” have been eliminated.