Medicare

Latest KFF Health News Stories

With TV Drug Ads, What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get

KFF Health News Original

The pharmaceutical industry has invented a new art form: finding ways to make their wares seem like joyous must-have treatments, while often minimizing lackluster efficacy and risks.

For Pharma, Trump vs. Harris Is a Showdown Between Two Industry Foes

KFF Health News Original

Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as more aggressive than former President Donald Trump in taking on pharmaceutical companies, but Trump allies say he would also make lowering drug costs a top priority.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Let the General Election Commence

Podcast

Abortion and reproductive health issues headlined the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as expected. But what Vice President Kamala Harris has in mind for other health policies as the Democratic nominee remains something of a mystery. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he would not use the 19th-century Comstock Act to impose, in effect, a national ban on abortion, which angered his anti-abortion backers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a woman who fought back after being charged for two surgeries despite undergoing only one.

Biden Administration Blocks Two Private Sector Enrollment Sites From ACA Marketplace

KFF Health News Original

Regulators have been under the gun to curb unauthorized Obamacare enrollment and switching of plans. Separately, a pending lawsuit was amended with additional defendants and new allegations regarding tactics to garner greater ACA sales commissions.

Los contrastes de las fórmulas Harris-Walz y Trump-Vance en la atención de salud

KFF Health News Original

La elección de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris del gobernador de Minnesota, Tim Walz, como su compañero de fórmula está poniendo el tema de la atención médica en primer plano en la recta final hacia las elecciones presidenciales de noviembre.

Bipartisan Effort Paves Way for Reviving Shuttered Hospitals in Georgia

KFF Health News Original

“Certificate of need” laws, largely supported by the hospital industry, limit health facility construction in 35 states and Washington, D.C. Georgia lawmakers decided its law was complicating the reviving of two hospitals critical to their communities.

Harris-Walz Ticket Sharpens Contrast With Trump-Vance on Health Care

KFF Health News Original

As Democrats convene in Chicago to make official their presidential and vice presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz together are raising the prominence of health care as a 2024 election issue.

New Lines of Attack Form Against the Affordable Care Act

KFF Health News Original

While fighting potential fraud in government programs has long been a conservative rallying cry, recent criticisms of the Affordable Care Act represent a renewed line of attack on the program when repealing it is unlikely.

Urgent Care or ER? With ‘One-Stop Shop,’ Hospitals Offer Both Under Same Roof

KFF Health News Original

Hospitals in several states are partnering with a private equity-backed company to offer combined emergency and urgent care in a single building. But patients may not realize prices vary between the two services — often by a lot.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Heats Up Presidential Race 

Podcast

The elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the presumed Democratic presidential ticket is newly energizing the debate over abortion, while former President Donald Trump attempts to distance himself from more sweeping proposals in the “Project 2025” GOP blueprint put together by his former administration officials and the conservative Heritage Foundation. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” about a preauthorized surgery that generated a six-figure bill.

Florida’s RSV Season Has Started, and It’s Coming Soon to the Rest of US. Here’s a Primer.

KFF Health News Original

Florida’s RSV season begins earlier and runs longer than anywhere else in the U.S., according to the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute. New vaccines can help, but most older adults, who are vulnerable to RSV, haven’t gotten them yet.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Harris in the Spotlight

Podcast

For the 2024 campaign, Joe Biden is out, and Kamala Harris is in. As the vice president makes moves toward the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, health policy is resurging as a campaign issue. Meanwhile, Congress tries — and again fails — to make timely progress on the annual government spending bills as abortion issues cause delays. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Stephanie Armour of KFF Health News, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Anthony Wright, the new executive director of Families USA, about his plans for the organization and his history working with Harris on health topics. 

Harris, alguna vez la voz de Biden sobre el aborto, tendría un enfoque abierto en temas de salud

KFF Health News Original

Mientras los demócratas reconstruyen su candidatura presidencial a pocos meses de las elecciones, se esperaría que, de ser la nueva nominada, Harris adoptase una postura agresiva en apoyo al acceso al aborto y en otros temas controversiales de salud.

Harris, Once Biden’s Voice on Abortion, Would Take an Outspoken Approach to Health

KFF Health News Original

If she grabs the baton from President Joe Biden to become the new presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris would widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access — hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue that could undermine his chances of victory.