Latest KFF Health News Stories
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Open Enrollment And A Midterm Preview
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the start of open enrollment for individual health insurance plans for 2019 and preview what next week’s midterm elections might mean for health policy. Plus, Barbara Feder Ostrov of KHN and California Healthline talks to Julie about the latest NPR-KHN “Bill of the Month” feature.
Billions In ‘Questionable Payments’ Went To California’s Medicaid Insurers And Providers
The money was paid on behalf of more than 400,000 people who may have been ineligible for the public program, a state audit found. One had been dead for four years before payments stopped.
Trump Rollback Of Disability Rules Can Make Doctor’s Visits Painstaking
Standards have been proposed to address what are often viewed as disparities in treatment, but the Trump administration has declined to enforce them.
In Swing Districts, Republicans May Pay For Having Tried To Reverse The Health Law
Though Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) counts himself a moderate, many of his voters heading to the polls are furious about how he aided his party’s efforts to dismantle Obamacare.
Republicans’ Drive To Tighten Immigration Overlooks Need For Doctors
Many areas in the U.S. depend on foreign doctors, but bitter political arguments over immigration have sown concerns about limited opportunities for these physicians.
With One Hand, Administration Boosts ACA Marketplaces, Weakens Them With Another
The Trump administration gives states more flexibility to get around the health law’s requirements for insurance plans. But at the same time it wants employers to move millions of workers to the insurance exchanges.
GOP’s Latest Campaign Punch On Health Care Relies On Classic Hook: Medicare
Republicans seek to turn the tables on charges that they are undermining preexisting conditions, so they’re hammering the plans championed by some Democrats to expand Medicare.
Dialysis Giant DaVita Defends Itself In Court And At The Polls
Although dialysis provider DaVita Inc. has taken major financial hits this year, including a $383.5 million jury award in response to wrongful death lawsuits, it still rakes in profits. The company faces its biggest threat next month, when California voters weigh in on a ballot initiative that could force it to leave the state.
That’s A Lot Of Scratch: The $48,329 Allergy Test
A California college professor never imagined that trying to figure out what was causing her rash could add up to such a huge bill.
Trump Adds A Global Pricing Plan To Wide Attack On Drug Prices, But Doubts Persist
Over the past five months, the Trump administration has proposed a series of reforms to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
Gun Store Owner Marshals Voters To Expand Medicaid In Idaho
Idaho is one of four conservative states where voters next month will determine whether to buck the GOP’s resistance to the Affordable Care Act and implement or renew its expansion of Medicaid to adults.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Trump, GOP Fight Back On Health Care
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Ollstein of Politico discuss a flurry of proposals from the Trump administration on prices Medicare pays for drugs and the Affordable Care Act.
Booming Economy Helps Flatten Medicaid Enrollment And Limit Costs, States Report
The drop in the number of people enrolled in the federal-state program for low-income residents is the first since 2007.
States Explore Paths To Pay Their Share For Medicaid Expansion — Using Political GPS
The state-federal health insurance program is more popular than ever. Now, states that want to expand eligibility are devising new strategies to pay for it — creating, in many red states, a significant political challenge.
Gavin Newsom Is Bullish On Single-Payer — Except When He’s Not
The front-runner in the California governor’s race, known for his political audacity, has officially endorsed the controversial move to create one public insurance program for all Californians. Yet he also faces formidable challenges, and liberal critics fear he’ll retreat.
Fixing Obamacare’s ‘Family Glitch’ Hinges On Outcome Of November Elections
This gap in the 2010 health law means health insurance remains unaffordable for millions of Americans. For now, relief is hard to come by.
Marketplace Subsidies May Be Option In 2020 For Plans That Skirt Obamacare
The new guidance allows states to ask for waivers from provisions in the Affordable Care Act governing not only subsidies, but also the benefits insurers must offer in all their plans.
Primary Care Doctors ‘Not Doing Enough’ To Curb STDs
As rates of sexually transmitted diseases surge, public health officials want physicians to step up screening and treatment of patients.
Politicians Hop Aboard ‘Medicare-For-All’ Train, Destination Unknown
Candidates are charging toward midterm elections on a platform of single-payer and universal coverage rhetoric. Yet “Medicare-for-all” and single-payer mean different things to different people.
As Billions In Tax Dollars Flow To Private Medicaid Plans, Who’s Minding The Store?
Insurance companies profit from government contracts but are subject to little oversight of how they spend the money or care for patients. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has only exacerbated the problem.
