Latest KFF Health News Stories
Democrats Favor Building On ACA Over ‘Medicare For All’
Asked to choose between building on the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with a national Medicare for All plan, 55% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they would expand the existing law, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Tuesday.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Cue The Drug Price Debate
Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee unveiled their long-awaited proposal to try to rein in prescription drug costs, even as bipartisan leaders of the other Senate committee that oversees health announced it would not bring its drug price bill to the Senate floor until fall. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus court actions on health issues.
Biden’s ‘Incremental’ Health Plan Still Would Be A Heavy Lift
The proposal is far from minimal and includes several provisions that Congress has failed repeatedly to enact, including some that were part of the original Affordable Care Act debate.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Biden Doubles Down On Obamacare
Presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled a health plan intended to provide a more moderate alternative to his competitors’ “Medicare for All” plans. It would build on the Affordable Care Act but would go much further. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus Planned Parenthood’s very bad week, the U.S. House vote to repeal the health law’s “Cadillac tax” on generous health plans, and the reduction in deaths from opioids.
KHN Investigation On Opioid Prescribers Pains Some Readers And Tweeters
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Did Your Health Plan Deny You Care? Fight Back.
Most patients don’t argue when their health insurance won’t cover treatment or medication, but they should: Consumers win about half of their appeals. The process can sometimes be overwhelming, but there are ways to prepare and get help.
Víctimas de violación reciben cuentas por examen forense, aunque una ley lo prohíbe
Durante 25 años, el Acta de Violencia contra la Mujer ha requerido que el estado que quiera ser elegible para ciertos subsidios federales cubra el costo de exámenes médicos para víctimas de agresión sexual.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Despite Federal Protections, Rape Victims Still Get Billed For Forensic Exams
Under federal law, people who have been raped don’t have to pay for medical forensic exams, yet many get billed and have trouble getting the hospitals or collection agencies to stop dunning them for payment.
DOJ Lawyers Try New Tricks To Undo Obamacare. Will It Work?
KHN consulted legal experts about some of the arguments advanced by Trump administration lawyers during the most recent round of oral arguments in the legal challenge brought by 18 “red” states to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Could The ACA Really Go Away?
Is the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional? That was the question before a federal appeals court in New Orleans this week. Two of the three judges on the panel seemed inclined to agree with a lower court that the elimination of the tax penalty for failure to maintain coverage could mean the entire health law should fall. Also this week, President Donald Trump wants to improve care for people with kidney disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus courts blocking efforts to require drug prices in TV ads and to kick Planned Parenthood out of the federal family planning program. Plus, Rovner interviews University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley about the latest legal threat to the ACA.
Biden Calling ACA A ‘Breakthrough’ For Mental Health Parity Only Highlights Gaps
Did the Affordable Care Act create equal coverage of mental and physical health? Seems true on paper but not always in practice.
With ACA’s Future In Peril, California Reins In Rising Health Insurance Premiums
Premiums will grow by an average of 0.8% next year on the state health insurance exchange. Officials cite two new policies for the relatively low rate hike: a new state tax penalty on Californians who don’t have health insurance coupled with state-based tax credits to help enrollees afford their premiums, including middle-income people who make too much money to qualify for federal financial aid.
Federal Appeals Court Takes Up Case That Could Upend U.S. Health System
The Affordable Care Act is again being put to the test after a lower court judge ruled the massive health law unconstitutional. Could the case ricochet back to the Supreme Court in the throes of the 2020 presidential campaign season?
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All About ‘Medicare for All’
Need to know more about “Medicare for All?” It’s a top issue in the Democratic presidential primary campaign. This holiday week, we are rerunning our explainer on the subject. But first, KHN’s “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner talks to KHN’s Shefali Luthra about how health played out in the first Democratic candidate debates last week.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Health Care Gets Heated On Night 2 Of The Democratic Presidential Debate
Though the candidates tended to agree on the end goal of universal coverage, differences emerged over how to get there.
Senate Panel Makes Surprisingly Fast Work Of ‘Surprise Medical Bills’ Package
The measure also includes a range of provisions designed to address health care costs.
