The Health Law

Latest KFF Health News Stories

States Leverage Federal Funds To Help Insurers Lower Premiums

KFF Health News Original

Even as it chips away at Obamacare, the Trump administration is solidly behind state-based initiatives to cover high-cost patients, known as “reinsurance” programs. It approved two more last month.

Feds Urge States To Encourage Cheaper Plans Off The Exchanges

KFF Health News Original

Many insurers added surcharges to policies they sold to individuals last year to make up for a cut in federal funding. Now, federal officials suggest that states encourage insurers to sell policies without those surcharges outside of the marketplace to help people who don’t get a premium subsidy.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Coming Soon: ‘Long-Term Short-Term’ Plans

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner talk about the latest Trump administration efforts to address high drug prices, what’s next for short-term health insurance plans and insider trading charges against a New York GOP congressman.

Medicaid Expansion Making Diabetes Meds More Accessible To Poor, Study Shows

KFF Health News Original

The number of diabetes drug prescriptions filled for low-income people enrolled in Medicaid rose sharply in states that expanded eligibility for the program under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study.

Watch: What You Should Know About The New Rule On Short-Term Health Plans

KFF Health News Original

Under the Trump administration’s new rule, these plans can now last as long as 12 months — instead of the Obama-era 90-day limit — and be renewed for two additional years. Critics say these changes are part of another swipe at the Affordable Care Act.

Listen: Why Red States Challenging ACA Tread Precariously On A Popular Protection

KFF Health News Original

Many of the GOP-led states seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act could end up jeopardizing the health of their own residents, who suffer from preexisting conditions at rates higher than the national average. The ACA requires insurers to cover people with histories of illness and not charge them more for it. If the law is overturned, that protection could be lost, as California Healthline reporter Harriet Rowan explains on “The VICE Guide to Right Now” podcast.

Trump Administration Loosens Restrictions On Short-Term Health Plans

KFF Health News Original

The administration says these plans, which can now last as long as 12 months and be renewed for two years, will give consumers another less-pricey insurance option. Critics say the new rule is yet another swipe at the Affordable Care Act.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Let’s Talk Politics

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call talk about health care’s emergence as a possible voting issue in the coming midterm elections. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Emmarie Huetteman about July’s “Bill of the Month”: a transgender woman’s “bait-and-switch” $92,000 surgical bill.

California’s ACA Rates To Rise 8.7% Next Year

KFF Health News Original

The average increase in California is smaller than the double-digit hikes expected around the nation, due largely to a healthier mix of enrollees and more competition in its marketplace. Still, health insurance prices keep growing faster than wages and general inflation.