Latest Morning Briefing Stories
States Leverage Federal Funds To Help Insurers Lower Premiums
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
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.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Medicare To Overhaul ACOs But Critics Fear Less Participation
The moves could lead to a dramatic decrease in hospitals and doctors participating in the program, industry officials said.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Coming Soon: ‘Long-Term Short-Term’ Plans
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.
Médicos jóvenes comienzan a apoyar un sistema de salud universal
Los médicos veteranos lo consideraban un sistema “socialista”. Pero ahora, han aceptado revisar su postura ante el impulso jóven de avanzar con un sistema de pagador único en el país.
Once Its Greatest Foes, Some Doctors Are Now Embracing Single-Payer
Young physicians are pushing the medical establishment to rethink its long-held opposition. The political fallout could be substantial.
Medicaid Expansion Making Diabetes Meds More Accessible To Poor, Study Shows
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.
Expansión de Medicaid facilita el acceso de los más pobres a drogas anti diabetes
El estudio revela que las recetas para drogas contra la diabetes aumentaron un 40% en los estados que expandieron Medicaid bajo ACA. También lo hicieron los diagnósticos.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
KHN’s newsletter editor, Brianna Labuskes, wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Watch: What You Should Know About The New Rule On Short-Term Health Plans
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
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.
La administración Trump facilita aún más la venta de planes de salud de corto plazo
Estos planes son más económicos pero su cobertura es mínima, y no cumplen con las protecciones establecidas por la Ley de Cuidado de Salud Asequible (ACA).
Trump Administration Loosens Restrictions On Short-Term Health Plans
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
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.
Drug Trade Group Quietly Spends ‘Dark Money’ To Sway Policy And Voters
Grants by top pharma group to lightly regulated, politically active nonprofits dwarf its conventional campaign spending.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
KHN’s newsletter editor, Brianna Labuskes, wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Top Trump Health Official Takes Swipes At ACA, Single-Payer In Enemy Territory
After a San Francisco speech focused mostly on Medicare, Seema Verma fielded questions that underscored the administration’s differences with California on other key health care issues.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
KHN’s newsletter editor, Brianna Labuskes, wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
California’s ACA Rates To Rise 8.7% Next Year
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.
