Latest KFF Health News Stories
Arkansas’ Governor Says Medicaid Extension for New Moms Isn’t Needed
Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days after delivery. Arkansas has not expanded what’s called postpartum Medicaid coverage, an option that gives poor women uninterrupted health insurance for a year after they give birth.
California May Regulate and Restrict Pharmaceutical Brokers
California lawmakers are moving to rein in the pharmaceutical middlemen they say drive up costs and limit consumers’ choices. The bill sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom would require pharmacy benefit managers to be licensed in California and would ban some business practices. Newsom vetoed a previous effort three years ago.
Tossed Medicine, Delayed Housing: How Homeless Sweeps Are Thwarting Medicaid’s Goals
As California cities crack down on homeless encampments in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling authorizing fines and arrests, front-line workers say such sweeps are undercutting billions in state and federal Medicaid spending meant to stabilize people’s health and get them off the streets.
The First Year of Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Is Mired in Red Tape
Georgia must decide soon whether to try to extend a limited Medicaid expansion that requires participants to work. Enrollment fell far short of goals in the first year, and the state isn’t yet able to verify participants are working.
‘What Happens Three Months From Now?’ Mental Health After Georgia High School Shooting
The recent shooting at Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta caused more than physical wounds. Medical experts worry a lack of mental health resources in the community — and in Georgia as a whole — means few options for those trying to cope with trauma from the shooting.
Forget Repeal and Replace. The Next Big ACA Fight Will Be Over Subsidies.
Forget repeal and replace. Critics of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, have a new target: key parts of the law that they say are too costly and provide incentive for fraud. Topping that list are the ACA’s enhanced subsidies, put in place during the coronavirus pandemic as part of economic recovery legislation and set to […]
Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights and Obamacare in Their First Face-Off
The generally combative face-off was marked by a series of false and sometimes bizarre statements from former President Donald Trump.
En su primer cara a cara, Harris y Trump se enfrentan por el Obamacare y el aborto
Los dos candidatos presidenciales abordaron una amplia gama de temas, desde cifras de empleo e inflación hasta el aborto y la inmigración, en intercambios marcados por ataques personales.
Longtime Head of L.A. Care To Retire After Navigating Major Medi-Cal Changes
John Baackes, who steered Medi-Cal’s largest health plan following the Affordable Care Act expansion, and later prepared it for a state overhaul of Medi-Cal, will retire after this year. Baackes believes low payments to doctors and other providers, along with an acute labor shortage, hamper Medi-Cal’s success.
US Uninsured Rate Was Stable in 2023, Even as States’ Medicaid Purge Began
About 8% of Americans lacked health insurance in 2023, the Census Bureau announced. But its report doesn’t capture the effect of states winnowing their Medicaid rolls by millions of people since the pandemic emergency ended.
La tasa de personas sin seguro médico se mantiene estable, a pesar de la purga de Medicaid
Aproximadamente el 8% de los estadounidenses no tuvieron cobertura en 2023, un aumento estadísticamente insignificante de solo 0.1 puntos porcentuales con respecto al año anterior.
ACA Enrollment Platforms Suspended Over Alleged Foreign Access to Consumer Data
Federal regulators provided more specifics about why they suspended two private sector Affordable Care Act enrollment sites, including concerns about potential overseas accessing of consumer data and suspicions of involvement in Obamacare enrollment and switching schemes. The companies reject the assertions.
Errors in Deloitte-Run Medicaid Systems Can Cost Millions and Take Years To Fix
As states wait for Deloitte to make fixes in computer systems, Medicaid beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food.
Feds Killed Plan To Curb Medicare Advantage Overbilling After Industry Opposition
A private 2014 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services faces new scrutiny in a multibillion-dollar Justice Department fraud case against UnitedHealth Group.
An Arm and a Leg: Don’t Get ‘Bullied’ Into Paying What You Don’t Owe
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the “Bill of the Month” series, produced in partnership with NPR.
Her Life Was at Risk. She Needed an Abortion. Insurance Refused To Pay.
Insurance coverage for abortion care in the U.S. is a hodgepodge. Patients often don’t know when or if a procedure or abortion pills are covered, and the proliferation of abortion bans has exacerbated the confusion.
For Pharma, Trump vs. Harris Is a Showdown Between Two Industry Foes
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.
Turning 26 and Struggling To Find Health Insurance? Tell Us About It.
KFF Health News and The New York Times are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.
Cuando la aseguradora se niega a pagar un aborto que es médicamente necesario
En el país, la cobertura para la atención del aborto es laberíntica. A menudo, los pacientes no saben cuándo un procedimiento, o las píldoras abortivas, están cubiertas, si es que lo están; y la proliferación de prohibiciones ha exacerbado la confusión.
Para las farmacéuticas, la pelea entre Trump y Harris es entre dos enemigos de la industria
Legisladores de ambos partidos atacan cada vez más a la industria, por los precios de los medicamentos que la mayoría de los estadounidenses consideran irrazonables.
