Category: Health Care Costs

Journalists Delve Into Effects of Deep Federal Cuts on Public Health

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Journalists Delve Into Effects of Deep Federal Cuts on Public Health

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Trump HHS Eliminates Office That Sets Poverty Levels Tied to Benefits for 80 Million People

Recent cuts eliminated a small, specialized workforce that sets the poverty standards determining who is eligible for Medicaid as well as assistance with food, home heating, child care, and more.

Tax Time Triggers Fraud Alarms for Some Obamacare Enrollees

Consumers who were enrolled fraudulently in Affordable Care Act coverage could receive unexpected tax bills — the first and possibly only clue they were a victim of fraud. Getting help may become difficult as federal workers are laid off and funding for assistance programs is cut.

The House Speaker’s Eyeing Big Cuts to Medicaid. In His Louisiana District, It’s a Lifeline.

The GOP-controlled Congress is weighing cuts to Medicaid, the government health program that covers millions of Americans — including nearly 40% of Louisianans represented in the House by Speaker Mike Johnson.

Blockbuster Deal Will Wipe Out $30 Billion in Medical Debt. Even Backers Say It’s Not Enough.

Undue Medical Debt is retiring unpaid medical bills for 20 million people. The debt trading company that owned them is leaving the market.

Immigration Crackdowns Disrupt the Caregiving Industry. Families Pay the Price.

Families, nursing facilities, and home health agencies rely on foreign-born workers to fill health care jobs that are demanding and do not attract enough American citizens. The Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies threaten to cut a key source of labor for the industry, which was already predicting a surge in demand.

‘If They Cut Too Much, People Will Die’: Health Coalition Pushes GOP on Medicaid Funding

As House Republicans mull a massive $880 billion cut from federal programs likely including Medicaid, constituents, disability advocates, and health care providers are joining forces to lobby GOP members in California — including those who represent rural, deeply conservative pockets that stand to lose the most.

How Much Will That Surgery Cost? 🤷 Hospital Prices Remain Largely Unhelpful.

Health care price transparency is one of the few bipartisan issues in Washington, D.C. But much of the information that hospitals and health plans have made available to the public is not helpful to patients, and there’s no conclusive evidence yet that it’s lowering costs or increasing competition.

Montana’s Small Pharmacies Behind Bill To Corral Pharmacy Benefit Managers

A bill designed to force PBMs to pay higher fees to independent drugstores sailed through the state House, but lobbyists are marshaling their forces to kill the measure in the Senate.