Before “Medicare for All,” there was just Medicare, the federal program that provides insurance to 60 million Americans. This week, KHN’s Julie Rovner talks to Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation about how Medicare works and whom it serves. Then, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join Rovner to talk about some current Medicare issues being debated in Washington, D.C.
Americans routinely skirt federal law by crossing into Canada and Mexico or tapping online pharmacies abroad to purchase prescription medications at a fraction of the price they would pay at home. Is it safe? Not necessarily. Here’s some advice.
Americans routinely skirt federal law by crossing into Canada and Mexico or tapping online pharmacies abroad to purchase prescription medications at a fraction of the price they would pay at home. Is it safe? Not necessarily. Here’s some advice.
The loss of the longtime hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., forces trauma patients to deal with changing services and expectations.
You asked about drug prices, the “Cadillac tax” on generous insurance plans and why Americans don’t know that most other countries also have combination public-private insurance systems. This week, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Caitlin Owens of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to answer those questions.
Critics worry the delays come at a steep cost: Medicare paying for millions of unnecessary exams and patients subject to radiation for no medical benefit.
States increasingly expect to see insurers enter or re-enter ACA marketplaces next year. That’s a critical sign that these exchanges are growing less risky for insurers despite ongoing political and legal battles over the ACA.
In the wake of the opioid crisis, the highly communicable hepatitis A virus is spreading in more than half the states and making its way into the general public. Underfunded health officials are valiantly trying to fight it with vaccines.
Medicare beneficiaries under observation care in the hospital can face higher costs for treatment and are not covered for nursing home care when discharged. A federal trial in Hartford, Conn., will determine whether the government’s ban on appeals involving observation care coverage is fair.
The patient is from Mississippi. The surgeon is from Wisconsin. They meet in a Mexican resort for knee replacement surgery. Because the care costs so much less than in the U.S, the patient’s health plan pays her $5,000.
