Category: Health Care Costs

Who Gets Obesity Drugs Covered by Insurance? In North Carolina, It Helps If You’re on Medicaid

GLP-1 agonist medications such as Ozempic accounted for 10% of the North Carolina state employee health plan’s prescription drug spending, so the state is no longer covering them for weight loss alone. Still, it did decide to cover them for Medicaid patients’ weight loss. A look inside the state’s coverage calculus.

A Toddler Got a Nasal Swab Test but Left Before Seeing a Doctor. The Bill was $445.

A mom in Peoria, Illinois, took her 3-year-old to the ER one evening last December. While they were waiting to be seen, the toddler seemed better, so they left without seeing a doctor. Then the bill came.

Indiana Hospitals Pull Merger Application After Pushback Over Monopoly Concerns

Two rival hospitals in Terre Haute, Indiana, pulled back their merger application Monday, just days before the state was due to rule on the deal amid growing backlash to such medical monopolies. The proposed merger between Union Health and Terre Haute Regional Hospital, the only acute care hospitals in Vigo County, Indiana, would have left […]

Florida’s Deloitte-Run Computer System Cut Off New Moms Entitled to Medicaid

Florida discovered a glitch in its Deloitte-run Medicaid eligibility system. The problem, alleged in court testimony, led to new mothers wrongly losing their insurance coverage.

Florida Gov. DeSantis’ Canadian Drug Import Plan Goes Nowhere After FDA Approval

Florida sued the FDA over what it said was a “reckless delay” in approving its drug importation plan. Now, nearly a year after the FDA gave the state the green light, the program has yet to begin.

Washington Power Has Shifted. Here’s How the ACA May Shift, Too.

With a new Trump administration poised to move into the White House and Republicans set to control both chambers of Congress, party leaders are making a to-do list for the Affordable Care Act.

Listen: A Tussle With a Rattlesnake Can Take a Bite Out of Your Wallet

Listen to KFF Health News’ Jackie Fortiér recount how a backyard snakebite led to a harrowing hospitalization — and big bills — for a San Diego family.

FTC, Indiana Residents Pressure State To Block Hospital Merger

Hundreds of people and the Federal Trade Commission weighed in on a proposed hospital merger in Terre Haute, Indiana, with most arguing that the creation of a monopoly would increase costs and worsen patient care.

Social Security Tackles Overpayment ‘Injustices,’ but Problems Remain

With his term soon to expire, Social Security chief Martin O’Malley’s efforts to address the agency’s overpayments to beneficiaries remain incomplete.

An Arm and a Leg: Fight Health Insurance — With Help From AI

Meet the tech worker on a quest to use artificial intelligence to combat denials for coverage from patients’ health plans.