With millions out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic, fewer payroll taxes are coming in to help keep Medicare’s trust fund intact.
Category: Health Care Costs
Administration Eases Rules to Give Laid-Off Workers More Time to Sign Up for COBRA
Under the federal COBRA law, people who lose health coverage because of a layoff or a reduction in their hours generally have 60 days to decide whether to pay to maintain that coverage. But under new regulations, the clock won’t start ticking until the government says the coronavirus national emergency is over, and then consumers will have 120 days to act.
For COVID Tests, the Question of Who Pays Comes Down to Interpretation
Additional guidance issued late last month by the Trump administration added to the confusion. Some consumers may find themselves unexpectedly on the hook for the cost of a test.
Azar Says Federal Law Had Preexisting Conditions Covered Before ACA. Not So Much.
This appears to be an overstatement.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: ‘Open The Schools, Close The Bars’
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. How to safely open the nation’s schools this fall has become the latest spat in attempting to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have decried the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as too […]
Could Trump’s Push To Undo The ACA Cause Problems For COVID Survivors? Biden Thinks So.
The speech by the presumtive Democrat presidential nominee was delivered the same day the Trump administration reaffirmed its support of a lawsuit that would invalidate all of the Affordable Care Act, including the law’s preexisting condition protections.
Analysis: How A COVID-19 Vaccine Could Cost Americans Dearly
The United States is the only developed nation unable to balance cost, efficacy and social good in setting prices.
COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn’t Test For Virus
Americans who had coronavirus symptoms in March and April are getting big hospital bills — because they were not sick enough to get then-scarce COVID tests. Some insurers say they are trying to correct these bills, but patients may have to put up a fight.
2021 Health Plans Granted Leeway To Limit Consumers’ Benefit From Drug Coupons
A rule finalized this spring by the Trump administration permits employers and insurers not to apply drug company copayment assistance toward enrollees’ deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for any drug.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Pandemic Shifts; The Politics, Not So Much
While federal and state officials continue to wrangle over coronavirus testing, the population testing positive is skewing younger. Meanwhile, the Trump administration wins a round in court over its requirements for hospitals to publicly reveal their prices, and the fight over the fate of the Affordable Care Act heats up once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews former Obama administration health aide Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who has written a new book comparing international health systems.
