In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss how protections for people with preexisting conditions have become a top issue in the elections, Trump administration efforts to make prescription drug prices more public and the start of Medicare’s annual open-enrollment period. Plus, Rovner interviews California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
In the wake of a KHN/USA Today Network investigation, Leapfrog will check the safety and quality of outpatient centers.
Drugmakers’ contributions to lawmakers have peaked as surging drug prices emerge as a hot-button political issue. In the past decade, Congress has received nearly $79 million from 68 pharma PACs, run by employees of companies that make drugs treating everything from cancer to erectile dysfunction.
The private health plans that are an alternative to government-run Medicare continue to grow despite the Affordable Care Act’s cuts of billions of dollars in funding.
Federal officials are proposing that Medicare pay doctors for a 10-minute “check-in” call with beneficiaries. But many doctors already do this for free, and the plan would require a cost-sharing charge of many patients.
Congress approved two bills last month that prohibit provisions keeping pharmacists from telling patients when they can save money by paying the cash price instead of the price negotiated by their insurance plan.
These young adults are looking for medical care that is convenient, fast and offers cost transparency. They frequently seek treatment at retail clinics, urgent care centers or other options.
Just weeks before midterm elections, a move by federal health officials spotlights a contentious issue: the use of human fetal tissue in research. Here’s what you need to know to understand the debate.
Some private Medicare Advantage plans are offering large physician-management companies more money upfront and control of their patients’ care, but the doctors are responsible for staying within the budget.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
