Category: Insurance

Medicaid Expansion Debate Will Affect Other Health Policy Issues Before Montana Legislature

Legislative leaders say the decision whether to renew Montana’s Medicaid expansion program this year will loom over behavioral health spending and hospital regulation, among other topics.

Health Care Is Newsom’s Biggest Unfinished Project. Trump Complicates That Task.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom enters the second half of his final term, health care stands out as his most ambitious but glaringly incomplete initiative for California residents. The issue will likely shape his national profile for better or worse. And now, Donald Trump brings a new wrinkle.

Health Insurers Limit Coverage of Prosthetic Limbs, Questioning Their Medical Necessity

Advocates say it is discrimination and are arguing for “insurance fairness” on the grounds that people who have joints surgically replaced typically don’t face the same kinds of coverage challenges.

In Settling Fraud Case, New York Medicare Advantage Insurer, CEO Will Pay up to $100M

A whistleblower suit alleged a health insurer bilked Medicare by exaggerating how sick patients were.

Employers Press Congress To Cement Health Price Transparency Before Trump’s Return

Donald Trump’s first administration advanced rules forcing hospitals and insurers to reveal prices for medical services. Employers don’t want to risk backtracking during Trump’s second administration.

Obamacare Sign-Ups Lag After Trump Election, Legal Challenges

The number of new and returning enrollees using healthcare.gov — the federal marketplace that serves 31 states — is well below last year’s as of early December. Also, a Biden administration push to give “Dreamers” access to Obamacare coverage and subsidies is facing court challenges.

He Went in for a Colonoscopy. The Hospital Charged $19,000 for Two.

A man in Chicago with a troubling symptom underwent a common procedure. Then he wanted to know why the hospital charged nearly three times its own cost estimate.

Democratic Senators Ask Watchdog Agency To Investigate Georgia’s Medicaid Work Rule

A group of Democratic senators asked the Government Accountability Office to examine a Georgia program that requires some Medicaid enrollees to work, study, or volunteer 80 hours a month for coverage. They cited KFF Health News’ reporting, which has documented the program’s high costs and low enrollment.

Rage Has Long Shadowed American Health Care. It’s Rarely Produced Big Change.

The outpouring of anger at health insurers following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson continues a cycle of rage that dates back decades.

Trump Threat to Immigrant Health Care Tempered by Economic Hopes

Donald Trump’s second term is reigniting mistrust in health services among California immigrants, making it harder for community health workers to get people enrolled in Medi-Cal. Yet the president-elect is also seen as someone who could improve their lives with a better economy, even if that means forgoing health care.