Category: Insurance

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The ACA Lives

In a surprisingly strong 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court turned back the latest constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act, likely heralding the end of GOP efforts to strike the law in its entirety through court action. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are looking for ways to expand health benefits. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Andy Slavitt, who recently stepped down from the Biden administration’s covid response team, about his new book on the pandemic.

Pandemic Swells Medicaid Enrollment to Record 80 Million People

More than 80 million Americans with low incomes were receiving health coverage through the federal-state program in January. The program now covers nearly 1 in 4 people nationwide.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: When Your Insurance Company Says No, How to Ask for a Yes

Health care insiders get surprise medical bills, too. One of them shares tips for writing an insurance appeal.

Colorado Bill Aims to Give Farmworkers Easier Access to Medical Care

Agricultural workers living in employer-owned housing can have trouble getting health care. It’s symptomatic of bigger gaps in worker protections that the pandemic spotlighted, say proponents of a newly passed Colorado bill for farmworker rights.

Can a Subscription Model Fix Primary Care in the US?

Medical subscriptions, a $199 million CEO payday and the race to fix primary care in the U.S. One Medical is betting big that a subscription model can fix primary care. But the firm faces competition from CVS, Target and large hospital systems.

New Montana Laws Enshrine Health Care Alternatives, for Better or Worse

Direct primary care and health care sharing ministries can offer people more accessible or cheaper health care options, but they lack the benefits of traditional insurance and aren’t regulated.

Expanding Insurance Coverage Is Top Priority for New Medicare-Medicaid Chief

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the administration will focus on getting more people insured and is interested in finding a way to alleviate the gap keeping low-income families in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid from enrolling in Affordable Care Act health plans.

Many New Moms Get Kicked Off Medicaid 2 Months After Giving Birth. Illinois Will Change That.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of new mothers lose Medicaid coverage after 60 days when their income exceeds limits. But deadly childbirth complications persist months longer.

From Racial Justice to Dirty Air, California’s New AG Plots a Progressive Health Care Agenda

In a candid interview, California’s newly appointed attorney general, Rob Bonta, reflects on his progressive roots and says he will pursue a health care agenda centered on the principle that quality medical care is a right, not a privilege.

Enough to Wreck Their Rest: $10,322 for a Sleep Study

The University of Miami Health System charges a truck driver six times what Medicare would pay for an overnight test.