Category: Insurance

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.

Trumpeted New Medicare Advantage Benefits Will Be Hard For Seniors To Find

Federal officials are hailing the introduction of services such as transportation to medical appointments, home-delivered meals and installation of wheelchair ramps as a way to keep beneficiaries healthy and avoid costly hospitalizations. But not many plans are offering the services in 2019.

Midterm Election Boosts Medicaid Expansion, But Challenges Remain

Following the vote, nearly 500,000 uninsured adults in five states are poised to gain Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, say advocates. But many conservatives remain opposed to the expansion.

Midterm Results Show Health Is Important To Voters But No Magic Bullet

Even though they are taking control of the House, Democrats will be unlikely to advance many initiatives on health that don’t meet Republican approval since the GOP controls the Senate and the White House. But they can block any efforts to weaken the Affordable Care Act or change Medicaid or Medicare.

California Dreamin’? With Newsom’s Win, Single-Payer Unlikely To Follow Anytime Soon

Even though Democrat Gavin Newsom campaigned for single-payer, it’s unlikely that he and other lawmakers will completely overhaul the state’s health care system right away. Instead, they will likely propose incremental steps to provide more Californians with health insurance.

Quick: What’s The Difference Between Medicare-For-All and Single-Payer?

As politicians across the country toss about such health care catchphrases, sometimes interchangeably, many voters say they’re “just confused.”

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Open Enrollment And A Midterm Preview

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the start of open enrollment for individual health insurance plans for 2019 and preview what next week’s midterm elections might mean for health policy. Plus, Barbara Feder Ostrov of KHN and California Healthline talks to Julie about the latest NPR-KHN “Bill of the Month” feature.

Billions In ‘Questionable Payments’ Went To California’s Medicaid Insurers And Providers

The money was paid on behalf of more than 400,000 people who may have been ineligible for the public program, a state audit found. One had been dead for four years before payments stopped.

In Swing Districts, Republicans May Pay For Having Tried To Reverse The Health Law

Though Rep. Tom MacArthur counts himself a moderate, many of his voters heading to the polls are furious about how he aided his party’s efforts to dismantle Obamacare.

That’s A Lot Of Scratch: The $48,329 Allergy Test

A California college professor never imagined that trying to figure out what was causing her rash could add up to such a huge bill.