Category: Medicaid

California Health Care Pioneer Goes National, Girds for Partisan Skirmishes

Anthony Wright, a champion for Californians’ health care rights, will take the helm of Families USA in Washington, D.C., where he plans to campaign for more affordable and accessible care nationally. He leaves Health Access California, where he helped outlaw surprise medical billing, require companies to report drug price increases, and cap hospital bills for uninsured patients.

States Set Minimum Staffing Levels for Nursing Homes. Residents Suffer When Rules Are Ignored or Waived.

The Biden administration set stringent new federal staffing rules. But for years, nursing homes have failed to meet the toughest standards set by states.

Colorado Dropped Medicaid Enrollees as Red States Have, Alarming Advocates for the Poor

Colorado defended its high disenrollment rates following the covid crisis by saying that what goes up must come down. Advocates and researchers disagree.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: SCOTUS Term Wraps With a Bang

The Supreme Court has issued its final opinions for the 2023-24 term, including decisions affecting abortion access, the opioid epidemic, and how the federal government functions. In this special episode, Sarah Somers , legal director of the National Health Law Program, joins KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss how the justices disposed of the term’s health-related cases and what those decisions could mean going forward.

Supreme Court Decision Limiting the Authority of Federal Agencies Could Have Far-Reaching Impacts for Health Policy

On June 20, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a longstanding legal precedent that required federal courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretation when statutes are ambiguous. The decision will shift many policy decisions from federal agencie…

The Supreme Court Just Limited Federal Power. Health Care Is Feeling the Shockwaves.

A Supreme Court ruling restricting federal power will likely have seismic ramifications for health policy. A flood of litigation — with plaintiffs like small businesses, drugmakers, and hospitals challenging regulations they say are too expensive or burdensome and not authorized by law — could leave the country with a patchwork of disparate health regulations.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: SCOTUS Ruling Strips Power From Federal Health Agencies

In what will certainly be remembered as a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has overruled a 40-year-old precedent that gave federal agencies, rather than judges, the power to interpret ambiguous laws passed by Congress. Administrative experts say the decision will dramatically change the way key health agencies do business. Also, the court decided not to decide whether a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care overrides Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

1st Biden-Trump Debate of 2024: What They Got Wrong, and Right

A debate marked by President Joe Biden’s faltering performance featured clashes over insulin costs, inflation, abortion, immigration, and Jan. 6.

Battleground Wisconsin: Voters Feel Nickel-and-Dimed by Health Care Costs

In the swing state of Wisconsin, the cost and availability of health care have emerged as key issues. Voters there say prescriptions, procedures, and health insurance policies are too expensive, and must be addressed by the next president, whether Republican or Democrat.

Compare the Candidates on Health Care Policy

The side-by-side comparison tool provides a quick overview of former President Trump’s and Vice President Harris’ records, positions, public statements, and proposed policies on a range of key health care topics.