Category: Medicare

Special Delivery: Heart-Heavy Health Policy Valentines

KHN shares the cream of the crop of creative valentines about health policy submitted by readers and tweeters. Our favorite is anointed with an original illustration and bragging rights as “the one.”

Your Money or Your Life: Patient on $50,000-a-Week Cancer Drug Fears Leaving Behind Huge Medical Debt

When Medicare stops paying for a pricey drug that prolongs life, an Ohio man considers giving up treatment to spare his family enormous debt.

Era of ‘Free’ Covid Vaccines, Test Kits, and Treatments Is Ending. Who Will Pay the Tab Now?

Insurers, employers, and taxpayers will all be affected as drug manufacturers move these products to the commercial market.

A Health-Heavy State of the Union

President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address leaned heavily on health care issues. Biden took a victory lap for recent accomplishments like capping prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare. He also urged Congress to make permanent the boosted premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and he sparred with Republicans on threats to cut Social Security and Medicare. Also this week, both sides in the abortion debate are bracing for a court decision out of Texas that could, at least temporarily, make the abortion pill mifepristone illegal nationwide. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kate Baicker of the University of Chicago about a possible middle ground in the effort to get universal health insurance coverage.

Health Policies Were a Prominent Theme in Biden’s State of the Union Speech

Our partners at PolitiFact fact-checked a range of President Joe Biden’s statements, including key health-related comments.

The End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: Details on Health Coverage and Access

On Jan. 20, 2023, the Biden Administration announced it will end the public health emergency (and national emergency) declarations on May 11, 2023. This policy watch provides an overview of how health care coverage and access will and won’t change when…

Au Revoir, Public Health Emergency

The public health emergency in effect since the start of the covid-19 pandemic will end on May 11, the Biden administration announced this week. The end of the so-called PHE will bring about a raft of policy changes affecting patients, health care providers, and states. But Republicans in Congress, along with some Democrats, have been […]

Government Lets Health Plans That Ripped Off Medicare Keep the Money

In a surprise decision, U.S. officials yield to insurance industry demands — at least for now.

Did Your Health Plan Rip Off Medicare?

KHN has released never-before-seen details of federal audits as the government weighs action against dozens of Medicare Advantage plans.

Abortion Debate Ramps Up in States as Congress Deadlocks

Abortion is a top issue for state lawmakers meeting for their first full sessions since Roe v. Wade was overturned.