Category: Medicare

As Congress Works To Curb Surprise Medical Bills, N.Y.’s Fix Gets Examined

A USC-Brookings analysis finds that the New York plan to resolve disputes between providers and insurers without leaving patients on the hook might actually be driving up costs in the system.

How Much Do Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Out of Pocket on Health Care?

This analysis presents the most current data on out-of-pocket health care spending by Medicare beneficiaries, both overall and among different groups of beneficiaries. The analysis explores how much Medicare beneficiaries spend out of pocket in total o…

Compression Garments Can Ease Lymphedema. Covering Costs? Not So Easy.

Private insurance plans vary in coverage for compression garments, and some fall short of meeting patients’ needs. Although Medicaid programs cover some of these expenses, Medicare does not.

Expensive Medicare patients aren’t who you think

Over half of Medicare spending is concentrated in 10 percent of patients. With Medicare expenditures rising at an unsustainable clip, reigning in the costs of those patients is key to controlling health care spending. So who are those patients and what…

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Democrats Do Drugs (Prices)

House Democrats start legislative work on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s prescription drug pricing bill; health is again a featured player in the Democratic presidential candidate debate; and courts around the country hold up President Donald Trump’s health agenda. This week, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.

California To Provide Financial Boost To Help Buy Health Coverage

Come Jan. 1, California will be the first state to offer financial aid to middle-class people who make too much money to qualify for federal Obamacare tax credits. And Californians will once again owe a penalty if they are uninsured.

California To Provide Financial Boost To Help Buy Health Coverage

Come Jan. 1, California will be the first state to offer financial aid to middle-class people who make too much money to qualify for federal Obamacare tax credits. And Californians will once again owe a penalty if they are uninsured.

‘Fear Of Falling’: How Hospitals Do Even More Harm By Keeping Patients In Bed

In what experts call an “epidemic of immobility,” older hospital patients remain stuck in bed, their movements tracked by loud and ineffective bed alarms, losing muscle mass that’s key to their health and daily functioning.

Biden Gets Too Specific On ‘Medicare For All’ Tax Hikes

It comes down to questionable methodology.