Category: Medicare

A physician suggests how to improve Medicare

This is a brief explanation of Medicare from a physician’s perspective, as well as my thoughts on how Congress could make adjustments that would bring us closer to universal care and provide the private market the freedom to improve health care o…

New Analysis Compares Prescription Drug Spending and Use Across Large Employer Plans, Medicare, and Medicaid

As policymakers debate how to address the high cost of prescription drugs, a new KFF analysis compares data on prescription drug spending and use across large employer plans, Medicare Part D and Medicaid, and provides context for policy discussions abo…

How Does Prescription Drug Spending and Use Compare Across Large Employer Plans, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid?

Prescription drug costs are a pressing concern for both consumers and policymakers. This analysis compares prescription drug spending and use in large private employer plans, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid, based primarily on claims data by payer, which…

‘Sham’ Sharing Ministries Test Faith Of Patients And Insurance Regulators

Officials in Washington and other states are cracking down on companies that avoid health insurance regulations by masquerading as faith-based care.

How To Find And Use New Federal Ratings For Rehab Services At Nursing Homes

For the first time, the federal government is measuring the quality of rehab services in nursing homes for the millions of older adults who need post-hospitalization care.

How Obamacare, Medicare And ‘Medicare For All’ Muddy The Campaign Trail

A talking point used by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refers to all three of these distinct concepts in a way that could magnify public misperceptions.

‘John Doe’ Patients Sometimes Force Hospital Staff To Play Detective

The 50-something man with a shaved head and brown eyes was unresponsive when the paramedics wheeled him into the emergency room. His pockets were empty: no wallet, no cellphone, not a single scrap of paper that might reveal his identity to the nurses and doctors working to save his life. His body lacked any distinguishing […]

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Conscience’ Rules, Rx Prices and Still More Medicare

Joanne Kenen of Politico, Jen Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the latest news about the Trump administration’s effort to allow health care practitioners and organizations to refuse to provide care or refer patients for services that violate their conscience or religion. Also this week, the administration orders TV ads for prescription drugs to include list prices. And Tennessee wants free rein from the federal government to run its Medicaid program. Plus, Rovner interviews Joan Biskupic, author of a new book on Chief Justice John Roberts, about the behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to the 2012 ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

Market Muscle: Study Uncovers Differences Between Medicare And Private Insurers

Findings released Thursday by the Rand Corp. highlight how reimbursement rates vary nationally and the impact the charges have on the nation’s high cost of health care. 

Medicare for all doesn’t look like single payer in the rest of the world

Recent polls show a majority of Americans support Medicare for all, but few seem to realize that no other system in the world operates like the current single payer proposals in Congress. Recently, I addressed the concept of single-payer health care, w…