In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss how protections for people with preexisting conditions have become a top issue in the elections, Trump administration efforts to make prescription drug prices more public and the start of Medicare’s annual open-enrollment period. Plus, Rovner interviews California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
Seema Verma, who heads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, tells private insurance officials that a push by some Democrats to expand Medicare would only increase troubles the program already faces.
The private health plans that are an alternative to government-run Medicare continue to grow despite the Affordable Care Act’s cuts of billions of dollars in funding.
A ballot initiative in Maine proposes that free home care services be available to all residents who need help with at least “one daily activity.”
Federal officials are proposing that Medicare pay doctors for a 10-minute “check-in” call with beneficiaries. But many doctors already do this for free, and the plan would require a cost-sharing charge of many patients.
Congress approved two bills last month that prohibit provisions keeping pharmacists from telling patients when they can save money by paying the cash price instead of the price negotiated by their insurance plan.
Some private Medicare Advantage plans are offering large physician-management companies more money upfront and control of their patients’ care, but the doctors are responsible for staying within the budget.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
A DaVita subsidiary will pay $270 million over allegations that it cheated the federal government for years.
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” — recorded in Austin, Texas, as part of the 2018 Texas Tribune Festival — Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Politico talk about how health issues will play in midterm elections, the Trump administration’s move that could penalize legal immigrants who use government aid programs and other topics. Plus, they are joined by Dell Medical School’s Mini Kahlon.
