TV ads and mailings targeting seniors tout Medicare Advantage plans this time of year, but millions choosing traditional Medicare make a costly and difficult decision about Medigap coverage, which gets much less attention.
Category: Insuring Your Health
Payroll Tax Is One State’s Bold Solution To Help Seniors Age At Home
Under a program enacted in Washington state this spring, workers can get up to $36,500 to help pay for long-term health care and services such as installing grab bars in the shower or respite care for family caregivers.
Shifting Gears: Insuring Your Health Column — Born With The ACA — Draws To A Close
The column, which began in 2010 shortly after the federal health law was signed, helps explain how that law affected Americans. Michelle Andrews, the author, will continue to report for KHN.
Feds Urge States To Encourage Cheaper Plans Off The Exchanges
Many insurers added surcharges to policies they sold to individuals last year to make up for a cut in federal funding. Now, federal officials suggest that states encourage insurers to sell policies without those surcharges outside of the marketplace to help people who don’t get a premium subsidy.
For Many College Students, Hunger Can ‘Make It Hard To Focus In Class’
With rising college costs, up to half of college students’ finances are stretched so tight they report that they were either not getting enough to eat or were worried about it, studies find.
Hospitals Gear Up For New Diagnosis: Human Trafficking
Many people forced into labor or the sex trade seek medical help at some point, and health care workers are being trained to identify them to offer assistance.
Staggering Prices Slow Insurers’ Coverage Of CAR-T Cancer Therapy
Some state Medicaid programs are not paying for the procedures, and Medicare’s complicated payment rates have hospitals concerned that it will not cover all the costs.
Can Insurers Use Genetic Testing Results? A Reader Wants To Know
Other readers ask what can be done to challenge unexpected medical bills — whether the result of an emergency room visit or after a change in prescription drug coverage.
Thinking About An Association Health Plan? Read The Fine Print
Federal officials say loosening the regulation of these plans will offer small businesses a more affordable health insurance option, but critics are wary.
