Category: Kaiser Health News

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Trump, GOP Fight Back On Health Care

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Ollstein of Politico discuss a flurry of proposals from the Trump administration on prices Medicare pays for drugs and the Affordable Care Act.

Booming Economy Helps Flatten Medicaid Enrollment And Limit Costs, States Report

The drop in the number of people enrolled in the federal-state program for low-income residents is the first since 2007.

States Explore Paths To Pay Their Share For Medicaid Expansion — Using Political GPS

The state-federal health insurance program is more popular than ever. Now, states that want to expand eligibility are devising new strategies to pay for it — creating, in many red states, a significant political challenge.

Gavin Newsom Is Bullish On Single-Payer — Except When He’s Not

The front-runner in the California governor’s race, known for his political audacity, has officially endorsed the controversial move to create one public insurance program for all Californians. Yet he also faces formidable challenges, and liberal critics fear he’ll retreat.

Fixing Obamacare’s ‘Family Glitch’ Hinges On Outcome Of November Elections

This gap in the 2010 health law means health insurance remains unaffordable for millions of Americans. For now, relief is hard to come by.

Primary Care Doctors ‘Not Doing Enough’ To Curb STDs

As rates of sexually transmitted diseases surge, public health officials want physicians to step up screening and treatment of patients.

Politicians Hop Aboard ‘Medicare-For-All’ Train, Destination Unknown

Candidates are charging toward midterm elections on a platform of single-payer and universal coverage rhetoric. Yet “Medicare-for-all” and single-payer mean different things to different people.

As Billions In Tax Dollars Flow To Private Medicaid Plans, Who’s Minding The Store?

Insurance companies profit from government contracts but are subject to little oversight of how they spend the money or care for patients. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has only exacerbated the problem.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Republicans’ Preexisting Political Problem

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.

Children’s Hospitals Again Cry For Help From Voters. But Are They Really Hurting?

California’s 13 children’s hospitals are asking voters in November to approve $1.5 billion in bonds to help them pay for construction and equipment, the third such measure in 14 years. Some health care experts and election analysts believe the repeated financial requests aren’t justified.