Category: The Health Law

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Manchin Makes a Deal

In a rare surprise for official Washington, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced a deal to expand the planned health bill in the Senate to include provisions raising taxes and addressing climate change. The measure would include a third year of expanded subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, but not health care coverage for people left out of Medicaid in states that failed to expand the program. Meanwhile, the ACA goes back to court, and the Biden administration restores anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people that were rolled back by the Trump administration. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Céline Gounder of KHN about the latest on the monkeypox outbreak.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Drug Price Bill Is a Go in the Senate

Two things happened in Washington this week that were inevitable: President Joe Biden tested positive for covid-19, and the Senate agreed to move forward on a budget bill that includes only a sliver of what Biden hoped it would. Still, the bill to allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices, cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and extend temporary subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance premiums would represent a major step if Democrats can get it across the finish line. Meanwhile, abortion battles continue to escalate around the country, with Texas leading the way in restrictions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., the new president of the American Medical Association.

‘Free’ Screening? Know Your Rights to Get No-Cost Care

Even a decade in, the Affordable Care Act’s recommendations to simply cover preventive screening and care without cost sharing remain confusing and complex.

How Much Health Insurers Pay for Almost Everything Is About to Go Public

New government rules force health insurers to publicly disclose what they pay for just about every service. That information could help consumers and employers know whether they’re getting a fair deal.

Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage for Denying Care and Overcharging

The Government Accountability Office and the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office say seniors enrolled in the program are suffering and taxpayers are getting bilked for billions of dollars a year.

Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage for Denying Care and Overcharging

The Government Accountability Office and the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office say seniors enrolled in the program are suffering and taxpayers are getting bilked for billions of dollars a year.

100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt 

The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.

Immigration Bureaucracy Threatens 11-Year-Old’s Spot on Transplant Lists

Julia Espinosa is a U.S. citizen who needs high-tech care and three transplants. But if the federal government won’t let her father work here, she could lose her insurance.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Washington’s Slow Churn

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the wake of three high-profile mass shootings in less than a month, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have renewed negotiations over legislation that could stem gun violence. […]

Skirmishes Over Medication Abortions May Renew Debate on State Vs. Federal Powers

The Biden administration may have authority to allow the use of abortion pills even in states where the practice could be outlawed, say legal experts.