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The Department of Labor issued rules in July clarifying that health plans need to cover the costs of prescription drugs proven to prevent HIV infection, along with related lab tests and medical appointments, at no cost to patients. More than half a year later, the erroneous billing continues.
The failure of single-payer health care legislation in California casts doubt on the ability of other states to pass government-run, universal health care. But activists in New York, Washington state, and elsewhere say they are taking lessons from California and changing their tactics.
After a years-long bitter partisan fight over reforming the U.S. Postal Service鈥檚 finances and service, congressional leaders say they have a compromise. The bill, which has won endorsements from both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, would force future Postal Service retirees to use Medicare as their primary source of health coverage.
After a troubled start to the new Medi-Cal prescription drug program, the state鈥檚 contractor has hired staffers to reduce wait times for medication approvals and patients seeking help. But some doctors and clinics report that patients continue to face delays.
In anticipation of the Supreme Court rolling back abortion rights this year, both Democrats and Republicans are arguing among themselves over how best to proceed to either protect or restrict the procedure. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health insurance when the federal government declares an end to the current 鈥減ublic health emergency.鈥 Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Jay Hancock, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a couple whose insurance company deemed their twins鈥 stay in intensive care not an emergency.
Washington was the first state in the U.S. to introduce a public option for health insurance, but the rollout hasn鈥檛 been smooth. Other states with public options in the works are taking notice.
The insurance company said that the birth of the Bull family鈥檚 twins was not an emergency and that NICU care was 鈥渘ot medically necessary.鈥 The family鈥檚 experience with a huge bill sent to collections happened in 2020, but it exposes a hole in the new No Surprises law that took effect Jan. 1.
Missouri has more people waiting to have their Medicaid applications processed than it has approved since the expansion of the federal-state health insurance program. Although most states process Medicaid applications within a week, Missouri is taking, on average, more than two months. Patient advocates fear that means people will stay uninsured longer, leading them to postpone care or get stuck with high medical bills.
Service dogs can help people with ailments from autism to epilepsy, but a trained dog can cost up to $40,000 鈥 and insurance won鈥檛 cover it.
State Medicaid agencies for months have been preparing for the end of a federal mandate that has prevented states from removing people from the safety-net program during the pandemic.
KHN highlights some of the creative valentines posted on Twitter by health policy enthusiasts.
Problems with California鈥檚 new Medicaid prescription drug program are preventing thousands of patients from getting their medications, including some life-saving ones. State officials say they鈥檙e working on fixes.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is drawing criticism for his hands-off handling of the covid crisis even though the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA report to him. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor looks to enforce mental health 鈥減arity laws鈥 that have failed to achieve their goals. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Noam N. Levey, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a large emergency room bill for a small amount of medical care.
Some practitioners object to the way upfront cost estimates are designed, saying they could affect access to care and are burdensome. Other experts disagree.
If federal officials accept a court鈥檚 decision, some patients will get a chance to seek refunds for their nursing home and other expenses.
Southern California correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson answers questions about the health coverage deals available on California鈥檚 Affordable Care Act marketplace during Radio Biling眉e鈥檚 news program 鈥淟铆nea Abierta.鈥
Temporary subsidies helped boost enrollment under the Affordable Care Act to a record 14.5 million, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But unless Democrats in Congress extend those subsidies, many of those new enrollees will be in for a rude surprise just ahead of midterm elections. Meanwhile, the need to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer further crowds an already tight legislative schedule. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Diana Greene Foster, author of 鈥淭he Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having 鈥 Or Being Denied 鈥 An Abortion.鈥
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal weighs in on the January installment of KHN-NPR's Bill of the Month, in which a family gets burned over a visit to the emergency room.
The new federal law will provide protection against surprise medical bills for between 6 million and 7 million Californians who are not covered under state law.
A KHN reporter had written for years about the people left behind by the absurdly complex and expensive U.S. health care system. Then he found himself navigating that maze as he tried to get his insulin prescription filled.
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