Latest KFF Health News Stories
Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped in Medicare Advantage Plans
As enrollment in private Medicare Advantage plans grows, so do concerns about how well the insurance works, including from those who say they have become trapped in the private plans as their health declines.
Most People Dropped in Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Never Tried to Renew Coverage, Utah Finds
Medicaid officials in Utah conducted a survey to answer a burning question in health policy: What happened to people dropped from the program in the post-pandemic “unwinding”?
Woman Petitions Health Insurer After Company Approves — Then Rejects — Her Infusions
Even people with good insurance aren’t guaranteed affordable care, as this KFF Health News follow-up to one patient’s saga shows.
Utah Survey Shows Why So Many People Were Dumped From Medicaid
It’s one of the biggest mysteries in health policy: What happened to millions of Americans kicked out of Medicaid last year? A survey conducted for state officials in Utah, obtained by KFF Health News, holds some clues. Like many states, Utah terminated Medicaid coverage for a large share of enrollees whose eligibility was reevaluated in […]
States Expand Health Coverage for Immigrants as GOP Hits Biden Over Border Crossings
More than 1 million immigrants, most lacking permanent legal status, are covered by state health programs. Several states, including GOP-led Utah, will soon add or expand such coverage.
La mayoría de los adultos sin papeles trabajan, representan aproximadamente el 5% de la fuerza laboral nacional, según el Pew Research Center.
Bold Changes Are in Store for Medi-Cal in 2024, but Will Patients Benefit?
California’s Medicaid program is undergoing major changes that could improve health care for residents with low incomes. But they are happening at the same time as several other initiatives that could compete for staff attention and confuse enrollees.
Cancer Patients Face Frightening Delays in Treatment Approvals
Delaying cancer treatment can be deadly — which makes the roadblock-riddled process that health insurers use to approve or deny care particularly daunting for oncology patients.
Se avecinan cambios para Medi-Cal en 2024, pero ¿beneficiarán a los pacientes?
A partir del próximo año, más de 700,000 inmigrantes sin papeles serán elegibles para una cobertura completa de Medi-Cal.
When a Quick Telehealth Visit Yields Multiple Surprises Beyond a Big Bill
For the patient, it was a quick and inexpensive virtual appointment. Why it cost 10 times what she expected became a mystery.
In New Year, All Immigrants in California May Qualify for Medicaid Regardless of Legal Status
In the new year, California’s Medicaid program will open to otherwise eligible immigrants ages 26 to 49 without legal residency. They will join children, young adults, and adults over 50 enrolled in Medi-Cal through previous expansions to residents lacking authorization. The change is expected to add over 700,000 first-time enrollees.
Los nuevos inscritos se sumarán a más de 655,000 niños, adultos jóvenes de hasta 25 años y adultos de 50 años y más que ya se han registrado en Medi-Cal a través de expansiones anteriores para residentes sin papeles.
Dodging the Medicare Enrollment Deadline Can Be Costly
As open enrollment ends, many people are tuning out. They could wind up with a surprise next year: higher costs and less access to health care providers.
Readers Slam Hospital Monopolies and Blame the Feds for Understaffed Nursing Homes
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Biden Wants States to Ensure Obamacare Plans Cover Enough Doctors and Hospitals
The regulatory proposal was announced Nov. 15 and is likely one of the last major ACA policy efforts of the president’s first term.
California’s Ambitious Medicaid Experiment Gets Tripped Up in Implementation
The health care insurers, nonprofit organizations, and other groups responsible for implementing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plan to infuse Medicaid with social services say their ability to serve vulnerable, low-income Californians is hamstrung.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump Puts Obamacare Repeal Back on Agenda
Although Republicans have never united behind a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, 2024 GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said this week he wants to put the issue back on the national agenda. That delights Democrats, who have won at least two elections partly by defending the now-popular health law. Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court takes up a case brought by women who say their pregnancy complications further endangered their health due to the vagueness of Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Victoria Knight of Axios News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Rachana Pradhan, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
Adultos mayores, detectives contra avisos engañosos de Medicare Advantage
Funcionarios de los Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid le han pedido a las personas mayores y a otros miembros de la comunidad que sean detectives contra el fraude, denunciando tácticas de venta engañosas al 800-MEDICARE.
Uncle Sam Wants You … to Help Stop Insurers’ Bogus Medicare Advantage Sales Tactics
The Biden administration wants to crack down on deceptive or misleading Medicare Advantage and drug plan sales tactics. It’s counting on beneficiaries to help catch offenders.
An Arm and a Leg: To Get Health Insurance, This Couple Made a Movie
On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” hear how a couple wrote and directed a short film, starring one of them — just to maintain health insurance through the actors union.
