Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Health Care Paradox: Medicare Penalizes Dozens of Hospitals It Also Gives Five Stars
Among the 764 hospitals hit with a 1% reduction in Medicare payments this year for having high numbers of patient infections and avoidable complications are more than three dozen that Medicare also ranks as among the best in the country.
Medicare Patients Win the Right to Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage
If federal officials accept a court’s decision, some patients will get a chance to seek refunds for their nursing home and other expenses.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Record ACA Enrollment Puts Pressure on Congress
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’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Diana Greene Foster, author of “The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having — Or Being Denied — An Abortion.”
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade’s (Possibly Last) Anniversary
Jan. 22 marks the 49th — and very likely last — anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. The court’s conservative supermajority seems poised to overturn later this year the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Also this week, the Biden administration turns 1, with much of its domestic and health agenda yet unrealized. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, about what a post-Roe world might look like.
Colorado abre período especial para tener seguro de salud por omicron y un incendio forestal
Funcionarios estatales anunciaron la apertura de un período especial de inscripción hasta el 16 de marzo, abierto para todos los residentes de Colorado sin seguro, independientemente de si fueron afectados por el fuego o por covid-19.
Wildfires and Omicron Prompt a Special Health Insurance Enrollment Period in Colorado
Disasters have previously prompted special enrollment periods in California, Maine, and the South. Now, Colorado is extending the state insurance marketplace sign-up period by two months.
HHS Proposal for Marketplace Plans Carries a Hefty Dose of Consumer Caution
The Department of Health and Human Services issued preliminary rules regarding health insurance marketplaces that aim to deter fraudulent sign-ups for coverage. Experts say the agency’s action indicates a problem exists.
South Dakota Voters to Decide Medicaid Expansion
Despite state Republican leaders’ rigid opposition to expanding the health program designed for low-income residents, advocates successfully gathered enough signatures to get the measure on the fall ballot.
Record Number of Americans Sign Up for ACA Health Insurance
Nearly 14 million Americans have enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace health plans for next year — a record since the health law’s coverage expansion took effect in 2014. A boost in subsidies marketing and assistance in navigating the process increased the rolls of the insured.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Manchin Blows Up Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) dealt a blow to congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda bill, forcing Democrats to regroup starting in 2022. Meanwhile, the omicron covid variant spreads rapidly in the U.S., threatening the stability of the nation’s health care system. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more, plus a look back at the year in health policy. Also this week, Rovner interviews Ceci Connolly, president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans.
Covered California’s Insurance Deals Range From ‘No-Brainer’ to Sticker Shock
Families of four with incomes of less than about $40,000 a year can pay no premiums and have low deductibles. For some others, health insurance in 2022 will cost more than in 2021 — in some cases, significantly more.
A Rural Georgia Community Reels After Its Hospital Closes
A record number of hospitals closed in rural America last year. For the residents of Cuthbert, Georgia, the loss has meant many problems, including delayed care for emergencies that can turn deadly.
A Title Fight Pits Physician Assistants Against Doctors
Physician assistants are pushing to be renamed “physician associates,” complaining their title is belittling and doesn’t convey what they do. “We don’t assist,” they insist. Doctors’ groups fear there’s more than just a name in play.
La inscripción de Medicare es temporada abierta para estafadores
Funcionarios federales dicen que están aumentando las quejas de personas mayores engañadas para que compren pólizas sin su consentimiento, o atraídas por información cuestionable, que pueden no cubrir sus medicamentos ni incluir a sus médicos.
Medicare’s Open Enrollment Is Open Season for Scammers
Medicare officials say complaints are rising from seniors lured into private plans with misleading information or enrolled without their consent. In response, officials have threatened to penalize the private companies selling Medicare Advantage and drug plans if they or agents working on their behalf mislead consumers.
As Overdose Deaths Soar, DEA-Wary Pharmacies Shy From Dispensing Addiction Medication
A West Virginia pharmacy cleared a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation. But it shut down anyway, highlighting how the agency’s policies reduce the availability of buprenorphine, an important tool for recovery from opioid addiction.
Texas Providers See Increased Interest in Birth Control Since Near-Total Abortion Ban
But providers do not expect contraception to blunt the law’s effects.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Compromise Is Coming — Maybe
Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill appear to be nearing a compromise on President Joe Biden’s social spending agenda, spurred partly by Democratic losses on Election Day in Virginia. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hints it might allow abortion providers to sue Texas over its restrictive new ban. But the relief, if it comes, could be short-lived if the court uses a second case, challenging a law in Mississippi, to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about an emergency bill for a nonemergency birth.
Uninsured in South Would Win Big in Democrats’ Plan, but Hospitals Fear Funding Loss
The latest iteration of President Joe Biden’s social-spending package would close the health insurance gap for at least 2.2 million people, making a huge difference especially in the South, where political opposition has blocked Medicaid expansion.
Unvaccinated? Don’t Count on Leaving Your Family Death Benefits
Some front-line workers who die of covid-19 have been considered eligible for accidental death benefits because it is presumed their infection was contracted on the job. But some employers now suggest that if the workers didn’t follow established safety protocols, such as getting vaccinated, those benefits may be denied.
