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This fall, the U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to release a report on how much it costs to run Georgia Pathways to Coverage ā the countryās only active Medicaid work requirement program ā as other states and Congress consider similar programs.
Monica Soni, Covered Californiaās chief medical officer, oversees an effort to hold health plans financially accountable for the quality of care they provide, including childhood vaccination rates, which have fallen in California and nationwide. She worries federal spending cuts could soon bring turbulence to the stateās Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Food banks nationwide are being pinched by record demand, high food prices, and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal budget cuts. As the economy plods onto shaky ground, food bank leaders hope Congress patches the holes by passing a new farm bill.
Carmen Aiken of Chicago thought their medical appointment would be covered because the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to pay for a long list of preventive services. But after the appointment, Aiken received a bill for more than $1,400.
The Social Security Administration will now withhold 50% of many recipientsā monthly benefits to claw back alleged overpayments ā down from the 100% it announced in March, but way up from the 10% cap imposed under former President Joe Biden.
Breakups between health providers and Advantage plans are increasingly common. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has allowed whole groups of patients to leave their plans.
In many cases, the money flowed to addiction recovery programs that help rebuild lives by driving people to medical appointments and court hearings, crafting rƩsumƩs and training them for new jobs, finding them housing, and helping them build social connections unrelated to drugs.
How one āArm and a Legā listener stayed encouraged during a two-year fight over a bill she didnāt owe.
Federal law requires states to offer health insurance to many people with low incomes or disabilities. But some states, including California, are far more generous than whatās required. Budget pressures may force lawmakers to cut benefits that have led to a historic low in the uninsured rate.
These fixers, officially known as caseworkers, unraveled complex and arcane health insurance rules to solve peopleās coverage issues. They worked in a little-known federal department with which most consumers never interact ā until they need help.
Although knee replacements are usually covered by health insurance, amputees face roadblocks to coverage and often must prove their prosthetics are medically necessary.
A stressed primary care system has led many doctors to start practices that charge membership fees in exchange for shorter waits and longer appointments. Observers say the doctor shortage needs a more systemic fix.
Republicans are pushing to implement requirements that Medicaid recipients work in order to obtain or retain coverage. Some states try to help enrollees find jobs. But states lack the data to show whether theyāre effective.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
Recent cuts eliminated a small, specialized workforce that sets the poverty standards determining who is eligible for Medicaid as well as assistance with food, home heating, child care, and more.
Consumers who were enrolled fraudulently in Affordable Care Act coverage could receive unexpected tax bills ā the first and possibly only clue they were a victim of fraud. Getting help may become difficult as federal workers are laid off and funding for assistance programs is cut.
Some rural hospitals have canceled ā or are considering ending ā contracts with insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans, saying the private policies jeopardize their finances and impede patient care.
Undue Medical Debt is retiring unpaid medical bills for 20 million people. The debt trading company that owned them is leaving the market.
The GOP-controlled Congress is weighing cuts to Medicaid, the government health program that covers millions of Americans ā including nearly 40% of Louisianans represented in the House by Speaker Mike Johnson.
Families, nursing facilities, and home health agencies rely on foreign-born workers to fill health care jobs that are demanding and do not attract enough American citizens. The Trump administrationās anti-immigration policies threaten to cut a key source of labor for the industry, which was already predicting a surge in demand.
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