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The ad, advanced by a right-leaning seniors advocacy organization, mischaracterizes proposals to bargain on drug prices, regarding both the effects on the Medicare program and on beneficiaries.
Congress is back in session with a short time to finish a long to-do list, including keeping the government operating and paying its bills. Hanging in the balance is President Joe Biden鈥檚 entire domestic agenda, including major changes proposed for Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the new Texas abortion law that bans the procedure early in pregnancy is prompting action in Washington. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb about his new book on the covid-19 pandemic.
The plans are designed for people who don鈥檛 get dental coverage through their jobs and can鈥檛 afford an individual plan. For about $300 to $400 a year, patients receive certain preventive services at no charge and other procedures at a discount.
Democrats have hit a snag in their effort to compile a $3.5 trillion social-spending bill this fall 鈥 moderates are resisting support for Medicare drug price negotiation provisions that would pay for many of the measure鈥檚 health benefit improvements. Meanwhile, the new abortion restrictions in Texas have moved the divisive issue back to the political front burner. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interview鈥檚 KHN鈥檚 Phil Galewitz about the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 installment, about two similar jaw surgeries with very different price tags.
The Census Bureau on Tuesday released its 2020 findings regarding Americans鈥 income, poverty and health insurance coverage.
The feds鈥 civil suit links exaggerated patient bills to 鈥渢ens of millions鈥 in overcharges.
A 2017 law designed to help lower the cost of hearing aids mandated that federal officials set rules for a new class of devices consumers could buy without needing to see an audiologist. But those regulations are still on hold.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Nursing home operators acknowledge that large numbers of staff members are not getting the shots but fear a federal vaccination mandate could drive away workers in a tight labor market.
As the delta variant continues to spread around the U.S., the Biden administration is taking steps to authorize covid vaccine boosters, require nursing home workers to be vaccinated and protect school officials who want to require masks despite state laws banning those mandates. Meanwhile, the U.S. House is returning from its summer break early to start work on its giant budget bill, which includes a long list of health policy changes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
The U.S. Senate worked well into its scheduled August recess to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget blueprint that outlines a much larger bill 鈥 covering key health priorities 鈥 to be written this fall. Meanwhile, the latest surge of covid is making both employers and schools rethink their opening plans. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Yasmeen Abutaleb of The Washington Post join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
When the program began half a century ago, backers believed the benefits would expand over time, but politics and concerns about money have stymied most efforts. Now congressional Democrats are looking to add vision, dental and hearing care.
The Medicare rule, designed by the Trump administration to take money away from drug industry brokers and provide refunds to patients, has not been implemented. But budget analysts say if it were, it would cost the government money. So senators are pushing the rule aside and claiming to save billions of dollars, which they want to use instead on new projects.
Pharmaceutical companies routinely cover the cost of patient copays for expensive drugs under private insurance. A federal judge could make the practice legal for millions on Medicare as well.
Medicare has proposed revamping its payment rules to get more people into a diabetes prevention plan that helps them eat better, exercise more and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Out of an estimated 16 million Medicare beneficiaries whose excess weight and other risk factors make them eligible, only 3,600 have participated since 2018.
State lawmakers aim to expand Medicaid enrollment by dedicating billions of dollars in coming years to simplifying paperwork, extending pregnancy coverage and opening the program to thousands of new enrollees, including older unauthorized immigrants and people who need nursing home care.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who is helping to negotiate the health care spending framework for the Democrats' budget plan, said lawmakers may have to settle for very basic versions of programs deployed in the package. But the key, he added, is to get the "architecture of these changes, bold changes," started and show people what is possible.
Democrats in Congress reached a tentative agreement to press ahead on a partisan bill that would dramatically expand health benefits for people on Medicare, those who buy their own insurance and individuals who have been shut out of coverage in states that didn鈥檛 expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, controversy continues to rage over whether vaccinated Americans will need a booster to protect against covid-19 variants, and who will pay for a new drug to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.
The plan from high-wire negotiations would affect five key areas of health, but there will be further tense negotiations among Democratic lawmakers about specifics of the $3.5 trillion in funding. And all Senate Democrats will need to be behind the plan, because Republicans oppose it.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is the special guest for this bonus episode of KHN鈥檚 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 podcast. He and host Julie Rovner discuss a breadth of topics the secretary oversees, including covid-19, prescription drug prices, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
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