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Physician assistants are pushing to be renamed âphysician associates,â complaining their title is belittling and doesnât convey what they do. âWe donât assist,â they insist. Doctorsâ groups fear thereâs more than just a name in play.
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.
A West Virginia pharmacy cleared a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation. But it shut down anyway, highlighting how the agencyâs policies reduce the availability of buprenorphine, an important tool for recovery from opioid addiction.
But providers do not expect contraception to blunt the lawâs effects.
Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill appear to be nearing a compromise on President Joe Bidenâs 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 KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHNâs Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ feature about an emergency bill for a nonemergency birth.
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.
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 didnât follow established safety protocols, such as getting vaccinated, those benefits may be denied.
Negotiations on the health parts of President Joe Bidenâs domestic agenda are getting serious but have yet to produce a deal every Democrat can support. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration remains without a nominated leader but manages to take the first steps toward approving over-the-counter hearing aids. Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins, Tami Luhby of CNN and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too.
The covid pandemic has caused millions of people, particularly LGBTQ adults, to lose their jobs and enroll in Medicaid or insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Yet these plans often donât fully cover the basics needed by many transgender Americans, such as injectable estrogen, a hormone therapy commonly used by trans women.
More than 2 million low-income adults are uninsured because their states have not accepted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Congressional Democrats want to offer them coverage in the massive spending bill being debated, but competition to get into that package is fierce.
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 Bidenâs 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 KHNâs 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.
This episode highlights how New York enacted a charity care law, one of the precursors to the federal provision on charity care in the Affordable Care Act. Â
Private agencies that bring young adults to the U.S. to care for children generally offer basic health insurance, but plans may exclude many types of necessary care. What the agencies might not mention is that au pairs are eligible to enroll in comprehensive coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and likely qualify for premium subsidies that would make the insurance affordable.
Democrats have hit a snag in their effort to compile a $3.5 trillion social-spending bill this fall â moderates are resisting support for Medicare drug price negotiation provisions that would pay for many of the measureâs 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 KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviewâs KHNâs Phil Galewitz about the latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ installment, about two similar jaw surgeries with very different price tags.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Hereâs a collection of their appearances.
Those seeking to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Tuesdayâs recall election disagree with him on more than mask and vaccine mandates. The conservative candidates tend to favor free-market solutions over Newsomâs expansion of publicly funded health coverage.
The covid pandemic has spotlighted the often-unseen role of public health in Americansâ daily lives. And the picture has not all been pretty. What is public health and why is it so important â and controversial? Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, explains the basics. Then, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Lauren Weber of KHN join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss what could happen next.
Televisits took off during the worst days of the pandemic, but states are now rolling back the temporary rules that facilitated them. Thatâs adding fuel to debates about statesâ authority over medical licensing.
A Seattle patient discovers the hard way that you can still hit a lifetime limit for certain types of care. And health plans can vary a lot from one job to the next, even if the insurer is the same.
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.
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