Post-Pandemic, Whatâs a Phone Call From Your Physician Worth?
Medicare billing codes for audio-only follow-up check-ins lead to new reimbursement battles.
CMS
161 - 180 of 393 Results
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Florida Sen. Rick Scott Off Base in Claim That Rise in Medicare Premiums Is Due to Inflation
The Republican senator says President Joe Bidenâs âinflation crisisâ caused Medicare to raise monthly premiums, which will add hundreds of dollars to beneficiariesâ costs. But Medicare experts say inflation was not to blame and most beneficiaries will shoulder a much smaller increase than what Rick Scott claims.
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Researcher: Medicare Advantage Plans Costing Billions More Than They Should
Some insurers pocketed âeye-poppingâ overpayments, billing records show.
By Fred Schulte -
Medicareâs 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.
By Susan Jaffe -
Public Health Experts âFlabbergastedâ That Biden Still Hasnât Picked an FDA Chief
The Food and Drug Administration has been mired in controversies related to drug approvals and covid vaccines, all without a permanent leader.
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The Solution to Au Pairsâ Health Coverage Gaps May Be Simple: ACA Plans
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.
By Bryce Covert -
Census: Insured Population Holds Steady, With a Slight Shift From Private to Public Coverage
The Census Bureau on Tuesday released its 2020 findings regarding Americansâ income, poverty and health insurance coverage.
By Victoria Knight and Julie Appleby -
After Pandemic Ravaged Nursing Homes, New State Laws Protect Residents
This year, 23 states passed more than 70 pandemic-related provisions affecting nursing homes, including measures setting minimum staffing levels, expanding visitation protections and limiting ownersâ profit margins.
By Susan Jaffe -
Biden’s No-Jab-No-Job Order Creates Quandary for Nursing Homes
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.
By Jordan Rau and Andy Miller -
Feds to Nix Work Requirements in Montana Medicaid Expansion Program
State health officials say the federal government will likely reject any work or community engagement requirements, which were key to Republican lawmakers agreeing to extend the program that insures 100,000 low-income Montana adults.
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KHNâs âWhat the Health?â: Our 200th Episode!
The federal approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimerâs disease has reignited the debate over drug prices and the way the Food and Drug Administration makes decisions. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden seeks to gain goodwill overseas as he announces the U.S. will provide 500 million doses of covid vaccine to international health efforts. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. And to mark the podcastâs 200th episode, the panelists discuss what has surprised them most and least over the past four years.
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Expanding Insurance Coverage Is Top Priority for New Medicare-Medicaid Chief
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the administration will focus on getting more people insured and is interested in finding a way to alleviate the gap keeping low-income families in states that havenât expanded Medicaid from enrolling in Affordable Care Act health plans.
By Julie Rovner -
KHNâs âWhat the Health?â: The Return of the Public Option
Lawmakers are working on fleshing out the concept of a âpublic option,â a government-run or heavily regulated insurance plan that would compete with private insurance. But the details are complicated, both substantively and politically. Meanwhile, bioethicists are debating whether the U.S. should be vaccinating low-risk adolescents against covid-19 while high-risk adults in other countries are still waiting. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Rachana Pradhan of KHN 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.
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KHNâs âWhat the Health?â: Drug Price Effort Hits a Snag
Democratic leaders in Congress have vowed to pass legislation to address high prescription drug prices this year, but some moderates in their own party appear to be balking. Meanwhile, younger teens are now eligible for a covid-19 vaccine and the Biden administration reinstated anti-discrimination policy for LGBTQ people in health care. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
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KHNâs âWhat the Health?â: Picking Up the Pace of Undoing Trump Policies
The Biden administration has started to speed efforts to reverse health policies forged under Donald Trump. Most recently, the administration overturned a ban on fetal tissue research and canceled a last-minute extension of a Medicaid waiver for Texas. That latter move may delay the Senate confirmation of President Joe Bidenâs nominee to head the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) seeks to fight back. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico 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.
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Indianaâs Medicaid Expansion â Designed by Pence and Verma â Panned in Federal Report
Indianaâs program seeks to give expansion enrollees âskin in the game,â requiring that they pay small monthly premiums and manage health savings accounts.
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Under New Cost-Cutting Medicare Rule, Same Surgery, Same Place, Different Bill
A Trump administration Medicare rule will push some hospital patients into a Catch-22: The government says several hundred procedures no longer need to be done in a hospital, but it did not approve them to be performed elsewhere. So patients will still need to use a hospital while not officially admitted â and may be charged more out-of-pocket for the care.
By Susan Jaffe -
Medicare Cuts Payment to 774 Hospitals Over Patient Complications
Renowned medical centers are among the quarter of general hospitals that will lose 1% of Medicare payments for one year because their patients have high rates of bedsores, sepsis and other preventable complications.
By Jordan Rau -
KHNâs âWhat the Health?â: The Long Road to Unwinding Trump Health Policies
President Joe Biden signed a pair of health-related executive orders this week that would, among other things, reopen enrollment under the Affordable Care Act and start to reverse former President Donald Trumpâs anti-abortion policies. Meanwhile, Congress remains bogged down with taking up the next round of covid-19 relief. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for âextra credit,â the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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Trump Administration Approves First Medicaid Block Grant, in Tennessee
The plan, long endorsed by conservatives, would give the state broad authority in running the health insurance program for the poor in exchange for capping its annual federal funding.