Steep Health Care Costs Steer Americans to Tough Decisions
Two Americans explain how the skyrocketing cost of health insurance influenced their decision to buy ā or skip ā health insurance in 2026.
Health Industry
181-200 of 4,016 results
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Rising Health Costs Push Some Middle-Aged Adults To Skip the Doc Until Medicare
Adults ages 50 through 64 faced some of the steepest increases in out-of-pocket costs for Obamacare plans after a set of federal subsidies expired at the end of December. Some say they are putting off care or considering dropping health insurance coverage until Medicare picks up the bill.
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Even With Dental Insurance, You Still Could Face a Large Bill
Costs keep many Americans, even those with insurance, from getting dental care. Understanding how dental insurance works and leaning into preventive care can help keep dental problems ā and bills ā manageable.
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āHow Low Can You Go?ā The Shifting Guidelines for Blood Pressure Control
The number doctors use to demarcate high blood pressure keeps going down, a trend applauded by many experts, who point to studies linking the condition and dementia.
By Paula Span RFK Jr.ās Vaccine Schedule Changes Blocked ā For Now
Episode 438A federal judge in Massachusetts this week sided with public health groups to block changes to the federally recommended schedule of childhood vaccines, dealing at least a temporary setback to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.ās efforts to remake the schedule. Meanwhile, Congress has put its debate over the future of the Affordable Care Act on the back burner, but the issue of rising health care costs is still front and center for the voting public. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF President and CEO Drew Altman to kick off a new series looking at health care solutions, called āHow Would You Fix It?ā
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Watch: Affordability Plagues Health Care in Its Shift From Nonprofit to Profit Machine
On āWhat the Health? From Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News,ā distributed by WAMU, chief Washington correspondent and host Julie Rovner sat down with Drew Altman, president and CEO of KFF, to talk about the likelihood of a national health care debate.
By Julie Rovner -
Oz Says Californiaās Not Fighting Health Care Fraud, but Data Shows Itās Part of a Larger Battle
Trump administration officials say the state allows rampant fraud and have promised to investigate, blaming the āRussian, Armenian mafiaā in the hospice and home health care industry. But data shows hotbeds of health care fraud throughout the country, with California outperforming most other states in recovering fraud dollars.
By Don Thompson -
Maker of Device To Treat Addiction Withdrawal Seeks Counties’ Opioid Settlement Cash
Some researchers and recovery advocates see the NET device as the latest in a series of products pitched as the solution to the addiction crisis that have been overhyped to capitalize on money from the opioid settlements.
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Evidence Shows ACAās Mandated Benefits Alone Donāt Drive Up Costs. The Debate Continues.
The Affordable Care Act put in place a package of benefits that health insurance plans must cover. Critics contend this mandate has jacked up premiums. Evidence supporting that claim is mixed.
By Julie Appleby and Sarah Boden -
Lost in Transmission: Changes in Organ Donor Status Can Fall Through Cracks in the System
Patchwork state policies and limited federal oversight have led to a fragmented system for tracking when potential organ donors provide consent or change their minds.
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Psychiatristsā Use of Biomarkers Could Open a New Window Into Mental Health Diagnoses
The worldās largest professional psychiatry organization is preparing for the day when biological indicators can help diagnose and treat mental illness.
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Reckoning With State and Federal Cuts, Los Angeles Safety-Net Clinics Push for a New Tax
Across California and the nation, health providers, advocates, local officials, and state legislators are eyeing tax increases to offset a loss of more than $900 billion in federal Medicaid dollars as a result of the GOPās One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In Los Angeles County, community clinics have banded together in support of a half-cent sales tax.
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In Switching to Original Medicare, Beware of Medigap Plan Refusals
Open enrollment season lasts until March 31 for people enrolled in Medicare Advantage who want to switch to original Medicare, but thereās a potential hitch.
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āDark Moneyā Group Angles for Higher Medicare Advantage Payments
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Medicare Advantage āDark Moneyā Group Attempts To Win Higher Payments for Insurance Companies
Medicare Advantage insurers say a proposal by the Trump administration to keep their payments nearly flat next year may lead to service cuts that harm seniors struggling to afford health care. A decision is due by early next month.
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Families Scramble To Pay Five-Figure Bills as Clock Ticks on Promised Preauthorization Reforms
Last summer, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by health insurers to reform prior authorization, which often requires patients or their doctors to seek preapproval from insurers before proceeding with medical care. Patient advocates and medical providers remain skeptical.
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Cosmetic Surgery Investigation Prompts Warnings for Patients, and a Push for Tighter Safety Standards
A national plastic surgeons group is warning people to ādo their homeworkā before having liposuctions, Brazilian butt lifts, or other cosmetic procedures after an investigation into cosmetic surgery chains by Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News and NBC News.
By Fred Schulte -
Primary Care Is in Trouble. So Doctors Band Together To Boost Their Market Power.
Thousands of primary care practices are fighting to remain financially viable and independent. Many are banding together to form Independent Physician Associations, or IPAs, to increase their market power.
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Florida Hasnāt Expanded Medicaid. Lawmakers Want To Add Work Requirements Anyway.
Florida is not mandated to add work requirements for Medicaid, because the state has not expanded eligibility to more low-income adults. But lawmakers have proposed requiring some adults in the stateās program to work anyway, a policy that could leave many uninsured.
By Daniel Chang -
The NIH Workforce Is Its Smallest in Decades. Hereās the Work Left Behind.
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By Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton