The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
221-240 of 3,779 results
People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
Eric Tennant’s doctors recommended histotripsy, which would target, and potentially destroy, a cancerous tumor in his liver. But by the time his insurer approved the treatment, Tennant was no longer considered a good candidate. He died in September.
Republicans are solidifying their opposition to extending pandemic-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and seem to be coalescing around giving money directly to consumers to spend on health care. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to leave his mark on the agency, with the CDC altering its website to suggest childhood vaccines could play a role in causing autism. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join ýҕl Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy.
Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by ýҕl Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health providers are so skimpy they violate legal requirements.
A Maine woman sought care at a clinic for a tick bite, then paid full price after her insurer denied coverage. Its reason? She didn't have preapproval for the walk-in visit, even though testing later detected the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.
ýҕl Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
The record-long federal shutdown is over after a small group of Democrats agreed to a deal with most Republicans that funds the government through January — but, notably, does not extend more generous Affordable Care Act tax credits. Plus, new details are emerging about how the Trump administration is using the Medicaid program to advance its policy goals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join ýҕl Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, ýҕl Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews ýҕl Health News’ Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
ýҕl Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
During a California gubernatorial debate, candidates promised to protect people’s access to health care and fight back against Trump administration cuts. With the contest a year away, polling shows voters want the next governor to minimize out-of-pocket health care costs, increase mental health care, and expand caregiving services.
As voters feel financial pressure from runaway health care costs and crave innovations that would provide relief, the standoff in Congress has been firmly rooted in the status quo — keeping an existing provision of the Affordable Care Act alive.
ýҕl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Nov. 1 marked the start of open enrollment for 2026 health plans bought from Affordable Care Act marketplaces in most states. But this sign-up season is like no other in the health law’s 15-year history. It remains unclear, even at this late date, whether expanded tax credits launched during the pandemic in 2021 will be continued or allowed to expire, exposing millions of Americans to much higher out-of-pocket costs. In this special episode of “What the Health?” from ýҕl Health News and WAMU, host Julie Rovner interviews KFF vice president Cynthia Cox about the past, present, and possible future of the health law and how those who purchase ACA coverage should proceed during this time of uncertainty.
Small-business owners and their employees, who make up nearly half of the Obamacare marketplace, are worried about their health care and their livelihoods as insurance prices surge. Republicans, who have long opposed Obamacare, are at odds over how to respond to upset from one of their party’s most loyal constituencies.
A longtime health economist sets her sights on lowering Americans’ insurance premiums.
This year, Affordable Care Act marketplace consumers will need to be more informed than ever to navigate their health coverage choices.
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ýҕl Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
Even if Congress strikes a deal soon to extend more generous Affordable Care Act subsidies, the prices and types of ACA plans available could change dramatically. Unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval could cloud this year’s open enrollment season, which begins in most states on Saturday.
ýҕl Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Enhanced Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies have emerged as a flash point in the congressional standoff over the federal government shutdown. Republicans point to what they characterize as increasing amounts of fraud as a reason to hold up the subsidies. But there are two sides to the story.
© 2026 KFF