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Many patients ready to leave the hospital end up lingering for days or weeks ā occupying beds that others need and driving up costs ā because of a lack of open spots at nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. A few health systems are addressing this problem by moving post-acute rehab into the home.
The American Medical Association and the leading nursing home trade group both are lobbying Republicans in Congress on other priorities.
As a deputy chief technology officer in the Obama administration, Jennifer Pahlka brought Silicon Valley talent to Washington to streamline public access to government services. She believes better government technology could both ensure taxpayer dollars arenāt wasted and that people who need health care and food assistance receive it.
As policymakers in Washington debate potentially steep funding cuts to Medicaid, Republicans are using terms such as āmoney launderingā and ādiscriminationā to make their case. Language experts and Medicaid advocates say their word choice is misleading and designed to sway the public against the popular program.
The Supreme Court opined for the first time that Trump administration officials may be exceeding their authority to reshape the federal government by refusing to honor completed contracts, even as lower-court judges started blocking efforts to fire workers, freeze funding, and cancel ongoing contracts. Meanwhile, public health officials are alarmed at the Department of Health and Human Servicesā public handling of Texasā widening measles outbreak, particularly the secretaryās less-than-full endorsement of vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Stephanie Armour of Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
At a town hall in Orange County, California, angry residents said Congress should keep its hands off Medicaid. The cuts contemplated in a House budget blueprint would bore a giant hole in Californiaās version of the safety net health insurance program, Medi-Cal, which covers nearly 15 million residents.
At least 20 states have settled disputes with health insurance giant Centene since 2021 over allegations that its pharmacy benefit manager operation overcharged their Medicaid programs. Two holdouts appear to remain: Georgia has not yet settled, and Florida officials wonāt answer questions about its Centene situation.
A small program celebrated by its proponents helps people modify their homes and safely live independently as they age. But most insurers wonāt pay for it, including Medicare.
The House passed a budget plan that likely would result in major cuts to the Medicaid program. But the plan now faces a battle in the Senate, where even Republicans seem reluctant to dramatically reduce a health program that covers roughly 1 in 5 Americans. Meanwhile, federal judges and the Trump administration continue to differ over whether the administration has the authority to unilaterally cancel programs approved and funded by Congress and to fire federal workers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Victoria Knight of Axios join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Frustrated by high health care prices, many who backed President Donald Trump support strong government actions to protect patients. Itās unclear whether GOP leaders will listen.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump distanced himself from the conservative governing plan after Democratic attacks. But now itās increasingly viewed as a blueprint for his administrationās plans for federal health programs.
State lawmakers appear ready to preserve the stateās Medicaid expansion program without knowing what federal changes might be in store.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News correspondent Sam Whitehead discusses Medicaid's history and role in the U.S. health system.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.
Congressional Republicans are pushing plans that could make deep cuts to Medicaid to finance President Donald Trumpās tax cuts and other priorities. At stake is coverage for millions of low-income Americans, as well as a huge revenue source for hospitals ā and every state.
President Donald Trump has said he wonāt support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the programās future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.
States are required to claw back health care costs from the estates of many Medicaid recipients. Some, including Iowa, are particularly aggressive in their pursuit.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
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