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New HIV infections occur disproportionately among Black women, but exclusionary marketing, fewer treatment options, and provider wariness have limited uptake of preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, drugs, which reduce the risk of contracting the virus.
At least 30 states are reinstating coverage for children wrongly removed from the rolls under Medicaid redetermination, the federal government reported. Itās just the latest hiccup in the massive effort to review the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries now that the programās pandemic-era expansion has expired. And federal oversight of the so-called unwinding would be further complicated by an impending government shutdown. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News-NPR āBill of the Monthā feature, about a hospital bill that followed a deceased patientās family for more than a year.
Medicare and Medicaid shouldnāt be affected, but confusion can be expected.
Congress appears to be careening toward a government shutdown, as a small band of House conservatives vow to block any funding for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 unless they win deeper cuts to health and other domestic programs. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump continues to roil the GOP presidential primary field, this time with comments about abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Tami Luhby of CNN join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for āextra credit,ā the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
As states review their Medicaid rolls after the expiration of a pandemic-era prohibition against kicking recipients off the government insurance program, experts say the lack of help available to rural Americans in navigating insurance options puts them at greater risk of losing health coverage than people in metropolitan areas.
Before covid-19, hepatitis C held the distinction of claiming more American lives each year than any other infectious disease ā thatās despite the marketing of several relatively affordable, highly effective treatments.
The percentage of working-age adults with health insurance went up and the uninsured rate dropped last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. There isnāt much suspense about which way the uninsured rate is now trending, as states continue efforts to strip ineligible beneficiaries from their Medicaid rolls. But is the focus on the uninsured obscuring the struggles of the underinsured? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these issues and more.
Congress returns from its summer recess with a long list of tasks and only a few work days to get them done. On top of the annual spending bills needed to keep the government operating, on the list are bills to renew the global HIV/AIDS program, PEPFAR, and the community health centers program. Meanwhile, over the recess, the Biden administration released the names of the first 10 drugs selected for the Medicare price negotiation program.
The proposal would require major hiring at the most sparsely staffed homes. But the proposal is already badly received by the nursing home industry, which claims it canāt boost wages enough to attract workers.
The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 cycle took place without front-runner Donald Trump ā and with hardly a mention of health issues save for abortion. Meanwhile, in Florida, patients dropped from the Medicaid program are suing the state for not giving them enough notice or a way to contest their being dropped from the program. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Victoria Knight of Axios join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for āextra credit,ā the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Community health workers, who often help patients get to their appointments and pick up prescriptions for them, have increasingly been recognized as an integral part of treating chronic illnesses. But state-run Medicaid programs donāt always reimburse them equally, usually excluding those who work on tribal lands.
Pueblo, Colorado, residents have higher-than-average medical debt, while the cityās two tax-exempt hospitals provide relatively low levels of charity care.
Federal officials are trying to clamp down on private arrangements among some hospitals to pay themselves back for the Medicaid taxes theyāve paid. State health officials and the influential hospital industry argue that regulators have no jurisdiction over the agreements.
Patient advocates are tackling the āoverwhelming taskā of connecting people with health insurance as millions lose coverage due to the end of pandemic protections on Medicaid eligibility.
The annual cost of lecanemab treatment quadruples if the expense of brain scans to monitor for bleeds and other associated care is factored in. The full financial toll likely puts it beyond reach for low-income seniors at risk of Alzheimerās, experts say.
President Joe Biden is kicking off his reelection campaign in part by trying to finish a decades-long effort to establish parity in insurance benefits between mental and physical health. Meanwhile, House Republicans are working to add abortion and other contentious amendments to must-pass spending bills. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā CĆ©line Gounder about her podcast āEpidemic.ā The new season focuses on the successful public health effort to eradicate smallpox.
Congress has until October to avert cuts to a Medicaid program intended to support safety-net hospitals that, in practice, improves the bottom lines of other hospitals, too. Hospital leaders say now is not a good time for the cuts ā which lawmakers have so far postponed 13 times.
State officials have promised to boost funding for Californiaās Medicaid program by $11.1 billion starting next year, with most of that money earmarked for higher payments to doctors, hospitals, and other providers. But the details have yet to be worked out, and powerful health industry groups are jockeying for position.
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforteās veto disappointed and bewildered those seeking to address low-income residentsā long wait for assisted living or in-home care.
President Biden made good on a campaign promise this week with a proposal that would limit short-term health insurance plans that boast low premiums but also few benefits. Meanwhile, the Supreme Courtās decision to outlaw affirmative action programs could set back efforts to diversify the nationās medical workforce. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Bram Sable-Smith, who reported the latest Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News-NPR āBill of the Monthā about how a hospital couldnāt track down a patient, but a debt collector could.
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