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In his Feb. 4 State of the Union address, President Donald Trump said the cost of extending health care to people regardless of their citizenship status would "bankrupt" the U.S.
If youāre told Medicareās home health benefits have changed, donāt believe it: Coverage rules havenāt been altered and people are still entitled to the same types of services. All that has changed is how Medicare pays agencies.
KHNās Shefali Luthra examines the presidentās talking points on a range of topics ā from insurance coverage, access to care and affordability issues to preexisting condition protections and prescription drug costs.
Medicare has changed how it pays for services. In response, agencies across the country are firing therapists, limiting physical, occupational and speech therapy, and terminating services for some longtime, severely ill patients.
Medicare cut payments for 786 hospitals because of high infection and complication rates. They included a third of the hospitals proclaimed as the nationās best in one prominent ranking.
As the Democratic primary campaign nears pivotal voting, important aspects of health care policy are being overlooked.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Fewer Americans are dying in a hospital, under the close supervision of doctors and nurses. That trend has been boosted by an expanded Medicare benefit that helps people live out their final days at home in hospice care. But as home hospice grows, so has the burden on families left to provide much of the care.
Democratic presidential candidates also returned to now-familiar themes in debating the differences between "Medicare for All" and more incremental reforms.
A new state law limits what consumers owe if theyāre transported by an air ambulance thatās not part of their insurance network to the amount that theyād be charged if they used an in-network provider. But the law wonāt protect millions of consumers whose health plans arenāt regulated by the state.
Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sat down for a rare interview with KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney. They discuss her views on President Donald Trumpās plan for sustaining public health insurance programs, how the administration would respond if Obamacare is struck down by the courts in the future and her thoughts on how the latest "Medicare for All" proposals would affect innovation and access to care.
The aptly named Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly provides services funded by Medicaid and Medicare that range from medical and mental health care to hot lunches, recreation, transportation and haircuts. Californiaās newest PACE center opened recently in San Diego County.
Candidates again sparred over āMedicare for Allā and other approaches to health reform -- but this time they waited more than two hours before wading into health policy issues.
The Affordable Care Act has been on the books for nearly a decade. Parts of it have become ingrained in our health system ā and in our everyday life. But this could change, depending on a long-awaited 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding the lawās constitutionality.
Californians must have health insurance starting next year or face a hefty tax penalty. But, as with the now-defunct federal tax penalty for being uninsured, some people will be exempt.
Members of Congress and others complain Medicareās revamped Plan Finder had problems. Federal officials say they can help consumers who got bad information change their plans next year. But details about how switching will work are yet to come.
The annual accounting of national health spending is out. And the 2018 health bill for the U.S. was $3.6 trillion, consuming nearly a fifth of the nationās economy. Meanwhile, Congress is nearing the end of the year without having finished either its annual spending bills or several other high-priority health items. Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News join KHNās Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHNās Markian Hawryluk about the latest KHN-NPR āBill of the Month.ā
Polls show that health care is at the top of votersā issues, but the polls also say Democrats, let alone other Americans, are not ready for āMedicare for All.ā
The term āvastā sets a high bar.Ā
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