Medicare Archives - Page 4 of 81 - ��ýҕ�l Health News

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

The Hazards of ICE for Public Health

Episode 431

Jan. 29, 2026

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is not just roiling politics but also directly affecting the provision of health care, medical groups say. Meanwhile, in Washington, federal spending bills have been stalled by the fight over immigration enforcement funding after the shooting death of a second person in Minneapolis this month. Maya Goldman of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.

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The emblem of the Department of Health & Human Services is shown on the side of a building

Medicare Advantage Insurers Face New Curbs on Overcharges in Trump Plan That Reins in Payments

Proposed Trump administration changes to federal Medicare Advantage payments would stop health insurers from mining patient data for extra medical diagnoses that generate more bills to taxpayers even without treatment.

By Fred Schulte

Jan. 29, 2026

A green clipboard with a Medicare Part C form. A pen rests on top of the form.

Sick of Fighting Insurers, Hospitals Offer Their Own Medicare Advantage Plans

Breakups between insurers and health systems, on top of plan cuts, left more than 3.7 million Medicare Advantage enrollees facing a tough choice last year: find new insurance or new doctors. But hospital systems say their Advantage plans can avert such upheaval, giving patients peace of mind.

By Susan Jaffe

Jan. 26, 2026

A senior man stands in a hallway with a walker. His reflection is visible, slightly blurred, in a mirror across from him.

THE NEW OLD AGE

These 3 Policy Moves Are Likely To Change Health Care for Older People

Two Trump administration regulatory rollbacks affect nursing home staffing and home care workers, and a new AI experiment in Medicare has alarmed eldercare advocates and congressional Democrats.

By Paula Span

Jan. 23, 2026

Kaiser Permanente To Pay $556 Million in Record Medicare Advantage Fraud Settlement

Kaiser Permanente agrees to pay $556 million to settle allegations of billing the government for conditions patients didn’t have.

By Fred Schulte

Jan. 15, 2026

The New Old Age

Older Americans Quit Weight Loss Drugs in Droves

In some studies, half of patients stopped taking GLP-1s within a year despite the benefits, citing the expense and side effects.

By Paula Span

Jan. 6, 2026

Watch: What Do Republicans Really Want on Health Care?

On “What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News,” distributed by WAMU, chief Washington correspondent and podcast host Julie Rovner sat down with Avik Roy, a GOP health policy adviser, to talk about how health care has evolved as a Republican Party issue.

By Julie Rovner

Dec. 8, 2025

Two men walk beside each other in the hallway of a health clinic. Signage on the wall reads, "we help each other."

Rural Health Payout

Republicans Left Tribes Out of Their $50B Rural Fund. Now It’s Up to States To Share.

The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.

By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez

Dec. 4, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

The GOP Circles the Wagons on ACA

Episode 423

Nov. 20, 2025

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 ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy.

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A photo showing Mehmet Oz sitting at a table in a court room.

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare.

Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by ��ýҕ�l Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health providers are so skimpy they violate legal requirements.

By Susan Jaffe

Nov. 20, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

The Government Is Open

Episode 422

Nov. 13, 2025

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 ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.

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Shutdown Has Highlighted Washington’s Retreat From Big Ideas on Health Care

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.

By Stephanie Armour

Nov. 10, 2025

��ýҕ�l Health News On Air

Reporters Cover the Shutdown and the Use of AI in Health Care

��ýҕ�l Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Oct. 25, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Nutrition Programs Face Their Own Shutdown

Episode 419

Oct. 23, 2025

Two major nutrition programs — SNAP and WIC — are likely to exhaust their funding in November, and the furloughs and firings at the CDC have left the agency unable to perform some of its major functions. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s new IVF policy is being met with dissatisfaction from both sides. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.

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A closeup shot of the side of a woman with a cochlear implant who is also wearing reading glasses.

The New Old Age

When a Hearing Aid Isn’t Enough

More older adults have turned to cochlear implants after Medicare expanded eligibility for the devices.

By Paula Span

Oct. 23, 2025

A photo of man holding his head in his hands as he uses a laptop.

Private Medicare, Medicaid Plans Exaggerate In-Network Mental Health Options, Watchdogs Say

A federal probe of Medicare and Medicaid plans run by private insurance companies found that the plan operators often overstated how many mental health providers were available in their networks. In some cases, investigators found providers had never had contracts with plans they were listed on.

By Tony Leys

Oct. 20, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Schrödinger’s Government Shutdown

Episode 418

Oct. 16, 2025

Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.

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��ýҕ�l Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

RFK Jr. Misses Mark in Touting Rural Health Transformation Fund as Historic Infusion of Cash

The health secretary’s statement doesn’t consider the impact that the Medicaid cuts advanced in the same law will have on health care in rural America.

By Arielle Zionts

Oct. 15, 2025

��ýҕ�l Health News On Air

Journalists Dig Into Government Shutdown and Rural Doctor Drought

��ýҕ�l Health News journalists made the rounds on national media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Oct. 11, 2025

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Starting To Feel the Shutdown’s Bite

Episode 417

Oct. 9, 2025

The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and while it theoretically should not affect entitlement programs, the lapse of some related authorizations — like for Medicare telehealth programs — is leaving some doctors and patients high and dry. Meanwhile, the FDA quietly approved a new generic abortion pill. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sarah Grusin of the National Health Law Program.

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