Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Covered California to Cut Patient Costs After Democrats Win Funding From Newsom
California’s health insurance exchange will reduce how much some patients pay for care next year, including hospital deductibles, appointment copays, and prescription drugs. Lawmakers pressed Gov. Gavin Newsom to make good on a four-year-old pledge to use proceeds from a tax penalty on uninsured people to help people pay for treatment.
Los líderes legislativos habían presionado a Newsom, también demócrata, para que canalizara los ingresos fiscales hacia la reducción de los costos de la atención sanitaria.
Hospitals Ask Congress to Delay ACA Medicaid Funding Cuts — For the 14th Time
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 — which lawmakers have so far postponed 13 times.
Everything Old Is New Again? The Latest Round of Health Policy Proposals Reprises Existing Ideas
House Republican legislation promises more health insurance options but fewer protections, even as the Biden administration seeks to rein in short-term plans, which were expanded in the Trump era.
Medical Debt Is Making Americans Angry. Doctors and Hospitals Ignore This at Their Peril.
Doctors and hospitals hold an exalted position in American life, retaining public confidence even as other institutions such as government, law enforcement, and the media are losing people’s trust. But with health care debt out of hand, medical providers risk their good standing.
Once the New Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Is Available, What About Cost and Coverage?
The Food and Drug Administration’s approval is viewed as groundbreaking, but many details still must be figured out.
¿Cuánto costará la píldora anticonceptiva de venta libre? ¿La cubrirán los seguros?
Los defensores de la salud reproductiva celebraron esta histórica aprobación como un paso que puede ayudar a millones de personas a evitar embarazos no deseados, que ocurren casi la mitad de las veces en los Estados Unidos.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Long Road to Reining In Short-Term Plans
It took more than two years, but the Biden administration has finally kept a promise made by then-candidate Joe Biden to roll back the Trump administration’s expansion of short-term, limited-duration health plans. The plans have been controversial because, while they offer lower premiums than more comprehensive health plans, they offer far fewer benefits and are […]
Medi-Cal’s Fragmented System Can Make Moving a Nightmare
When Medi-Cal beneficiary Lloyd Tennison moved last year from Contra Costa County to San Joaquin County, he was bumped off his managed care plan without notice before his new coverage took effect. His case highlights a chronic issue in California’s fragmented Medicaid program.
Listen: Potential Hospital Bailout Under Fire, as Information Gap Threatens Medi-Cal Renewals
California Healthline journalists discuss the need to update personal information to maintain Medi-Cal coverage, why health finance experts caution against a sweeping hospital industry bailout, and more recent reporting.