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Taxpayers had to foot the bills for care that should have cost far less, according to records released after KHN filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. The government may seek to recover up to $650 million as a result.
Federal officials have apparently stopped fighting Georgia鈥檚 plan for a limited Medicaid expansion that includes work requirements. The plan, a key policy of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp鈥檚, would cover a much smaller portion of the population: those who can work or volunteer 80 hours a month.
Low-income residents in states that haven鈥檛 expanded Medicaid are in a tough spot: They don鈥檛 qualify for the subsidies that people with slightly higher incomes get to buy marketplace plans because of a glitch in the federal health law. But a court decision last year makes it easier for them to make good-faith estimates of a pay increase, and there is no financial penalty if they don鈥檛 hit that figure.
In August, Congress approved a $35 cap on what seniors will pay for insulin, but that change came too late to add to the online tool that helps Medicare beneficiaries compare dozens of drug and medical plans. Federal officials say beneficiaries who use insulin will have the opportunity to switch plans after open enrollment ends Dec. 7.
Medicare can pay for some dental care if it is medically necessary to safely treat another covered medical condition, and federal officials have asked for suggestions on whether that list of conditions should be expanded.
The lawsuit was filed three years ago to learn about vast overcharges by the popular health plans that are detailed in audits the government refused to release to the public.
Private Medicare Advantage health plans are increasingly ending coverage for skilled nursing or rehab services before medical providers think patients are healthy enough to go home, doctors and patient advocates say.
In an industry obsessed with consumer satisfaction national patient surveys still don鈥檛 get at an important question: Are hospitals delivering culturally competent care?
A TV and social media ad offers a reason to check on the enforcement of a sweeping rule that requires hospitals to post information about what they charge insurers and cash-paying patients.
State and federal laws require health plans to offer accurate lists of participating doctors and facilities, but consumers still struggle to get timely appointments with providers.
A new federal rescue program that pays rural hospitals to shutter underused inpatient units and focus solely on emergency rooms and outpatient care hasn鈥檛 generated much interest yet.
The pandemic disrupted all sense of normalcy for U.S. hospitals, so federal officials are proposing to pause financial penalties against the facilities and to block public access to key hospital safety data 鈥 such as the frequency of falls and sepsis 鈥 because of concerns that the data isn鈥檛 accurate enough. But consumer advocates are furious about the proposal.
The Government Accountability Office and the Health and Human Services inspector general鈥檚 office say seniors enrolled in the program are suffering and taxpayers are getting bilked for billions of dollars a year.
Noble Health swept into two small Missouri towns promising to save their hospitals. Instead, workers and vendors say it stopped paying bills and government inspectors found it put patients at risk. Within two years 鈥 after taking millions in federal covid relief and big administrative fees 鈥 it locked the doors.
The Biden administration is considering whether Medicaid, which pays the bills for 62% of nursing home residents, should require that most of that funding be used to provide care, rather than for maintenance, capital improvements, or profits.
Some consumers who think they are signing up for Obamacare insurance find out later they actually purchased a membership to a health care sharing ministry. But regulators and online advertising sites don鈥檛 do much about it.
As states prepare for the end of the covid public health emergency, they are making plans to reevaluate each Medicaid enrollee鈥檚 eligibility. They will rely primarily on mail and email because not many states can text enrollees.
In his proposed budget, President Joe Biden called for a boost in health spending that includes billions of dollars to prepare for a future pandemic. But that doesn鈥檛 include money he says is needed immediately for testing and treating covid-19. Also this week, federal regulators authorized a second booster shot for people 50 and older yet gave little guidance to consumers about who needs the shot and when. Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post, Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Julie Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a very expensive air ambulance ride.
State health officials are using Medicaid funds to send children in their care to treatment programs in states with less stringent regulations, including programs accused of abuse and mistreatment.
Medicare has proposed limiting coverage of Aduhelm, the costly new drug to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, and several prominent groups representing patients and their families are pressing the program to make it more widely available. But among individuals facing the disease, the outlook is more nuanced.
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