Even as SNAP Resumes, New Work Rules Threaten Access for Years To Come
Even as the federal government resumed funding the nation鈥檚 largest food assistance program, people risk losing access to the aid because of new rules.
Healthcare Costs
161 - 180 of 1,899 Results
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Trump Wants Americans To Make More Babies. Critics Say His Policies Won鈥檛 Help Raise Them.
The administration鈥檚 embrace of the pronatalist movement often doesn鈥檛 include support for programs traditionally associated with the health and well-being of women, children, and families.
By Stephanie Armour and Amanda Seitz -
They Need a Ventilator To Stay Alive. Getting One Can Be a Nightmare.
Few nursing homes are set up to care for people needing help breathing with a ventilator because of ALS or other infirmities. Insurers often resist paying for ventilators at home, and innovative programs are now endangered by Medicaid cuts.
By Jordan Rau -
Medicaid Work Rules Exempt the 鈥楳edically Frail.鈥 Deciding Who Qualifies Is Tricky.
People on Medicaid deemed 鈥渕edically frail鈥 won鈥檛 need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
By Samantha Liss and Sam Whitehead -
Not Serious Enough To Turn on the Siren, Toddler鈥檚 39-Mile Ambulance Ride Still Cost Over $9,000
After her son contracted a serious bacterial infection, an Ohio mother took the toddler to a nearby ER, and staffers there sent him to a children鈥檚 hospital in an ambulance. With no insurance, the family was hit with a $9,250 bill for the 40-minute ride.
By Tony Leys The GOP Circles the Wagons on ACA
Episode 423Republicans 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 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy.
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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 吃瓜不打烊 show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health providers are so skimpy they violate legal requirements.
By Susan Jaffe -
Ticked Off Over Preauthorization: Walk-In Patient Avoided Lyme Disease but Not a Surprise Bill
A Maine woman sought care at a clinic for a tick bite, then paid full price after her insurer denied coverage. Its reason? She didn't have preapproval for the walk-in visit, even though testing later detected the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.
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FDA鈥檚 Plan To Boost Biosimilar Drugs Could Stall at the Patent Office
Drug industry officials and analysts praised the FDA鈥檚 plans to streamline regulation of 鈥渂iosimilars,鈥 which are cheaper alternatives to biologic drugs. But patents that block such drugs from the U.S. market are getting harder to fight.
By Arthur Allen -
Journalists Untangle Issues of Health Care Costs and Food Benefits
吃瓜不打烊 journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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Listen: New Federal Guidelines Could Weaken Consumer Protections Against Medical Debt
The Trump administration has taken another step to weaken protections for Americans with medical debt, issuing rules that undercut state efforts to keep these debts off consumers鈥 credit reports.
The Government Is Open
Episode 422The 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 鈥 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 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature.
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Readers Take Congress to Task and Offer Their Own Health Policy Fixes
吃瓜不打烊 gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
A Few Good Things From 2025 (Really)
Season 14, Episode 4Good news for health care access this year includes new state laws to rein in prior authorization and medical debt collectors.
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Health Care Costs Jump to the Fore as Candidates Jockey To Be California Governor
During a California gubernatorial debate, candidates promised to protect people鈥檚 access to health care and fight back against Trump administration cuts. With the contest a year away, polling shows voters want the next governor to minimize out-of-pocket health care costs, increase mental health care, and expand caregiving services.
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Shutdown Has Highlighted Washington鈥檚 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 鈥 keeping an existing provision of the Affordable Care Act alive.
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As Health Companies Get Bigger, So Do the Bills. It鈥檚 Unclear if Trump鈥檚 Team Will Intervene.
As health systems, doctor groups, and insurers merge into ever-bigger giants, patient care gets more expensive. Yet the Trump administration has sent mixed signals about its willingness to intervene 鈥 and shown some disdain for Biden officials鈥 more aggressive approach.
The State of the Affordable Care Act
Episode 421Nov. 1 marked the start of open enrollment for 2026 health plans bought from Affordable Care Act marketplaces in most states. But this sign-up season is like no other in the health law鈥檚 15-year history. It remains unclear, even at this late date, whether expanded tax credits launched during the pandemic in 2021 will be continued or allowed to expire, exposing millions of Americans to much higher out-of-pocket costs. In this special episode of 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 from 吃瓜不打烊 and WAMU, host Julie Rovner interviews KFF vice president Cynthia Cox about the past, present, and possible future of the health law and how those who purchase ACA coverage should proceed during this time of uncertainty.
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Farmers, Barbers, and GOP Lawmakers Grapple With the Fate of ACA Tax Credits
Small-business owners and their employees, who make up nearly half of the Obamacare marketplace, are worried about their health care and their livelihoods as insurance prices surge. Republicans, who have long opposed Obamacare, are at odds over how to respond to upset from one of their party鈥檚 most loyal constituencies.
By Amanda Seitz This Health Economist Wants Your Medical Bills
Season 14, Episode 3A longtime health economist sets her sights on lowering Americans鈥 insurance premiums.