Researcher: Medicare Advantage Plans Costing Billions More Than They Should
Some insurers pocketed 鈥榚ye-popping鈥 overpayments, billing records show.
All Coverage
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As Workers Struggle With Pandemic鈥檚 Impact, Employers Expand Mental Health Benefits
Many job-based health plans broadened their mental health and substance use coverage to make sure workers had the support they needed this year as pandemic stress lingered, the annual KFF survey finds. Also, the proportion of employers offering health insurance to their workers remained steady, and increases for premiums and out-of-pocket health expenses were moderate.
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Western Boom Cities See Spike in Harmful Ozone
Vehicle emissions, oil and gas drilling and climate change have combined to create more days with unhealthy levels of the colorless, odorless gas from Denver to Phoenix.
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Postcard From a Clinic
How One Health Center Is Leading Chicago on Kid Covid Shots
A health center with clinics on Chicago鈥檚 southwest side that serves mostly Hispanic patients has provided the most covid shots to kids in the city by being accessible, (literally) speaking the language of the community and setting up pop-up clinics at schools and parks. It provides a few lessons as the nation gears up to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds.
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Hormone Blocker Sticker Shock 鈥 Again 鈥 As Patients Lose Cheaper Drug Option
Kids who need a hormone-blocking drug to delay puberty have lost an off-label option. The nearly identical drug the company still sells costs eight times more.
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As Overdose Deaths Soar, DEA-Wary Pharmacies Shy From Dispensing Addiction Medication
A West Virginia pharmacy cleared a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation. But it shut down anyway, highlighting how the agency鈥檚 policies reduce the availability of buprenorphine, an important tool for recovery from opioid addiction.
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Medicare Enrollment Blitz Doesn鈥檛 Include Options to Move Into Medigap
TV ads and mailings targeting seniors tout Medicare Advantage plans this time of year, but millions choosing traditional Medicare make a costly and difficult decision about Medigap coverage, which gets much less attention.
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Spotlight
A Judge Takes His Mental Health Struggles Public
Tim Fall, a sitting judge in California鈥檚 Yolo County, decided to break the silence on his mental health issues with a book published during a campaign year. Depression and anxiety, he says, shouldn鈥檛 disqualify candidates from any profession.
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鈥楧rinking Through a Lead Straw鈥 鈥 $15B Approved to Fix Dangerous Water Pipes
The infrastructure bill passed Friday funnels $15 billion into lead pipe remediation. Water quality experts say the cost of getting rid of all lead pipes could ultimately cost $60 billion. Still, some health advocates say the new funding will be transformative in allowing communities such as Houston鈥檚 Fifth Ward to fix its pipes.
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Texas Providers See Increased Interest in Birth Control Since Near-Total Abortion Ban
But providers do not expect contraception to blunt the law鈥檚 effects.
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As Constituents Clamor for Ivermectin, Republican Politicians Embrace the Cause
Hospitals and doctors are facing more demands for ivermectin as a covid-19 treatment, despite a lack of proof it works. In some Republican-dominated states, pushing for ivermectin interventions has become a conservative rallying cry.
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Journalists Follow Leads on Curbing Violence, Improving Psych Care and Crowdsourcing Covid Safety
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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鈥楥ovid Hit Us Over the Head With a Two-by-Four鈥: Addressing Ageism With Urgency
In light of the pandemic鈥檚 shocking death toll among seniors, organizations are trying new strategies to help older Americans get better care.
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Democrats Plan to Expand Medicare Hearing Benefits. What Can Consumers Expect?
KHN answers questions for seniors about how this new benefit might work.
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Despite Restraints, Democrats鈥 Drug Pricing Plan Could Still Aid Consumers
A last-minute agreement among lawmakers restored a provision seeking to hold down rising costs of prescription medicines. Although details on which drugs will be targeted remain sketchy, the legislation would help patients buying insulin and cap Medicare beneficiaries鈥 out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Compromise Is Coming 鈥 Maybe
Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill appear to be nearing a compromise on President Joe Biden鈥檚 social spending agenda, spurred partly by Democratic losses on Election Day in Virginia. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hints it might allow abortion providers to sue Texas over its restrictive new ban. But the relief, if it comes, could be short-lived if the court uses a second case, challenging a law in Mississippi, to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about an emergency bill for a nonemergency birth.
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Few Acute Care Hospitals Escaped Readmissions Penalties
More than 9 in 10 general acute-care hospitals have been penalized at least once in the past decade.
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New Health Plans Offer Twists on Existing Options, With a Dose of 鈥楤uyer Beware鈥
Fueled by consumer frustration with high premiums and deductibles, two new offerings promise a means for consumers to take control of their health care costs. But experts say they pose risks.
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Patients Went Into the Hospital for Care. After Testing Positive There for Covid, Some Never Came Out.
About 21% of patients diagnosed with covid during a hospital stay died, according to data analyzed for KHN. In-hospital rates of spread varied widely and patients had no way of checking them.
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Uninsured in South Would Win Big in Democrats鈥 Plan, but Hospitals Fear Funding Loss
The latest iteration of President Joe Biden’s social-spending package would close the health insurance gap for at least 2.2 million people, making a huge difference especially in the South, where political opposition has blocked Medicaid expansion.
Morning Briefing
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With Efficiency A Priority, CDC Launches Influenza And Respiratory Viruses Division
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Report: Medicare Spent $380M On Organs Never Used In Medicare-Covered Transplants
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As AI Expands In Healthcare, Ex-Anthropic Researcher Warns We're 'Gambling With Our Lives'
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