High Inflation and Housing Costs Force Many Americans to Delay Needed Care
A recent Gallup Poll suggests that Americans are putting off medical care because of costs. Inflation and rising rents make it harder for people to make ends meet.
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A recent Gallup Poll suggests that Americans are putting off medical care because of costs. Inflation and rising rents make it harder for people to make ends meet.
As of April 1, states were allowed to begin reevaluating Medicaid eligibility for millions of Americans who qualified for the program during the covid-19 pandemic but may no longer meet the income or other requirements. As many as 15 million people could lose health coverage as a result. Meanwhile, the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is projected to stay solvent until 2031, its trustees reported, taking some pressure off of lawmakers to finally fix that program鈥檚 underlying financial weaknesses. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Daniel Chang, who reported the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about a child not yet old enough for kindergarten whose medical bill landed him in collections.
Pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage ends just two months after childbirth in Texas 鈥 some advocates and researchers say that cutoff contributes to maternal deaths and illnesses in the state.
A federal judge in Texas has dealt a big setback to the Affordable Care Act. The same judge who tried in 2018 to declare the entire ACA unconstitutional has now ruled that the law鈥檚 main provisions for preventive care are unconstitutional and, therefore, unenforceable nationwide. Also this week, North Carolina became the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
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.
The ranks of community-based behavioral health providers in Montana have diminished amid rising costs, greater need, and stagnant Medicaid reimbursement rates. Now, as state lawmakers debate solutions, providers are hoping just to cover their costs.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is making a bold push for Medicaid health plans to provide more housing support. He argues it鈥檚 cheaper to pay for rent than to allow homeless people to fall into crisis, which requires costly care in hospitals, nursing homes, and jails.
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.
States are turning to the big health insurance companies to keep Medicaid enrollees insured once pandemic protections end in April. The insurers鈥 motive: profits.
More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.
Financial pitfalls at the nation鈥檚 highest-elevation hospital serve as a cautionary tale as rural hospitals emerge from the pandemic on shaky ground.
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.
President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress spent last month sparring over whether to shield Medicare and Social Security from budget cuts 鈥 leading some to wonder if Medicaid was on the table instead. Biden and Democrats say no, but some Republicans seem eager to trim federal spending on the health program for Americans with low incomes. And ready or not, artificial intelligence is coming to medical care. Benefits, as well as unintended consequences, are likely. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KHN鈥檚 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more.
Medi-Cal serves more than one-third of the state鈥檚 population 鈥 offering a dizzying range of care to a diverse population. In the new 鈥淔aces of Medi-Cal鈥 series, California Healthline will assess the program鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses through the lives and experiences of its enrollees.
States take drastically different approaches to recovering Medicaid money from deceased participants鈥 estates. Demands for repayment of Medicaid spending can drain the assets a person leaves behind, depending on where they lived.
The removals, detailed in emails between state and federal health officials, hinged on disagreements over how states could disenroll people during the public health emergency. Consumer advocates fear the alleged violation signals the mess to come on April 1, when the pandemic-era Medicaid coverage mandate ends.
As many lower-income Americans prepare to lose pandemic-era access to Medicaid, President Joe Biden vowed to stop Republicans from making deeper cuts to lower the national debt. Other changes may still be up for discussion.
California has enrolled into Medi-Cal more than 300,000 older immigrant adults lacking legal residency since May, but the state doesn鈥檛 know how many more might be eligible. Community workers are now searching for them.
Nearly half a million Californians without legal residency make too much to qualify for Medicaid yet they can鈥檛 afford to buy coverage. A state lawmaker is proposing to open up the state鈥檚 health insurance exchange as a first step to providing them affordable insurance.
Rather than simply reward top-performing facilities, the state鈥檚 Medicaid program will hand bonuses to nursing homes 鈥 even low-rated ones 鈥 for hiring more workers and reducing staff turnover.
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