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Democratsâ $1.9 trillion covid relief package will offer some of the most significant help for Americans to pay for health insurance in a decade. But the temporary provisions are complicated. KHN offers tips for consumers.
Progressive and conservative Democratic lawmakers, as well as President Joe Biden, are in favor of authorizing federal officials to negotiate with drugmakers over what Medicare pays for at least some of the most expensive brand-name drugs and to base those prices on the drugsâ clinical benefits. Such a measure could put Republicans in the uncomfortable position of opposing an idea that most voters from both parties generally support.
Covid vaccinations are ramping up, so âAn Arm and a Legâ checked in on the effort in Philadelphia, where capitalism and compassion have clashed.
Sick with ailments similar to those suffered by 9/11 first responders, military service members exposed to toxic burning garbage in Iraq and Afghanistan may finally see Congress address their plight. President Joe Biden believes his son Beauâs brain cancer may have been caused by such exposure.
The numbers of people wearing these monitors are soaring as prices have fallen and device-makers promote them to doctors and patients. But few studies show the devices lead to better outcomes for the nearly 25 million Americans with Type 2 diabetes who donât inject insulin to regulate their blood sugar.
Beyond the billions of dollars aimed squarely at the pandemic, the covid relief bill cleared by Congress this week includes significant changes to health policy. Among them are the first major expansions to the Affordable Care Act since its enactment 11 years ago and changes that could expand coverage for the Medicaid program. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Pediatric hospitals are creating clinics for the increasing number of children reporting lingering covid symptoms similar to those that plague some adults long after they have recovered.
âAn Arm and a Legâ is updating a story, first reported in 2019, about how insulin got to be so expensive. The latest news is more encouraging than expected.
A student sought counseling help after feeling panicked when she had trouble paying a big tuition bill. A weeklong stay in a psychiatric hospital followed â along with a $3,413 bill. The hospital soft-pedaled its charity care policy.
Renowned medical centers are among the quarter of general hospitals that will lose 1% of Medicare payments for one year because their patients have high rates of bedsores, sepsis and other preventable complications.
State officials recently unveiled a âmaster planâ to address the needs of Californiaâs rapidly aging population, from housing to long-term care. Kim McCoy Wade, director of the state Department of Aging, vows it will not end up on a shelf gathering dust.
A video on the social media platform TikTok explains how consumers can âcrushâ their hospital bills using charity care policies. This wonât work for all medical bills, but it might be a good place to start.
The measures would impose taxes on increases in the price of drugs that donât reflect improved clinical value and set the rates paid by state-run and commercial health plans to a benchmark based on prices in Canada.
Jeff Bloom, a lawyer who used to represent medical-bill collectors in court, is sharing what he knows. âI was a bad guy, for sure,â he said. Then, a few years ago, he switched sides.
Lawmakers answered pleas from strained health facilities in rural areas, agreed to cover the cost of training more new doctors, sought to strengthen efforts to equalize mental health coverage with that of physical medicine and instructed the federal government to collect data that could be used to rein in high medical bills.
Host Dan Weissmann talked about a new federal rule â a requirement for hospitals to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers â with Niala Boodhoo for the daily-news podcast âAxios Today.â
California Gov. Gavin Newsomâs 2021-22 budget blueprint would direct billions in state covid assistance to schools, businesses and the stateâs vaccination effort. But he didnât propose more funding for the state's 61 local health agencies, which have taken on increased responsibility for testing, contact tracing and enforcement of health orders.
With a majority too small to eliminate the filibuster, Democrats will not have enough votes in the Senate to pass many of their plans without Republicans and will also have only a razor-thin majority in the House. This combination could doom many Democratic health care proposals, like offering Americans a government-sponsored public insurance option, and complicate efforts to pass further pandemic relief.
Former health care executive Wendell Potter said, âWhat I used to do for a living was mislead people into thinking that we had the best health care system in the world.â Now, Potter is a health care whistleblower and spent part of 2020 publishing high-profile apologies for the work he used to do.
T.K. Dutes â a former nurse who is now a radio host and podcast-maker â interviewed âAn Arm and a Legâ host Dan Weissmann about what he learned in 2020, and whatâs ahead for the show.
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