Health Care Groups Aim To Counter Growing ‘National Scandal’ of Elder Homelessness
BRISTOL, R.I. — At age 82, Roberta Rabinovitz realized she had no place to go. A widow, she had lost both her daughters to cancer, after living with one and then the other, nursing them until their deaths. Then she moved in with her brother in Florida, until he also died. And so last fall,…
Federal Watchdog Urges Crackdown on Medicare Advantage Home Visits
Medicare officials are pushing back against a federal watchdog’s call to crack down on home visits by Medicare Advantage health plans — a practice the watchdog says may waste billions of tax dollars every year. In late October, a Health and Human Services inspector general audit found that the insurers pocketed $7.5 billion in 2023 from diagnosing health conditions that…
KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Trump’s Nontraditional Health Picks
The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to…
KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Readying for Republican Rule
The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to…
Watchdog Calls for Tighter Scrutiny of Medicare Advantage Home Visits
A new federal watchdog audit is ratcheting up pressure on government officials to crack down on billions of dollars in overcharges linked to Medicare Advantage home visits. But so far, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has rejected a recommendation from the Health and Human Services Inspector General to limit payments stemming from house…
In Vermont, Where Almost Everyone Has Insurance, Many Can’t Find or Afford Care
RICHMOND, Vt. — On a warm autumn morning, Roger Brown walked through a grove of towering trees whose sap fuels his maple syrup business. He was checking for damage after recent flooding. But these days, his workers’ health worries him more than his trees’. The cost of Slopeside Syrup’s employee health insurance premiums spiked 24%…
Election Outcome Could Bring Big Changes to Medicare
On the campaign trail, both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are eager to portray themselves as guardians of Medicare. Each presidential candidate accuses the other of backing spending cuts and other policies that would damage the health insurance program for older Americans. But the election’s outcome could alter the very nature…
Trump quiere que Harris pague un precio político por ofrecer salud a inmigrantes sin papeles
María Sánchez emigró al área de Chicago desde México hace unos 30 años. Ahora, a sus 87, sigue viviendo en Estados Unidos sin papeles. Como muchos inmigrantes de larga data, ha trabajado —y pagado impuestos, incluyendo para Medicare— durante todo ese tiempo. Pero Sánchez nunca tuvo seguro médico, y cuando cumplió 65, no pudo inscribirse…
Trump Wants Harris To Pay a Political Price for Generous Immigrant Health Policies
Maria Sanchez immigrated to the Chicago area from Mexico about 30 years ago. Now 87, she’s still living in the U.S. without authorization. Like many longtime immigrants, she has worked — and paid taxes, including Medicare taxes — all that time. But Sanchez never had health insurance, and when she turned 65, she couldn’t enroll…
KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: The Campaign’s Final Days
The Host Emmarie Huetteman KFF Health News Emmarie Huetteman, senior editor, oversees a team of Washington reporters, as well as “Bill of the Month” and KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” She previously spent more than a decade reporting on the federal government, most recently covering surprise medical bills, drug pricing reform, and other health policy debates…