Medicare & Medicaid
News articles in this section include actions by federal regulators like the CMS and HHS, as well as information on Medicare and state Medicaid coverage and benefits.
Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s treatment could be experts’ nightmare drug spending scenario: An extremely expensive product that millions of desperate patients could be eligible for — and it may not even work. Why it matters: Alzheimer’s is a devastatingly common disease with no cure. But the FDA’s decision this week paved the way for a free-for-all in ...
When President Barack Obama abandoned a public insurance option to win moderate support for the Affordable Care Act in 2009, progressives were enraged. A decade later, Joe Biden campaigned on making the public option a reality, but so far, he's done little to get Congress to enact one.
Federal regulators have approved the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 20 years, leaving patients waiting to see how insurers will handle the pricey new treatment. Health care experts expect broad coverage of the drug, which was approved Monday. But what that means for patients will vary widely depending on their insurance plan. ...
Key Findings * The latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds majorities of the public saying many current health care proposals being discussed by lawmakers are important priorities for Congress to focus on in the coming months, and few (less than one five) saying each of the health priorities “should not be done.” While majorities of ...
Medicare beneficiaries face wide variation in spending for specialty drugs across Part D plans, according to a new analysis. A report from GoodRx finds coverage variations between plans can lead to high out-of-pocket costs for medications, based on the top specialty medications covered under an Aetna Part D plan with more than 445,000 members. For example, the ...
Health spending would increase by almost a quarter of its current funding level as the White House aims to build a new health research agency, eliminate racial and socioeconomic disparities, and beef up the nation’s public health preparedness. President Joe Biden’s budget request, released Friday, includes includes $133.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human ...
Nevada’s bid to enact the second state-based public option health benefit plan in the nation passed the state Senate Monday on a 12-9 party line vote and moved to the Assembly with one week remaining in the session.
A pair of bills recently introduced in the House and Senate aim to ensure that a boom in telehealth use during the pandemic does not go away. A House bill introduced Monday and a Senate bill introduced Tuesday both aim to make certain telehealth flexibilities permanent for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries.
Many progressive Democrats and President Biden face the political reality that sweeping health care overhauls are unlikely to be successful in the short term, meaning their hopes could instead be based on building on recent changes to the Affordable Care Act and the cost of prescription drugs Lower medication. Almost 1.4 million uninsured people are ...
Employers and their workers have hundreds of billions of dollars at stake in the fight over House Democrats’ drug pricing bill, according to a new West Health Policy Center analysis. Why it matters: If anyone has the political clout to take on the drug industry, it’s employers. By the numbers: The House bill could reduce employer health spending by ...