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.
President Biden proposed lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 60 during the presidential campaign and reiterated his support recently, with the goal of broadening coverage and making health coverage affordable for older adults. Proposals to lower the age of Medicare, either to 60 or a younger age, may be considered by Congress. One KFF analysis shows ...
Congress is eying changes to Medicare Advantage that would crack down on prior authorization tactics insurers use to rein in healthcare costs but can affect how providers care for patients. Rep. Susan DelBene (D-Wash.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.) and Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) reintroduced a bill Thursday that aims to quicken the prior authorization ...
House Republicans want their Democratic counterparts to endorse more bipartisan-friendly reforms to drug pricing as the chances of a bill to give Medicare negotiating power look dim. Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee endorsed during a hearing on Tuesday legislation that includes a series of reforms including an out-of-pocket cost cap for seniors ...
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) on Tuesday said he would use “whatever vehicle I can” to pass the Democrats’ drug pricing bill, known as H.R. 3, that would allow the federal government to negotiate for decreased prices on behalf of Medicare. Pallone joined health advocates from Protect Our Care New ...
During President Joe Biden’s speech to Congress on Wednesday, he called for an ambitious health agenda that would allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices, expand Medicare coverage, build on the Affordable Care Act and lower deductibles.
The Biden administration finalized a rule that makes it easier for consumers to qualify for a special enrollment period for Affordable Care Act exchange coverage, in addition to several other major changes.
California could become the only state to let adult children add their parents as dependents to their health insurance plans, a policy proposal aimed at increasing insurance coverage among low-income people living in the country illegally who aren’t eligible for government-funded coverage. Former President Barack Obama’s health law let parents keep their adult children on ...
Health insurers remained profitable across markets in 2020 because of an unprecedented decrease in health spending and utilization caused by the pandemic. Hospitals, physicians and other health care providers canceled elective procedures to free up beds, staff and supplies early in the pandemic and to limit unnecessary exposure and risk of infection. Patients also ...
President Biden on Wednesday called for Congress to pass legislation this year that would lower prescription drug prices, seeking to accomplish a long-held Democratic goal. “Let’s do what we’ve always talked about for all the years I was down here in this body in Congress,” Biden said in his first joint address to Congress. “Let’s give Medicare the ...
Lowering the Medicare eligibility age could also lower costs for employer-sponsored health plans as Democrats pressure President Joe Biden to fulfill his campaign promise to pursue the policy. The Kaiser Family Foundation released two analyses Tuesday centering on lowering Medicare eligibility from 65 to 60. One analysis looked at the savings for employer plans and another the ...