SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t expect to be reckoning with another health care crisis. In March, as President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans escalated a nationwide debate over whether to slash health care for poor and disabled Americans, the Democratic governor had to tell state lawmakers that California’s health care costs had spiraled…
By EMMANUEL ANIMASHAUN The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Star Ratings system represents a cornerstone of quality assessment in Medicare Advantage (MA), designed to empower consumers with transparent information while rewarding plans that deliver superior care. Yet recent developments, particularly the seismic downgrading of Humana’s ratings reveal an unintended consequence: a system created…
By LINDA RIDDELL & THOMAS WILSON Recent discussions over Medicaid budget cuts invite us to look more deeply into the house-of-cards that, when it collapses, will hit the states and low-income households hardest. But we will all be harmed. Some states get 80% of their Medicaid funding from the federal government, as a recent Wall…
SPENCER, Iowa — This town’s hospital is a holdout on behalf of people going through mental health crises. The facility’s leaders have pledged not to shutter their inpatient psychiatric unit, as dozens of other U.S. hospitals have. Keeping that promise could soon get tougher if Congress slashes Medicaid funding. The joint federal-state health program covers…
News has been coming out of Washington, D.C., since the start of the second Donald Trump administration like water out of a fire hose. It can feel impossible to stay on top of all the changes. So in this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with KFF Health News chief…
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Trump Team’s Rhetoric Doesn’t Match Actions The recent KFF Health News article “Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump” (April 17) struck a nerve….
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed funding cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services on CBS News’ “24/7” on May 7. Click here to watch Rovner on “24/7.” Listen to this week’s episode of “What the Health?” — hosted by Rovner: “Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP.”…
In his first term, President Donald Trump promised to end America’s HIV epidemic — and he put the resources of the federal government behind the effort. This time, he has deployed the powers of his office to gut funding, abandoning those communities at highest risk of HIV. Health care groups across the South are scaling…
The Trump administration must soon make a decision that will affect millions of Americans’ ability to access and afford mental health and addiction care. The administration is facing a May 12 deadline to declare if it will defend Biden-era regulations that aim to enforce mental health parity — the idea that insurers must cover mental…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson anticipates that California’s sprawling Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, may need to be dialed back after Gov. Gavin Newsom releases his latest budget, which could reflect a multibillion-dollar deficit. Even so, the physician-turned-lawmaker, who was elected to the state Senate in November, says her priorities as chair…