What to Know About Medicare Coverage of Telehealth

Many pandemic-era flexibilities around Medicare coverage of telehealth are due to expire in December 2024. There is bipartisan support for proposed legislation to extend these provisions for another two years, and Congress is weighing the potential benefits, risks, and costs of permanently expanding Medicare coverage of telehealth services. These FAQs provide answers to key questions…

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Prior authorizations: why they matter and how to navigate the process

Health payers created the prior authorization system as a cost and quality control strategy, ensuring patients receive only the most necessary, evidence-based, cost-effective and quality care. Nevertheless, real-life implementation has shown that prior authorizations often backfire on their original intents, increasing overall care costs beyond what is necessary. It also delays patient care, contributes to…

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One or Two Health Systems Controlled the Entire Market for Inpatient Hospital Care in Nearly Half of Metropolitan Areas in 2022

This analysis examines the competitiveness of markets for hospital care based on the share of metropolitan areas controlled by a small number of independent hospitals or health systems and other measures. It finds that nearly half of metropolitan areas across the country had only one or two hospitals or health systems providing general inpatient hospital…

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Election 2024: State Health Care Snapshots

These fact sheets lay out the health care landscape in every state, providing data on a variety of health care topics that may be the focus of policy debates in the 2024 election. Topics include health costs; women’s health policy, including state abortion, contraception and maternity laws and policies; health coverage, including the Affordable Care…

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LGBTQ+ Health Policy

This Health Policy 101 chapter explores LGBTQ+ people’s identities and demographics, their experiences with health and health care, including the significant disparities, and the related health policy landscape.

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