News
Hospice, home care providers call for federal crackdown amid fraud concerns
2+ day, 19+ hour ago (898+ words) Organizations representing hospice and home health providers in California are calling for a statewide moratorium on new enrollments in Medicare amid growing concerns about widespread fraud in the industry, particularly in Los Angeles County. Three organizations " Save Home Health Coalition,…...
Senior living: Medicare Advantage insurers face new curbs on overcharges
3+ week, 6+ day ago (864+ words) By Fred Schulte, KFF Health News Medicare Advantage health plans recently blasted a government proposal that would keep their reimbursement rates flat next year while making other payment changes. But some health policy experts say the plan could help reduce…...
Senior living: Sick of fighting insurers, hospitals offer their own Medicare Advantage plans
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (1170+ words) Ever since Larry Wilkewitz retired more than 20 years ago from a wood products company, he's had a commercial Medicare Advantage plan from insurer Humana. But two years ago, he heard about Peak Health, a new advantage plan started by the…...
Proposed wealth tax creates long-term budget risks for California
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (1060+ words) California's proposed wealth tax has reportedly already driven at least six billionaires out of state, and proponents haven't even started collecting signatures yet. The preemptive exodus, and the ... California's proposed wealth tax has reportedly already driven at least six billionaires…...
Health subsidies expire, launching millions of Americans into 2026 with steep insurance hikes
2+ mon, 3+ week ago (801+ words) Enhanced tax credits that have helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees expired overnight, cementing higher health costs for millions of Americans at the start of the new year. Democrats forced…...
Aetna to cover IVF treatments for same-sex couples in national settlement
2+ mon, 4+ week ago (789+ words) By Kristen Hwang | CalMatters Like many young girls, Mara Berton and June Higginbotham both knew from an early age they wanted families and to become mothers. But as lesbians, they were excluded from accessing the same fertility treatment insurance benefits…...
Medicaid paid more than $207 million for dead people. A new law could help fix that
2+ mon, 4+ week ago (281+ words) A new Department of Health and Human Services report reveals Medicaid programs made over $200 million in improper payments to health care providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died. By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press [FCC bans new Chinese-made drones,…...
Out-of-pocket pain from high-deductible plans means skimping on care
3+ mon, 1+ day ago (1073+ words) By Charlotte Huff, KFF Health News David Garza sometimes feels as if he doesn't have health insurance now that he pays so much to treat his Type 2 diabetes. His monthly premium payment of $435 for family coverage is roughly the same…...
California’s wealth tax proposal pits fiscal fantasy against economic reality
3+ mon, 2+ day ago (404+ words) These warnings expose the wealth tax's central problems: unreliable revenue projections, permanent tax base erosion from migration, and misguided spending priorities that treat government efficiency problems as funding shortfalls. Nine of the original twelve OECD countries that imposed wealth taxes…...
Trump announces lower drug price deals with 9 pharmaceutical companies
3+ mon, 3+ day ago (702+ words) U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that nine drugmakers have agreed to lower the cost of their prescription drugs in the U.S. Pharmaceutical companies Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck, Novartis and Sanofi will now rein in…...