2023 Is a Wrap – KFF Health News

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Even with out covid dominating the headlines, 2023 was a busy yr for well being coverage. The ever-rising price of well being care remained a problem plaguing sufferers and policymakers alike, whereas tens of millions of People misplaced insurance coverage protection as states redetermined eligibility for his or her Medicaid packages within the wake of the general public well being emergency.

In the meantime, ladies experiencing being pregnant issues proceed to get caught up within the ongoing abortion debate, with each ladies and their docs doubtlessly dealing with jail time in some instances.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Well being Information, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Name, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins College and Politico Journal.

Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:

• As the subsequent election yr quick approaches, the Biden administration is touting how a lot it has completed in well being care. Whether or not the voting public is paying consideration is a unique story. Inexpensive Care Act enrollment has reached file ranges due partially to expanded monetary assist out there to pay premiums, and the administration can be pointing to its enforcement efforts to rein in excessive drug costs.
• The federal authorities is including workers to go after “company greed” in well being care, focusing on particularly the fast-growing position of personal fairness. The sophisticated, opaque, and evolving nature of company possession within the nation’s well being system makes laws and regulation a problem. However elevated curiosity and oversight might result in a greater understanding of the issues of and, ultimately, treatments for a profit-focused system of well being care.
• Concluding a yr that noticed many low-income People lose insurance coverage protection as states reviewed eligibility for everybody within the Medicaid program, there’s no scarcity of entry points left to deal with. The Biden administration is urging states to take motion to assist tens of millions of kids regain protection that was stripped from them.
• Additionally, many sufferers are all too acquainted with the challenges of acquiring insurance coverage approval for care. There’s assist in Congress to scrutinize and rein in using algorithms to disclaim care to Medicare Benefit sufferers primarily based on broad comparisons quite than particular person affected person circumstances.
• And in abortion information, some conservative states are attempting to dam efforts to place abortion on the poll subsequent yr — a tactic some used prior to now in opposition to Medicaid enlargement.
• This week in well being misinformation is an advert from Florida’s All Household Pharmacy touting the advantages of ivermectin for treating covid-19. (Rigorous scientific research have discovered that the antibacterial drug doesn’t work in opposition to covid and shouldn’t be used for that goal.)

Additionally this week, Rovner interviews KFF Well being Information’ Jordan Rau about his joint KFF Well being Information-New York Occasions sequence “Dying Broke.”

Plus, for “additional credit score,” the panelists counsel well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose you must learn, too:

Julie Rovner: Enterprise Insider’s “‘I Really feel Conned Into Conserving This Child,’” by Bethany Dawson, Louise Ridley, and Sarah Posner.

Joanne Kenen: The Hint’s “Chicago Capturing Survivors, in Their Personal Phrases,” by Justin Agrelo.

Rachel Cohrs: ProPublica’s “Docs With Histories of Huge Malpractice Settlements Work for Insurers, Deciding if They’ll Pay for Care,” by Patrick Rucker, The Capitol Discussion board; and David Armstrong and Doris Burke, ProPublica.

Sandhya Raman: Roll Name’s “Mississippi Group Employees Battle Maternal Mortality Disaster,” by Lauren Clason.

Additionally talked about on this week’s episode:

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