Health Care

7 Million More Uninsured Under Trump

By Michael Rainey

The number of Americans lacking health insurance has increased by 7 million since Donald Trump became president, according to data released by Gallup Wednesday. The uninsured rate – the percentage of...
$Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during an event to introduce the "Medicare for All Act of 2017\$

Will Democrats Settle for ‘Medicare for More’?

By Michael Rainey

A new wave of progressive Democrats may be pushing hard for universal healthcare under the banner of “Medicare for All,” but the party itself is leaning toward something more like “Medicare for More...
Secretive ‘Rebate Trap’ Keeps Generic Drugs for Diabetes and Other Ills Out of Reach

By Jay Hancock and Sydney Lupkin, Kaiser Health News

Lisa Crook was lucky. She saved $800 last year after her insurance company started covering a new, less expensive insulin called Basaglar that was virtually identical to the brand she had used for...
Patient Groups Criticize Trump Drug Pricing Proposals in New Ad Campaign

By Yuval Rosenberg

A coalition of more than 50 patient advocacy and medical groups is warning that a Trump administration proposal to reduce certain Medicare drug prices “will put patients’ lives at risk.” The groups,...
7 Ideas to Lower Drug Prices

By Michael Rainey

Lawmakers are pushing multiple policy proposals to address the problem of rising drug prices. Vox’s Dylan Scott provided a roundup Monday of the leading idea for reducing drug prices in the U.S.,...

House Democrats to Investigate Drug Prices

By Michael Rainey

A key House investigative committee announced Monday that it was launching a wide-ranging investigation into the pricing practices of 12 major pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, Eli Lilly,...
Lawmakers Push Bills to Cut Prescription Drug Costs

By Yuval Rosenberg

With the new Congress now in session, lawmakers have been rushing to unveil legislation to rein in rising drug prices, and the Trump administration’s top health official has been talking tough about...
$Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during an event to introduce the "Medicare for All Act of 2017\$

Democrats Gear Up for Single-Payer Health Care Push

By Michael Rainey

Democrats are making it clear that they’re serious about moving forward on universal health care. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said last week that she supports holding hearings on Medicare-for-All...
Progressives Rebel Against Pelosi’s Deficit Rules

By Michael Rainey

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced a minor rebellion from the progressive wing of her party on reinstating pay-as-you-go budget rules, or PAYGO, with some Democratic lawmakers arguing that the rule...
How Killing the Affordable Care Act Could Upend the US Health System

By Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News

If the recent district court ruling that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional were to be upheld, far more than the law’s most high-profile provisions would be at stake. In fact, canceling the...

Buyers Of Short-Term Health Plans: Wise Or Shortsighted?

By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News

Supporters of the nation’s health law condemn them. A few states, including California and New York, have banned them. Other states limit them. But to some insurance brokers and consumers, short-term...
Medicare Improper Payments Fall to Lowest Since 2010

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Improper payments by Medicare in fiscal 2018 dropped to their lowest rate since 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Friday in a report flagged by Modern Healthcare . CMS...
Pfizer Says It Will Raise Prices on 41 Drugs

By Yuval Rosenberg

When drug giant Pfizer announced in July that it would roll back price hikes on its drugs, it made clear that the change was temporary . Facing intense pressure from President Donald Trump, the...
Poor Health of Workers Costs Employers an Extra $530 Billion: Report

By Yuval Rosenberg

U.S. employers spend about $880 billion on health care benefits for employees and their dependents, but poor health among workers costs them another $530 billion — or about 60 cents for every dollar...
Trump Administration Plots Costly Private-Care Expansion for Veterans

By Isaac Arnsdorf, ProPublica

Last June, President Donald Trump signed a landmark law on veterans’ health care after months of tense negotiations. At the ceremony in the Rose Garden, Trump said the bill would deliver on his...