Medicare plans keep disappearing

By October 1, at least two million seniors will get alarming notices: Their health plans — which they got through Medicare Advantage, the version of Medicare run by private insurance companies — will disappear at the end of the year.   Many of them will be stuck without a lot of options. In some c…

System meltdown: employer-sponsored health insurance

Employer-sponsored health insurance covers 165.6 million Americans. It’s the default. For lots of workers, it’s a key reason to accept a job offer, or to stay in a job.   But that system is slowly imploding. As premiums have grown explosively — the average employer plan now prices out at $27,000 f…

A Texas doctor’s love letter to ‘the People’s Hospital’ (from 2023)

We’re bringing back a favorite episode from 2023 that raises a question as relevant as ever: What if we had a decent, publicly-funded health system, available to everybody, with or without insurance?  We’ve got one, says Dr. Ricardo Nuila. It’s where he works.   And it could be a model for the wh…

Julie Rovner is worried: Checking in with a veteran DC reporter.

Last May, just a few months into the second Trump Administration, changes to federal health programs were happening at a bewildering pace. We brought in KFF Heath News Chief Washington Correspondent Julie Rover to help give us — and you — a big picture look at what some changes would mean.  A year…

How to Fight a Health Insurance Denial With a Little-Known Tool (from ProPublica’s "Paper Trail")

After her husband L was hospitalized for a severe mental health crisis, Teressa barely had a moment to breathe before the health insurance denials started coming in, burying their family in medical debt. But Teressa’s a fighter, and an organized one at that — ready to endure months of back and for…

The Prescription Drug Playbook (Full Version)

While we’re busy working on some big projects this summer, we’re re-releasing some of our most ambitious and useful reporting to date.  Last year, we set out on a mission: Collect all the best advice about what to do when your prescription drugs cost more than you can afford.  Our listeners wrote…

The Chatbot Will See You Now: Big Tech In Therapy (from Organized Money)

One place you might assume is safe from prying ears is your therapy session.  But as more therapists struggle to negotiate with insurers, they’re turning to tech middlemen like BetterHelp and Headway that promise to take care of the insurance admin and match them with patients.  And these compani…

The Supreme Court case that could slow generic drugs

It’s a case you’ve (probably) never heard of: This week, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in Hikma v. Amarin — a legal battle that could impact how much you ultimately pay for prescription drugs.  Here’s why the case matters: As soon as a generic version of a brand-name drug comes to ma…

Why drugs cost so much, 101: Medicine monopolies

We’re always asking: Why do drugs cost so freaking much?  And it’s a complicated question. There are a bunch of reasons — tobesure. But in our reporting over the years, like our stories on insulin and tuberculosis drugs, experts cited one big reason over and over again:  The pharmaceutical indust…

‘Not workable’: How two Americans picked a plan this year — or didn’t

This year, the price of health insurance increased dramatically for millions of people. Tens of millions. Obamacare subsidies shrunk, and premiums skyrocketed.  People asked themselves: how on earth am I supposed to make this work?  Two of those folks — attorney Nicole Wipp and skate-shop owner N…