Steep Health Care Costs Steer Americans to Tough Decisions
Two Americans explain how the skyrocketing cost of health insurance influenced their decision to buy 鈥 or skip 鈥 health insurance in 2026.
All Coverage
-
-
Demoralized CDC Workforce Reels From Year of Firings, Funding Cuts, and a Shooting
Thousands of employees are gone and last summer鈥檚 shooting resonates still at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters and among the large public health community in Atlanta.
-
鈥楾hey Tricked Me鈥: A Father Was Chained After He Went to ICE To Reunite With His Kids
The administration has largely converted the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement into an arm of immigration enforcement, detaining children longer while helping immigration officers arrest their parents or other family members. One father was chained when he went to an ICE office to discuss being reunited with his son and daughter.
-
Even With Dental Insurance, You Still Could Face a Large Bill
Costs keep many Americans, even those with insurance, from getting dental care. Understanding how dental insurance works and leaning into preventive care can help keep dental problems 鈥 and bills 鈥 manageable.
-
Rising Health Costs Push Some Middle-Aged Adults To Skip the Doc Until Medicare
Adults ages 50 through 64 faced some of the steepest increases in out-of-pocket costs for Obamacare plans after a set of federal subsidies expired at the end of December. Some say they are putting off care or considering dropping health insurance coverage until Medicare picks up the bill.
-
Journalists Shine Light on Out-of-Reach Insurance Prices, AI’s Role in Claims Disputes, and Susie Wiles
51视频 Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
-
In the Affordability Alphabet Soup of the ACA and EHBs, a Link to Higher Premiums Isn鈥檛 Clear-Cut
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
-
Oz Escalates Medicaid Fraud Claims Against States After Focus on Minnesota
The Trump administration鈥檚 unprecedented actions targeting Medicaid funding in Minnesota are part of what could become a playbook as officials turn pressure toward California, Florida, Maine, and New York.
-
鈥楬ow Low Can You Go?鈥 The Shifting Guidelines for Blood Pressure Control
The number doctors use to demarcate high blood pressure keeps going down, a trend applauded by many experts, who point to studies linking the condition and dementia.
-
Listen: Trump鈥檚 NIH 鈥楻eset鈥 Is Driving Away Scientists
In President Donald Trump鈥檚 second term, federal data shows, the National Institutes of Health has lost about 4,400 workers. Scientists say the departures harm the nation鈥檚 ability to respond to disease outbreaks, develop treatments, and confront public health problems. 51视频 Health News spoke with six scientists about why they left.
-
RFK Jr.鈥檚 Vaccine Schedule Changes Blocked 鈥 For Now
A federal judge in Massachusetts this week sided with public health groups to block changes to the federally recommended schedule of childhood vaccines, dealing at least a temporary setback to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 efforts to remake the schedule. Meanwhile, Congress has put its debate over the future of the Affordable Care Act on the back burner, but the issue of rising health care costs is still front and center for the voting public. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51视频 President and CEO Drew Altman to kick off a new series looking at health care solutions, called 鈥淗ow Would You Fix It?鈥
-
Many ACA Customers Are Paying Higher Premiums. Most Blame Trump and Republicans, Poll Finds.
A 51视频 poll offers insights into people鈥檚 insurance coverage decisions and how those choices could play into their vote in November鈥檚 midterm elections.
-
Lawmakers Seek To Protect Crisis Pregnancy Centers as Abortion Clinic Numbers Shrink
Some states have tried to crack down on crisis pregnancy centers, accusing them of deceptive practices. But now conservative lawmakers are pushing legislation to increase protections for the organizations, which work to dissuade women from abortions.
-
Oz Says California鈥檚 Not Fighting Health Care Fraud, but Data Shows It鈥檚 Part of a Larger Battle
Trump administration officials say the state allows rampant fraud and have promised to investigate, blaming the 鈥淩ussian, Armenian mafia鈥 in the hospice and home health care industry. But data shows hotbeds of health care fraud throughout the country, with California outperforming most other states in recovering fraud dollars.
-
Watch: Affordability Plagues Health Care in Its Shift From Nonprofit to Profit Machine
On 鈥淲hat the Health? From 51视频 Health News,鈥 distributed by WAMU, chief Washington correspondent and host Julie Rovner sat down with Drew Altman, president and CEO of 51视频, to talk about the likelihood of a national health care debate.
-
Evidence Shows ACA鈥檚 Mandated Benefits Alone Don鈥檛 Drive Up Costs. The Debate Continues.
The Affordable Care Act put in place a package of benefits that health insurance plans must cover. Critics contend this mandate has jacked up premiums. Evidence supporting that claim is mixed.
-
Maker of Device To Treat Addiction Withdrawal Seeks Counties’ Opioid Settlement Cash
Some researchers and recovery advocates see the NET device as the latest in a series of products pitched as the solution to the addiction crisis that have been overhyped to capitalize on money from the opioid settlements.
-
Psychiatrists鈥 Use of Biomarkers Could Open a New Window Into Mental Health Diagnoses
The world鈥檚 largest professional psychiatry organization is preparing for the day when biological indicators can help diagnose and treat mental illness.
-
Lost in Transmission: Changes in Organ Donor Status Can Fall Through Cracks in the System
Patchwork state policies and limited federal oversight have led to a fragmented system for tracking when potential organ donors provide consent or change their minds.
-
Birth Control Skepticism, Teen Fertility Take Center Stage at Trump’s Women’s Health Summit
Amid falling birth rates and presidential approval numbers, the Department of Health and Human Services convened doctors, tech executives, and influencers to discuss women鈥檚 health. Panelists criticized reliance on birth control pills to treat health problems and encouraged doctors to talk with girls about whether they want to have babies.
Morning Briefing
-
21 Drugs Are Cleared For Back-End Payments In Revised Pilot Of 340B Program
-
Senate Committee Looks For Ways To Block White House Interference In Medical Research Grants
-
After Botched Execution, Questions Swirl As Tennessee Inmate Receives Lifesaving Care At Vanderbilt Facility
Noticias en espa帽ol