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People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
Patients sometimes find themselves scrambling for affordable care when a contract dispute causes a hospital — and most of the doctors and other clinicians who work there — to be dropped from an insurance network. Here are six things to know if that happens to you.
Some states are enacting medical debt laws as the Trump administration pulls back federal protections. Elsewhere, industry opposition has derailed legislation.
51Ƶ Health News video producer Hannah Norman breaks down why new parents are getting billed thousands of dollars for births.
A joint project of NPR and 51Ƶ Health News, Healthcare Helpline helps you navigate the health system hurdles between you and good care. Send us your tricky questions, and we may tap a policy sleuth to puzzle them out. Here is what to do if your preventive care gets denied.
Insurers will take drug costs, frequency of use, and other factors into account as they set premium amounts for the 2026 plan year.
It’s a difficult rite of passage for young adults without job-based insurance. Here are some tips for getting started.
Young adults without jobs that provide insurance find their options are limited and expensive. The problem is about to get worse.
Moves by the Trump administration to pare back Medicaid, rescind medical debt rules, and loosen vaccine requirements threaten to increase medical bills for millions of Americans.
A doctor doing environmental health research in rural Maine is working to establish the best practices to treat patients exposed to “forever chemicals,” potentially leading the way for practitioners across the nation.
The No Surprises Act, which was signed in 2020 and took effect in 2022, was heralded as a landmark piece of legislation that would protect people who had health insurance from receiving surprise medical bills. And yet bills that take patients by surprise keep coming.
Even as states brace for significant reductions in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, conservative legislatures across the country are passing laws that grant doula access to Medicaid beneficiaries.
The Department of Justice alleges that several major health insurers paid brokerages “hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks” to get agents to steer consumers into their Medicare Advantage plans, allegations the insurers strongly dispute.
Bills before the legislature would license community health workers and make it easier for some other health professionals licensed in other states to do business in Montana.
Frustrated by high health care prices, many who backed President Donald Trump support strong government actions to protect patients. It’s unclear whether GOP leaders will listen.
A man in Chicago with a troubling symptom underwent a common procedure. Then he wanted to know why the hospital charged nearly three times its own cost estimate.
51Ƶ Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Pregnant women are being asked to make large cash payments months before they deliver their babies. Some patient advocates worry this billing practice allows providers to hold treatment hostage.
Health care has ebbed and surged as an election issue throughout the presidential campaign. Here are the ways some of the most consequential changes in health policies could hinge on whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump wins.
For snakebite victims, antivenom is critical — and costly. It took more than $200,000 worth of antivenom to save one toddler’s life after he was bitten by a rattlesnake.
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