Healthcare Costs Archives - Page 18 of 98

Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House

Episode 398

May 23, 2025

The House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy along with billions of dollars in cuts to health program spending. But the Senate is expected to make major changes to the measure before it can go to President Donald Trump for his signature. This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of 51��Ƶ Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

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A photo of Mike Johnson speaking at a podium with a sign attached to it that reads "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."

Republicans Aim To Punish States That Insure Unauthorized Immigrants

A GOP tax-and-spending bill the House approved Thursday would slash federal Medicaid reimbursement for states that offer health coverage to immigrants without legal status.

By Phil Galewitz and Christine Mai-Duc

May 23, 2025

A photo of President Trump seated at a desk, gesturing with his hands, holding a magic marker. Three men stand behind him; they are heads of federal health agencies.

How Trump Aims To Slash Federal Support for Research, Public Health, and Medicaid

One thing experts agree on: The damage from the funding cuts will be varied and immense.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

May 20, 2025

51��Ƶ Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Trump Exaggerates Speed and Certainty of Prescription Drug Price Reductions

According to the timeline in the May 12 executive order, prescription drug price reductions would not happen "almost immediately,” but rather could take months or years. And extending the savings to Americans outside federal health insurance programs such as Medicare would likely require congressional action.

By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact

May 20, 2025

51��Ƶ Health News On Air

Journalists Unpack Drug Prices, Threats to Medicaid, and the Fluoridation of Water

51��Ƶ Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

May 17, 2025

A photo of an area in a pharmacy with filled prescriptions.

Pharmacists Stockpile Most Common Drugs on Chance of Targeted Trump Tariffs

While Big Pharma seems ready to weather the tariff storm, independent pharmacists and makers of generic drugs — which account for 90% of U.S. prescriptions — see trouble ahead for patients.

By Jackie Fortiér and Arthur Allen

May 16, 2025

What the Health? From 51��Ƶ Health News

GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits

Episode 397

May 15, 2025

GOP-controlled House committees approved parts of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” this week, including more than $700 billion in cuts to health programs over the next decade — mostly from Medicaid, which covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress for the first time since taking office and told lawmakers that Americans shouldn’t take medical advice from him. Julie Appleby of 51��Ƶ Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 51��Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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A photo of Gavin Newsom speaking before an audience.

Newsom’s Pitch as He Seeks To Pare Down Immigrant Health Care: ‘We Have To Adjust’

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that he’s proud his state expanded health care to all low-income residents regardless of immigration status but that tough budget times call for some adjustments. The Democrat’s new budget proposes scaling back benefits to adults living in the country illegally, as well as charging them a $100 monthly premium.

By Christine Mai-Duc and Vanessa G. Sánchez

May 15, 2025

A photo of Mike Johnson standing at a podium with two men behind him: Tom Emmer and Steve Scalise.

The GOP’s Trying Again To Cut Medicaid. It’s Only Gotten Harder Since 2017.

Donald Trump is back in the White House, the GOP controls Congress, and Republicans have dusted off their 2017 plans to reshape Medicaid, the government health program for those with low incomes or disabilities.

By Phil Galewitz

May 14, 2025

A photo of Governor Gavin Newsom speaking at a podium with the governor's seal on it.

After Promising Universal Health Care, California Governor Must Reconsider Immigrant Coverage

Gov. Gavin Newsom was elected to office in 2019 on a promise of universal health care. He dramatically expanded coverage, but after six years, the Democrat is forced to contemplate deep cuts — including to the nation’s largest health care expansion to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.

By Angela Hart and Christine Mai-Duc

May 13, 2025

Letters to the Editor

Readers Scrutinize Federal Cuts and Medical Debt

51��Ƶ Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

May 12, 2025

A photo of a hospital exterior with a neon green sign in front of it that reads, "Spencer Hospital, healthier together."

Medicaid Payments Barely Keep Hospital Mental Health Units Afloat. Federal Cuts Could Sink Them.

Patients seeking mental health care are more likely to be on Medicaid than patients in more profitable areas of care, such as cancer or cardiac treatment.

By Tony Leys

May 12, 2025

An Arm and a Leg

A Health Policy Veteran Puts 2025 in Perspective

Season 13, Episode 7

May 12, 2025

Two stories from Washington, D.C., give listeners a sense of what changes the Trump administration has been making to health policy, with 51��Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner and Arthur Allen.

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A photo of California state Senator Akilah Weber Pierson indoors. Behind her is a wall covered in colorful art prints.

A California Lawmaker Leans Into Her Medical Training in Fight for Health Safety Net

As California’s budget deadline looms, state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, a physician-turned-lawmaker, says state leaders may soon have to make some tough decisions on health care spending. With the state’s Medi-Cal program billions of dollars short, California’s health care safety net is at risk — even without federal cuts to Medicaid.

By Christine Mai-Duc

May 9, 2025

A photo illustration of a person's head with their brain drawn as tangled threads. Three hands work to unknot the threads.

Trump Team Faces Key Legal Decision That Could Put Mental Health Parity in Peril

The administration is facing a May 12 deadline to declare if it will defend Biden-era regulations that aim to enforce laws requiring parity in insurance coverage of mental and physical health care.

By Aneri Pattani

May 9, 2025

What the Health? From 51��Ƶ Health News

Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP

Episode 396

May 8, 2025

Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade — as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 51��Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51��Ƶ Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.

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A photo of the exterior of a community hospital in rural Colorado. Two pedestrians walk across the sidewalk in front of it.

Seeking Spending Cuts, GOP Lawmakers Target a Tax Hospitals Love To Pay

Republicans, on the hunt for spending cuts, are eyeing a special kind of Medicaid tax that nearly every state uses to boost funding for hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers.

By Phil Galewitz

May 8, 2025

A photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receiving a tour of a food distribution center. Shelves behind him show crates filled with orange bell peppers.

Meet the Florida Group Chipping Away at Public Benefits One State at a Time

The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” platform has boosted the agenda of a conservative think tank that’s been working for more than a decade to reshape the nation’s public assistance programs.

By Katheryn Houghton and Samantha Liss

May 8, 2025

A mother leans over her child, who is in a wheelchair. They are both smiling.

As Republicans Eye Sweeping Medicaid Cuts, Missouri Offers a Preview

Congressional Republicans are looking to cut at least $880 billion from a pool of federal funding that includes Medicaid — and the program is likely to take a major hit. A previous budget crunch in Missouri offers a window into how cuts ripple through people’s lives.

By Bram Sable-Smith

May 7, 2025

A photo illustration shows the exterior of the White House seen behind a blurred picture of an American flag waving in the wind against a blue sky.

Trump Policies at Odds With ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Push

On the surface, President Donald Trump embraced the MAHA movement with a pledge to end the nation’s high rates of chronic disease. But the broader Trump agenda may prove to be the biggest barrier this effort confronts.

By Stephanie Armour

May 7, 2025

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