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Four Million Americans Could Lose Health Coverage Once ACA Credits Expire

If Congress lets healthcare tax credits established during the pandemic expire, 4 million Americans will become uninsured, a new analysis warns.

The tax credits, which have significantly lowered out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans, are set to expire at the end of 2025.

"Allowing these credits to expire will force families to choose between healthcare and other necessities ...

Surgeon General Says U.S. Smoking Rates Have Tumbled, But Not for Everyone

Although the United States has made significant headway in curbing cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, a new report finds deep divisions remain and they run along predictable fault lines.

Disparities in tobacco use continue to persist by income and occupation, geography, education, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender and mental health status, the new data from t...

Childbirth Can Bring Worrying Medical Bills, Even With Insurance

Having a child can cause significant and ongoing financial hardship for new parents, even if they are covered by health insurance, a new study shows.

More than half of people with private insurance spent more than $1,000 out of pocket on childbirth, and nearly 40% reported bein...

Only 1 in 5 Large Companies' Health Plans Cover New Weight-Loss Meds for Employees

When it comes to coverage for the pricey GLP-1 weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, only a fifth of large U.S. companies cover the medications in their health insurance plans, a new survey shows.

In a report published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs, researchers also found that a third of compani...

Minority Patients More Likely to Be Denied the Free Preventive Care Mandated by Obamacare

Two new studies show insurers continue to deny claims for preventive care that is supposed to be free under Obamacare.

And insurers are more apt to reject claims from patients who are Asian, Black or Hispanic as well as those with low incomes, researchers recently reported in the journal JAMA Network Open

U.S. Health Care System Ranks Last Among Wealthy Nations, Report Finds

Americans have the worst health care among the world’s wealthy nations, a new report says.

People in the United States die the earliest and live the sickest lives out of 10 developed countries, even though the United States spends the most on health care, according to the annual report by health care think-tank The Commonwealth Fund.

Australia, the Netherlands and the United K...

Unexpected Medical Bill? Challenging It Often Brings Results, Study Finds

People who challenge an unexpected medical bill often get some form of financial relief, a new study says.

About 1 in 5 people say they’ve recently received a medical bill they disagreed with or couldn’t afford to pay, according to a survey published Aug. 30 in JAMA Health Forum.

Nearly 62% said they contacted a billing office to address their concern, and most...

Insurance Coverage Could Impact Survival of Patients After Spinal Cord Injury

The care of people seriously harmed by spinal cord injury can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a new analysis suggests that ability to pay influences how long a patient remains on life support.

In a study of more than 8,400 U.S. adults with severe spinal cord injury, "uninsured patients had greater odds of withdrawal of life-supporting treatment," compared to those who had priva...

Cost of Health Care Is Big Concern for Voters Over 50

Older voters are keenly interested in the cost of health care, a new survey has found.

Five of the top six health issues among older adults have to do with health care costs, according to new data from the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging.

“There have been efforts in recent years to reduce costs of some types of care for older adults, especially t...

Tougher State Insurance Laws Get Kids Needed Mental Health Care

Kids more often get the psychiatric care they need if they live in states that mandate insurance coverage for child mental health care, a new study confirms.

Parents and caregivers were 20% less likely to say they'd had trouble getting mental health services for a child if they lived in states with comprehensive laws around mental and behavioral health insurance coverage, reported a team ...

Obamacare Boosted New Moms' Access to Mental Health Care

Pregnant women and new moms have better access to treatment for mood disorders, thanks to Obamacare, a new study finds.

More women received treatment for their pregnancy-related depression or anxiety after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect in 2014, research...

Number of Uninsured Americans Rose to 8.2% in 2024

Following several years of record low rates of uninsured Americans, a new survey finds more folks are once again without health insurance.

More than 8% of Americans did not have health coverage during the first few months of 2024, according to findings published Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for D...

Common Medical Billing Errors Keep Many Americans From Care: Report

Insured working-age adults are frequently being hit with medical bills for services that should have been covered, a new Commonwealth Fund survey has found.

Close to half (45%) of insured workers have received a bill or copay in the past year for a service they thought should have been paid by health insurance, the survey shows.

Fewer than half challenged the bills, mostly because t...

Need a Good Medicare Advantage Plan? They're Tough to Find for Poorer Americans

Medicare Advantage plans are touted as a great alternative to traditional Medicare, offering seniors easier access to doctors, hospitals and prescription drugs.

But access to a good Medicare Advantage plan relies heavily on where a person lives, a new study finds.

People are less likely to find a five-star Medicare Advantage plan if they live in a U.S. county with higher poverty and...

Money Worries Keep Depressed Americans From Mental Health Care

Medical debt is significantly more common among people with a mood disorder, and these money woes can keep them from getting the help they need, a new study says.

Among people with depression or anxiety, those with medical debt were twice as likely to delay or forego

  • Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
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  • July 22, 2024
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    • Race, Insurance Stop Many Hispanics From Getting Post-Stroke Care

    Hispanic people -- particularly those without insurance -- are less likely to get the additional care needed to recover from a stroke, a new study finds.

    Hispanic folks are less likely to be treated at a rehab facility or receive home health care following hospitaliz...

    Black, Hispanic Americans More Likely to Be Dropped From Medicaid

    Following the end of temporary pandemic-era rules expanding access to Medicaid, about 10 million Americans have lost that coverage.

    But a new report finds that most folks who've lost coverage have done so because of paperwork issues, and they're far more likely to be people of color.

    "A lot of people got kicked off Medicaid for administrative reasons,"said senior study author

    Lack of Insurance Keeps Many Americans From Best Cancer Meds

    A cutting-edge class of drugs is saving and extending the lives of cancer patients.

    But the drugs, called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), are so expensive that some uninsured Americans can't access them, a new report finds.

    New policies are needed "to improve health insurance coverage options and to make new treatments more affordable," the American Cancer Society (ACS) said in...

    Cancer Patients Get Poorer Care at Hospitals Serving Minority Communities

    Cancer patients receive less effective treatment at hospitals that mainly serve minority communities, a new study shows.

    More than 9% of cancer patients are treated at hospitals where a significant percentage of patients are from minority groups, researchers say.

    Those patients are less lik...

    Almost 1 in 4 People Disenrolled From Medicaid Are Now Uninsured

    Nearly a quarter of Americans who lost their pandemic-era Medicaid coverage say they're now without any health insurance, a new survey finds.

    More than half (54%) of these currently uninsured adults cited cost as the reason keeping them from having coverage.

    The survey of 1,227 adults was cond...

    Medicare to Cover Wegovy When Patients Also Have Heart Disease

    Medicare will now cover the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy if patients using it also have heart disease, U.S. officials announced Thursday.

    The move comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved drugmaker Novo Nordisk's application to add

  • Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
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  • March 22, 2024
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    • Cyberattack Leaves Health Care Providers Reeling Weeks Later

    Following a cyberattack on the largest health insurer in the United States last month, health care providers continue to scramble as insurance payments and prescription orders continue to be disrupted and physicians lose an estimated $100 million a day.

    That estima...

    Higher Premiums for Employer-Sponsored Insurance Keep Wages Low: Study

    Ever glance at your paycheck and wonder why your take-home pay is so much less than you'd expect?

    The rising cost of employer-sponsored health insurance is a major reason why, a new study argues.

    The cost of employer-sponsored health benefits increased much faster than workers' pay since the late 1980s, and likely reduced wages by an average of about $9,000 a year by 2019, the study...

    Record Number of Americans Choose Obamacare

    Over 15 million Americans have signed up for health insurance using the Affordable Care Act's federal marketplace, a 33% increase from the year before, preliminary government data shows.

    On Dec. 15, the deadline for coverage that starts Jan. 1, a whopping 745,000 people picked their health insurance plan using the healthcare.gov website, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (H...

    Compared to Other Wealthy Nations, Americans More Likely to Skip Medical Care Due to Cost

    If you need medical care, you're more likely to skip it due to cost issues if you're American than if you're Australian, Canadian, British or French, a new report finds.

    Rising costs aren't just causing poorer Americans to forgo needed care: The Commonwealth Fund report found higher-income people often doing the same.

    "Adults in the United States with lower and average incomes are m...

    Biden Administration Says Insurance Issues With COVID Shots Mostly Fixed

    Despite reports of trouble last week where some people may have been denied insurance coverage while seeking COVID shots at pharmacies, the Biden administration said Thursday those issues have been ironed out.

    That issue is "largely, if not completely," resolved after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Secretary

    Many Americans Frustrated in Search for Low-Cost COVID Boosters

    Americans seeking out the new COVID boosters are finding themselves held back by insurance entanglements and supply delays.

    Some insurers have balked at covering the vaccines, with people arriving at shot appointments only to be told that they'll have to pay $100 or more out of pocket for the jab.

    And in other places, booster appointments simply aren't available due to supply short...

    Too Much Paperwork Is Delaying Cancer Patients' Care, Study Finds

    Red tape is getting in the way of cancer patients receiving the treatment they crucially require, a new study has found.

    Patients were 18% more likely to experience cancer care delays or be unable to stick to a treatment plan if they had to fill out a lot of paperwork, compared to patients who faced less red tape, the researchers found.

    Results also showed that the more paperwork a ...

    Nearing Retirement, America's Lower-Middle Class Faces Increasingly Bad Health

    The American middle-class squeeze has grown even worse in recent years, with many in the "forgotten middle"facing financial pressure and poor health as they near retirement age, a new study reports.

    Essentially, the U.S. middle class has split in two, and those relegated to the lower-middle are facing tough times in retirement, said lead researcher

    Too Few Kids Are Getting Regular Eye Tests, and Insurance Is Key

    Eye tests are an important way to catch potential eye-related issues in children, but more than two-thirds of kids in the United States are not receiving them at their checkups.

    Those with Medicaid and other public health insurance were far less likely to receive these vision checks in the past year at their primary care doctor's office, according to researchers at University of Michigan ...

    Biden Moves to Lower Health Care Costs, Limit Insurance Junk Fees

    When they need health care, Americans can be slapped with surprise medical costs because of loopholes in the law and "junk fees,"according to the White House.

    The Biden administration is taking action on several fronts to deal with these unexpected costs.

    "Evading the law and playing games to charge crazy, outrageous prices has to end,"President Joe Biden said in remarks on Friday.<...

    Most Americans Face Hassles With Their Insurance Plans, and It's Harming Care: Poll

    A majority of insured Americans have struggled with a wide array of stumbling blocks when trying to get coverage for their health care needs, a new national survey shows.

    All told, the KFF report uncovered numerous obstacles to coverage with all types...

    Couples Age 55 or Older Can Soon Contribute $10,000 a Year to Health Savings Accounts

    New IRS guidance will allow older couples in the United States to contribute more than $10,000 to tax-free health savings accounts (HSA) next year.

    Under the new guidelines announced this week, for folks under 55, individuals can contribute up to $4,150 annually to their HSAs, NBC News reported Friday. That's a 7.8% increase.

    Families can contribute a maximum of $8,300 ann...

    Ranks of U.S. Uninsured Fell by 18% During COVID Pandemic

    Public health officials announced Tuesday that a lot fewer Americans were without health insurance after the COVID-19 pandemic than before it.

    The uninsured rate dropped 18% between 2019 and 2022, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That meant 5.6 million more people were insured last year.

    Why the big change?

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • May 16, 2023
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    • Record 16.5 Million Americans Have Signed Up for Obamacare

    More than 3 million new people signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, this year, swelling enrollment numbers to a record 16.3 million Americans.

    "On the 10th anniversary of the ACA Marketplaces, the numbers speak for themselves: More people signed up for plans this year than ever before, and the uninsured rate is at an all-time low,"

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
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  • January 25, 2023
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    • Hundreds of Hospitals Could Close Across Rural America

    Hundreds of rural hospitals across the United States are teetering on the edge of closure, with their financial status increasingly in peril, a new report reveals.

    More than 200 rural hospitals are at immediate risk of closure because they aren't making enough money to cover the rising cost of providing care, and their low financial reserves leave them little margin for error,

  • Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
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  • January 16, 2023
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    • Many Insured Americans Are an Injury Away From Bankruptcy: Study

    One in 5 privately insured American adults hospitalized for a traumatic injury end up with medical bills they can't pay, a new study finds.

    Among more than 3,100 working-aged insured adults who suffered a traumatic injury, the risk of incurring co-pays and deductibles they couldn't afford was 23% higher than among similar adults without traumatic injuries. These patients were also more li...

    U.S. Immigrants' Premiums, Taxes Exceed Health Care Expenditures: Study

    In a finding that challenges the notion that immigrants are freeloaders in the American health care system, a new study shows they are paying a lot more through health care premiums and related taxes than they actually use in care.

    In fact, the amount that immigrants pay in makes up for some of the amount of health care that non-immigrants use in excess of what they pay.

    "Some pol...

    Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care Keep Climbing

    Cancer patients already have a lot to deal with emotionally and physically. But research shows that insured patients under 65 are also paying more for their treatments out-of-pocket than ever before.

    The study highlights the "growing financial burden for non-elderly patients with cancer with pri...

    Countries With Universal Health Care Had Better Child Vaccination Rates During Pandemic

    Countries that are closer to achieving universal health coverage saw smaller declines in routine childhood vaccinations during the pandemic, a new study reveals.

    The World Health Organization describes universal health coverage as "all individuals and communities receive the health services...

    Childbirth Now Costs Nearly $3,000 for Insured Americans

    Better have some savings stored up before you rush to the delivery room: A new analysis shows the average out-of-pocket expense for delivering a child in the United States is nearly $3,000, even if you're insured.

    Other studies have looked at the costs for specific services, such as Cesarean sections versus vagina...

    Health Care Plans Keep Allergy Rescue Injectors Pricey for Some

    Despite now having more choices for lifesaving emergency allergy injectors like EpiPens, the cost is still proving prohibitively expensive for some, new research shows.

    Even though most people are saving money with lower-priced alternatives...

    How Much Will That Hip Replacement Cost? Many Hospitals Still Aren't Saying

    Since January 2021, hospitals have been required to list online the prices for 300 common medical services, but new research has found that only 32% of hospitals have been fully compliant when it comes to knee and hip replacements.

    "Although pricing informat...

    The High Cost of Living With Sickle Cell Disease

    Americans with sickle cell disease who have private insurance face average out-of-pocket costs of $1,300 a year and a lifetime total of $44,000, new research reveals.

    That means that their out-of-pocket expenses are nearly four times higher compared to people without the inherited blood disorder, the

  • By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter
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  • May 23, 2022
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    • Obamacare Helped Extend Lives of People With Cancer

    Cancer survival rates rose more in states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare than in those that did not, and rates increased most among Black patients and those in rural areas, according to a new study.

    "Our findings provide further evidence of ...

    High Medical Bills Tied to Worse Outcomes for Younger Cancer Survivors

    U.S. cancer survivors under age 65 with medical-related financial struggles have an increased risk of early death, a new study finds.

    "Our findings show the need to address financ...

    House Passes Bill To Limit Insulin Costs to $35 a Month

    Americans who use insulin to control their diabetes could soon save hundreds of dollars every year on the medicine, after the House passed a $35-a-month cap on insulin costs Thursday.

    The bill was passed by a 232-193 vote. It now has to pass the Senate with at least 10 Republican votes, though Democrats have ...

    Out-of-Network Costs Raise Medical Bills for Special Needs Kids

    Special needs children often require out-of-network care from specialists, which means more out-of-pocket costs and extra stress for families, a new study finds.

    "In the U.S., the reality is that the more health care needs you have, especially from specialists, the greater chance you will find your needs won't be met, even if you have private insurance coverage," said lead author Wendy Xu...

    Crowdfunding for Medical Costs Almost Always Fails

    You have almost certainly seen the pleas while scrolling through social media: Called crowdfunding, folks try to raise money to pay for their sick loved one's mounting medical bills.

    But new research shows these grassroots campaigns rarely raise enough money to make a difference.

    According to GoFundMe, which corner...

    Calif. Universal Health Care System Bill Faces Monday Deadline

    California lawmakers must vote by Monday on whether to keep a bill to create a universal health care system moving forward.

    Monday, Jan. 31, is the last chance for California Democrats in the Assembly to keep the

  • Robert Preidt and Robin Foster
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  • January 31, 2022
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