Category: Health Costs
Republican Megabill Will Mean Higher Health Costs for Many Americans
Under the legislation Trump’s expected to sign on Friday, Independence Day, reductions in federal support for Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplaces will cause nearly 12 million more people to be without insurance by 2034, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. That in turn is expected to undermine the finances of hospitals, nursing homes, and community health centers — which will have to absorb more of the cost of treating uninsured people. Some may reduce services and employees or close altogether
Family and friends shoulder the real cost of dementia − $224B in unpaid care
Our first-of-its-kind estimate of dementia care costs by state also revealed dramatic cost disparities by geography. In the District of Columbia, the average annual cost for a person living with dementia – including both medical spending and the cost of unpaid care – is $37,000, while in West Virginia it is $61,000.
US health care is rife with high costs and deep inequities, and that’s no accident
A public health historian explains how the system was shaped to serve profit and politicians
The Price of Remission
Revlimid is one of the bestselling pharmaceutical products of all time, with total sales of more than $100 billion. It has extended tens of thousands of lives — including my own.
But Revlimid is also, I soon learned, extraordinarily expensive, costing nearly $1,000 for each daily pill. (Although, I later discovered, a capsule costs just 25 cents to make.)
Commentary: Rural Americans Need the Trump Administration to Provide an Additional Path to Fight Obesity
The prevalence of obesity among rural Americans is six times higher.
More than 5M could lose Medicaid coverage if feds impose work requirements
Under an emerging Republican plan to require some Medicaid recipients to work, between 4.6 million and 5.2 million adults ages 19 to 55 could lose their health care coverage, according to a new analysis.
5 of the most frustrating health insurer tactics and why they exist
Research shows that 1 in 3 Americans seeking care report delaying or forgoing treatment because of the “administrative burdens” of dealing with health insurance and the health care system, creating additional barriers beyond costs.
Response to CEO killing reveals antipathy toward health insurers − but entire patchwork system is to blame for ill feeling
As the public reaction to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has made clear, many Americans are perhaps most unhappy with their health insurers. Indeed, just 31% of Americans have a favorable view of the health insurance industry, according to a 2024 survey.
Work Requirements for Medicaid Could Be Returning as Republicans Take Back the Power
During the first Trump Administration, states were encouraged to submit waiver requests to implement Medicaid work requirements, a decision which signaled the weaponization of the Section 1115 authority as a means of achieving a long-standing Republican policy goal. Ultimately, thirteen such waivers were approved. Federal lawsuits soon followed and stories about how these requirements could impact rural communities began to emerge.
Study: Rural residents more likely to struggle with medical debt
The researchers found that 11.5 percent of white rural residents said they had problems paying medical bills, and 7.6 percent were unable to pay them.
As Nuns Disappear, Many Catholic Hospitals Look More Like Megacorporations
The Catholic Church still governs the care that can be delivered to millions in those hospitals each year, using religious directives to ban abortions and limit contraceptives, in vitro fertilization, and medical aid in dying. But over time, that focus on margins led the hospitals to transform into behemoths that operate for-profit subsidiaries and pay their executives millions. These institutions, some of which are for-profit companies, now look more like other megacorporations than like the charities for the destitute of yesteryear.
Health insurance premiums to rise for WA small businesses by about 12%
This marks the highest increase for small employers in the last decade.
What’s New and What To Watch For in the Upcoming ACA Open Enrollment Period
Current enrollees who do not update their information or select an alternative will be automatically reenrolled in their current plan or, if that plan is no longer available, into a plan with similar coverage.
45 Degrees North: The Rural Cancer Commute
If you come from a rural area, you probably know someone who has had to make that kind of commute for treatment. Who has weighed the cost of gas, food and lodging away from home. Who has learned the back ways around a strange city to avoid road construction or rush hour congestion. Who packed an extra week’s worth of clothes, just in case.
At Catholic Hospitals, a Mission of Charity Runs Up Against High Care Costs for Patients
Catholic health systems like CommonSpirit Health, Ascension, PeaceHealth, Trinity Health, and Providence St. Joseph pay their chief executives millions of dollars a year. CommonSpirit Health’s then-CEO Lloyd Dean earned roughly $28 million in 2022; he was among nearly three dozen executives who pulled down more than $1 million that fiscal year, according to the health system’s tax filings. Elsewhere, Rod Hochman, CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health, earned $12.1 million. Ascension CEO Joseph Impicciche was paid $9.1 million, according to corporate tax filings.