Medicare & Medicaid

Residents and staff gather for a dance at the Ararat Nursing Facility in Los Angeles in April 2021. The pandemic exposed the dangers of inadequate staffing at nursing homes.

Health & Safety

Understaffed nursing homes are a huge problem, and Biden's promised fix 'sabotaged'

12:54pm September 01, 2023

by Jordan Rau

A study commissioned by the government to recommend minimum staffing levels at nursing homes drew no conclusions. And that means Biden's pledge to set those minimums may come to far less than hoped.

Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center is one of the largest safety-net hospitals in the United States.

Hospitals Serving The Poor Struggled During COVID. Wealthy Hospitals Made Millions

4:00pm May 20, 2021

The financial gap between wealthy hospitals and safety-net hospitals, which take everyone who walks through their doors, has widened during the pandemic, an NPR and PBS Frontline investigation found.

A proposed rule could cause headaches and extra work for the successor of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, seen with President Trump in November.

Trump HHS Proposal Criticized As Burden For Biden Administration

11:28am December 09, 2020

by Phil Galewitz

The rule would require health officials to review about 2,400 regulations on everything from Medicare benefits to prescription drugs approvals. Those not analyzed within two years would become void.

Joe Biden rallied supporters Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Wilmington, Del. Though he is now U.S. president-elect, Biden will have to await outcomes of January run-off races in the Senate to know much support he's likely to get there for his health care agenda.

What Biden's Election Means For U.S. Health Care And Public Health

12:00pm November 09, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The Trump administration has been marked by a scaled-back federal investment and involvement in U.S. health care. Biden's team has plans to change that — even if Republicans retain Senate control.

Under the law, Medicare is mandated each year to punish the 25% of general care hospitals that have the highest rates of patient safety issues. The assessment is based on rates of infections, blood clots, sepsis cases, bedsores, hip fractures and other co

Health & Safety

Several 'Best' U.S. Hospitals Penalized Over Too-High Rates Of Infection, Injury

5:00am January 31, 2020

by Jordan Rau

Medicare is cutting payments to 786 hospitals with the highest infection and complication rates. The list includes a third of the hospitals proclaimed as the nation's "best" in one prominent ranking.

Families affected by preexisting medical conditions attend a Capitol Hill news conference in 2018 in support of the Affordable Care Act. Prior to the ACA, insurers could refuse to cover people who had even mild preexisting conditions — or charge them mu

What Else Disappears If The ACA Is Overturned?

5:00am December 16, 2019

by Julie Rovner

Though it has been on the books for nearly a decade, the Affordable Care Act faces a big court challenge right now that could overturn it. Here's what happens if the federal health law goes away.

The Trump administration aims to boost competition among hospitals and cut costs by letting consumers see how widely prices can vary for the same medical or surgical procedure. But health economists say patients typically have little choice in choosing th

U.S. Hospitals And Insurers Might Be Forced To Reveal The True Prices They Negotiate

10:01pm March 11, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

A little-noticed Trump administration proposal would require hospitals, doctors and insurers to post the true, negotiated price for a medical procedure or service, as opposed to the "list" price.

Queue Listen Now

Patients with private insurance like the drug coupons because they can help make specialty medicines more affordable. But health care analysts say the coupons may also discourage patients from considering appropriate lower-cost alternatives, including gen

Why Can't Medicare Patients Use Drugmakers' Discount Coupons?

5:00am May 09, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

U.S. law prohibits people on Medicare from using the discount coupons the makers of expensive medicines offer. The law aims to reduce federal drug spending and Medicare fraud, but can feel unfair.

Gloria Single and her husband Bill Single in the dining hall of the skilled nursing floor at Pioneer House nursing home in Sacramento. AARP Foundation attorneys say California needs to more tightly enforce laws that prohibit evictions of the sort that sep

AARP Foundation Sues Nursing Home To Stop Illegal Evictions

8:46pm November 13, 2017

by Ina Jaffe

Gloria and Bill Single lived together in a nursing home until she was evicted without warning. Complaints about illegal evictions from nursing homes are up 73 percent in California since 2011.

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Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander chairs the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee; Sen. Patty Murray is the committee's ranking Democrat.

5 Controversial Ideas For Shoring Up Health Insurance Markets

4:38pm August 30, 2017

by Julie Rovner

Lawmakers looking to stabilize the health insurance exchanges may consider a number of proposals — including pushing young adults off a parent's plan or letting people buy into Medicare and Medicaid.