Health Care

The Healthiest — and Unhealthiest — US States

By Yuval Rosenberg

Vermont is the healthiest state in the U.S., according to the latest annual ranking by the United Health Foundation. Vermont climbed three spots, thanks in part to “a low incidence of chlamydia, a...
Health Spending Hits Record High, Even With 1 Million Fewer Insured

By Yuval Rosenberg

U.S. spending on health care grew to $3.65 trillion last year, climbing above $11,000 per person for the first time, according to a new report from Medicare actuaries. Spending rose 4.6% in 2018,...
A White House Report Slams Pelosi’s Drug Plan. Experts Call Its Claims ‘Nonsense’

By Yuval Rosenberg

The White House Council of Economic Advisers issued a report Tuesday warning that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill to lower prescription drug prices would have devastating health and economic costs...
How a Public Option Would Affect the Insurance Market

By Michael Rainey

Several Democratic presidential candidates say a public option for health insurance would provide a more moderate, less disruptive alternative to the Medicare for All plan backed by Senators Bernie...
Joe Biden Says Pete Buttigieg ‘Stole’ His Health Care Plan

By Yuval Rosenberg

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that Pete Buttigieg, a surging rival for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, “stole” his health care proposal to expand the Affordable Care Act...

63% Say U.S. Health Care Has Huge Problems — and That’s an Improvement

By Yuval Rosenberg

Here’s a nugget of good news: Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed by Gallup say that the U.S. health care system is in a state of crisis or has major problems. Yes, that’s good news because...
Chart of the Day: Record Low Poverty Rate

By Michael Rainey

The extensive array of government assistance programs — including Social Security, unemployment insurance, veterans’ benefits, nutritional aid, rental assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit —...
Feud Between Top Officials Hinders Trump Health Care Agenda: Report

By Yuval Rosenberg

A deep, personal feud between President Trump’s health secretary and his Medicare administrator has undermined the administration’s health care agenda and disrupted the development of an Obamacare...
Fact Check: Do 160 Million Americans Really Like Their Health Plans?

By Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News

Articulating his proposal for health care reform, former Vice President Joe Biden emphasized the number of Americans who, he said, were more than perfectly satisfied with the coverage they have. “One...
How Hospital Price Transparency Can Lead to Lower Costs

By Neeraj Sood, The Conversation

New federal regulations finalized Nov. 15 require hospitals to make public all the prices they negotiate with insurers and health plans, starting in 2021. The aim is to untangle the hospital...

Americans Want Lower Drug Prices, but Lawmakers Can’t Agree on a Fix

By Emmarie Huetteman, Kaiser Health News

House Democrats are poised to pass sweeping legislation to lower drug prices using strategies President Donald Trump has endorsed. A Trump aide urged the Republican-controlled Senate to vote on a...
Hillary Clinton: Warren’s Medicare for All Plan Won’t Ever Get Enacted

By Yuval Rosenberg

Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that she doesn’t believe Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare-for-All plan would ever become law and that there are better ways to raise revenues than Warren’s proposed wealth...
Medicaid Expansion Has Saved Thousands of Lives: Report

By Michael Rainey

The expansion of state-level Medicaid programs as allowed by the Affordable Care Act is literally a matter of life and death, according to a new study highlighted by the Center on Budget and Policy...
Pete Buttigieg's Path to Lower Hospital Prices

By The Fiscal Times Staff

Medicare for All and Elizabeth Warren’s plan to finance such a system have dominated the health-care debate in recent days, but it’s not the only proposal out there to expand coverage and bring down...
Medicaid Work Requirements Dealt a Loss in Elections

By Michael Rainey

The effort to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries experienced a setback Tuesday with the apparent defeat of Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin. Bevin, a Republican, hasn’t conceded defeat in his...