“There is a growing consensus that the federal government should ensure all Americans have health care coverage.
Medicare for All is no longer a fringe proposal, but is now recognized as a common-sense solution.”
- Drs. Monica Maalouf, Winnie Lin, and Alec Nicolas Angelo Jotte
“Just based on what we are seeing in the midterms, there’s no doubt in my mind there will be a fight over single payer in ‘28.”
Medicare for All advocates need to organize NOW in order to come out on top.
Medicare Advantage plans would have to respond to urgent prior authorization requests for medications within 24 hours, and standard requests within 72 hours, under a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medic...
Patients’ lives were upended after a rural Nebraska hospital shuttered its dialysis unit. Some moved to be closer to care. One is living in a rental in another city on weekdays. Another drives more than four hours round-trip for care three times a week.
@ajzionts.bsky.social reports ⤵️
Health insurance executives have said using AI to make coverage decisions will save them money.
But lawsuits have accused insurers of using the technology to wrongfully withhold treatment.
@hannahnorman.bsky.social & @dariustahir.bsky.social explain ⤵️
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week on a case involving birthright citizenship, and the court's decision could potentially have major implications for Medicaid enrollment of some newborns, experts say.
Read more at: www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medic...
CMS finalized a package of polices for 2027 MA plans.
David Lipschutz of @medicareadvocacy.bsky.social called several of the provisions "a rollback of consumer protections, which gives in to pressures from the insurance industry & those who sell their products." www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...
Infectious disease experts warned that the renewed charter for the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) could become a revolving door for the return of vaccine-skeptical members.
Read more at: www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/vaccin...
“If you’re a patient in an emergency room … that is ten times harder and it is going to get worse.”
More than 800 health care facilities are at risk or have already closed since Republicans severely cut funding last year.
The worst is still ahead.
The CDC has delayed the publication of a report showing that the Covid vaccine significantly reduced the likelihood of hospitalizations and emergency visits last winter.
This is a clear example of putting politics over science at the cost of lives.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/h...
SCOOP: The Trump administration wants insurers to hand over information about federal workers’ medical visits, their pharmacy claims, and more.
Abortion clinics are closing even in states where the procedure is still legal. Now, an urgent care in rural Michigan is offering abortions.
As states prepare to implement new Medicaid work requirements, researchers worry about the additional strain on agency enrollment and customer service staff that allow enrollees to get basic customer service.
States are already “struggling significantly,” one expert said.
Chart depicting the divergence in life expectancy and healthcare spending per capita between the United States and comparable countries from 1980 to 2024. The United States line shows significant increases in healthcare spending but a slower rise in life expectancy compared to comparable countries. The graph is titled: In 1980, the U.S. and Comparable Countries Had Similar Life Expectancies and Health Spending, but the Trends Have Diverged Over the Past 40 Years. Sources include KFF analysis, OECD, and national health expenditure data.
While similar in 1980, the U.S. and its peers have diverged in life expectancy and health spending over the past 40 years.
Health care spending has grown faster in the U.S. than in peer countries and life expectancy has grown slower: https://on.kff.org/4dYBbRB
The rate of sepsis in Houston surged 63% after Texas banned abortion.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hospital leaders empowered doctors to intervene before patients’ conditions worsened, it rose 29%.
(Published May 2025)
Nearly half of Arizona's SNAP participants have lost their benefits since the implementation of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The decline (47%) is among the steepest in the nation, according to a new analysis from the @centeronbudget.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/ariz...
Health care affordability is top of mind for many Americans, rising well above other necessities based on recent KFF polling.
Our policy explainer lays out the trends contributing to rising health care costs and the issues shaping the 2026 policy debates: https://on.kff.org/4thnpxR
Chart comparing life expectancy and per capita healthcare spending in 2024 for various countries. The United States is highlighted, showing the lowest life expectancy at 79 years and the highest spending at $14,775. The "Comparable Country Average" is 82.7 years for life expectancy and $7,860 for spending. The visualization is titled "The U.S. Had the Lowest Life Expectancy Among Comparable Countries While Outspending Its Peers on Health Care." The source is from KFF analysis.
The U.S. has a lower life expectancy than peer countries (79 vs. 82.7 years) and spends nearly twice as much as its peers on health care per person (and nearly $5,000 more per person than the next highest-spending country: Switzerland): https://on.kff.org/4dYBbRB
Article excerpt: In February, Kennedy said the FDA acted illegally in 2023 when it categorized 19 peptides as too unsafe for compounders, whose final products aren’t tested or approved by the FDA. Kennedy, who described himself as a “big fan” of peptides, has used the therapies himself. “It was illegal because they’re not supposed to do that unless there’s a safety signal,” Kennedy said on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, referring to adverse events related to medications. “And they didn’t have a safety signal. They’re not allowed to look at efficacy. They’re not allowed to say, ‘Well, we don’t believe these are efficacious,’ or whatever. They can only look at safety.” But three former FDA officials closely familiar with how the agency created the criteria to assess the peptides in the first place say Kennedy has mischaracterized their work. The agency’s 2023 decision to ban certain peptides was supported by numerous documented safety concerns, they said. FDA regulations also require the agency to assess both safety and effectiveness before approving a substance for compounding.
RFK Jr., who has used peptides himself, may reverse a peptide ban he called “illegal” on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Former FDA officials say he mischaracterized their work.
➡️ Full story: https://propub.li/4cscg7K
Breaking news: Chicago’s City Council has voted unanimously to pass a resolution in support of Medicare for All 🎉
This makes Chicago the biggest city in the country to endorse Medicare for All, and sends a message to federal legislators that their constituents expect them to support single payer.
The majority of Americans believe the Trump administration hasn't done enough to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), a Politico poll showed.
Read more at: www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/washi...
Most insurers have been compliant with public reporting requirements for prior authorization issued by the CMS, but whether the increased transparency actually helps patients is still an open question.
www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medic...
“This is not how I imagined getting old,” said Rosa María Carranza, who will be disenrolled from Medicare as part of the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, after paying taxes for 24 years.
Nearly 100,000 lawfully present immigrants are slated to lose Medicare, reports @eltimpano.bsky.social ⤵️
Senate Dems call on CMS to rein in #MedicareAdvantage abuses. They propose excluding diagnoses from chart reviews and health risk assessments from risk scores and addressing the favorable selection of healthier patients that leads to overpayments. @hcfanc.bsky.social
Trump’s health agency ordered states to reverify the immigration status of hundreds of thousands of Medicaid enrollees.
Findings from five states show they have uncovered few who are improperly receiving benefits.
Experts described the reviews as "incredibly wasteful and inefficient."
“We are incredibly worried,” says the CEO of a Vermont community health center about upcoming Medicaid work requirements that could cause patients to lose coverage.
Health center officials say there’s no easy way to make up for the lost revenue other than cutting staff or services.
Eric Tennant died last year after his health insurer denied coverage for a cancer treatment recommended by his doctor.
Months later, West Virginia adopted a law to protect some patients from harm tied to prior authorization.
When North Carolina rolled out its $3.1 billion insurance plan for kids in foster care, thousands of doctors’ services initially weren’t covered.
It’s not the only state to struggle with such plans, reports @arjonesreports.bsky.social ⤵️
When medical bills started rolling in, a Florida woman wondered why her insurance suddenly wasn’t covering them.
The answer? She owed a balance of 5 cents, so her insurer canceled her policy.
One of the risks for #MedicareAdvantage beneficiaries, is that when profit margins are threatened, insurance companies can suddenly withdraw coverage. This year the churn reached a peak. (Gift article) @hcfanc.bsky.social
wapo.st/4rT1XOB
