Health Wonk Shop

As the 2024 presidential election draws near, there are sharp differences in former President Trump’s and Vice President Harris’ records on health coverage and spending, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, prescription drugs, and more. On October 1, Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy, moderated a 45-minute…

The Supreme Court’s June 28 decision overturning the Chevron precedent that required federal courts to defer to reasonable agency decisions when federal law is unclear creates potential challenges for crafting health policy legislation and regulations. On July 25, 2024, a panel of experienced policy and legal experts explored how Congress…

A panel of experts joined Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy, for a discussion on the concept of site-neutral payments, including why it has become an issue for policymakers and private payers like insurers and employers, how Medicare payments currently work, how various proposals would change the law, and the potential impact of those changes.

  Primary care has historically served as the backbone of our nation’s health care system, with patients often maintaining a relationship with a primary-care provider to guide their care over a period of years. Yet, the U.S. emphasizes primary care less than other high-income countries. And a shortage of primary-care…

    Nearly 1 in 5 consumers with health insurance say their insurer delayed or denied care in the past year due to its requirements for prior authorization, a process through which insurers can require patients to obtain approval in advance before they will agree to cover specific services. Insurers…

Amid low unemployment and rising demand for services, today’s health care workforce is under pressure from several directions, including worker strikes; shortages of trained staff; and proposed new staffing standards for nurses and aides in nursing facilities. On November 16, a panel of three experts joined Larry Levitt, executive vice…

With the Biden administration’s announcement of the first 10 drugs to be negotiated for Medicare as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an array of legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry is potentially the biggest obstacle to implementation. In court filings, individual drugmakers and the industry’s main lobbying group…

New weight loss drugs, such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide) and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide), could be transformative for people who struggle with obesity and obesity-related medical conditions, but there are major questions to consider related to insurance coverage, the cost of the drugs, and who has access.…

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are increasingly scrutinized intermediaries in the U.S. health care system, negotiating discounts on prescription medications for health insurers and employers while collecting rebates from drugmakers. Even as PBMs have taken on a larger role in drug coverage and pricing in recent decades, including through mergers with…

Three experts joined series moderator Larry Levitt in a discussion about work and reporting requirements in public programs such as Medicaid, their effects on enrollment and employment, and what we can expect on the state and federal levels regarding the future of Medicaid work requirements.