KFF’s Kaiser Health News and NPR launched a yearlong investigative project that explores the scale, impact and causes of the health care debt crisis in the US. Drawing on a KFF poll conducted for the project, original data analysis, and hundreds of interviews, the project reveals a problem far more pervasive than previously reported.
The project will feature a series of digital and audio stories to be published and aired over the rest of this year, as well as an NPR podcast and profiles of Americans whose lives have been upended by health care debt.
Based on current projections from the Medicare Board of Trustees, the Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund is projected to be depleted in 2028, six years from now. These FAQs answer key questions about Medicare financing and trust fund solvency.
Most of the dozen states that haven’t fully expanded eligibility for Medicaid have extended or plan to extend the postpartum coverage window for new mothers. That could mean improved maternal health, but it’s only part of the puzzle when it comes to reducing the number of preventable maternal deaths in the U.S.
KFF announced the election of former U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe as the new chair and Jim Canales as vice-chair for its board of trustees and the completion of a two-year recruitment and selection process that has concluded with the election of five new trustees.
See how many readers answered this week's question correctly on next week's edition of The Latest.
News and Headlines
News and headlines from Kaiser Health News (KHN) and California Healthline (CHL). Follow KHN on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and CHL on Facebook and Twitter, for the latest updates.
A Proposal to Import Drugs from Other Countries Creates an Unusual Alliance in the Senate (KHN)
Two Tennessee Abortion Clinics, Awaiting High-Court Ruling, Grapple With Uncertainty (KHN)
Medi-Cal Will Cover Doulas at More Than Twice California’s Initial Proposed Rate (CHL, Los Angeles Times)
It’s Hot Outside — And That’s Bad News for Children’s Health (KHN)