This column explores how health reform is changing the ways in which we pay for and deliver health care in the U.S. It also highlights the ways in which our current system is falling short on measures of coverage, access and affordability. On any given week, that could mean a look at how Republican plans to repeal Obamacare could reshape the individual insurance market, how the safety net system is adapting to new financial pressures, or how the trend of doctors and hospitals merging into ever-larger entities is driving up costs. We also explore health care costs and whether the Affordable Care Act or its successor plans can live up to the promise to rein them in. Throughout, we keep watch on how the goals of health reform intersect with the shaping power of markets and human behavior. Contributors include veteran health journalist Trudy Lieberman and independent health journalist Kellie Schmitt, with occasional contributions from independent journalists such as Susan Abram and Sara Stewart.
Politico's Joanne Kenen and University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley break down the case for us.
The inequities in American health care laid bare by COVID-19 will become even more deeply entrenched if the nation's highest court scraps the landmark law.
High drug prices are making for good politics. Americans keep waiting for that to translate into effective policies.
“Medical loss ratios have dropped like a rock,” one former insurance executive said. But will that translate into any savings for Americans?
The bill gained momentum as the pandemic put a spotlight on health care disparities and workforce shortages.
When older workers like Jan lose their jobs, they often lose health insurance as well, forcing many to drain their modest savings to extend their coverage.
Hundreds of studies show Medicaid expansion saves lives. So why do lawmakers reject the program or impose punitive rules during a pandemic that hit low-income Black and Brown people so hard?
What can we learn from the Italians, who by now are seasoned observers of the virus and the havoc it causes? An Italian health journalist shares reflections.
To protect front-line workers, emergency departments are trying new ways of seeing patients via telehealth — even when they show up in person.
Now more than ever, reporters need to be ready to communicate coverage alternatives to their audiences as layoffs sweep the nation.
