Lifestyle

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Elections Matter

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Big Democratic wins within the 2019 off-year elections may spell large adjustments for Medicaid and different well being insurance policies in Virginia and Kentucky.

Meanwhile, on the marketing campaign path, Mass. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s new “Medicare For All” plan is getting hammered from all elements of the political spectrum, together with most of her opponents for the Democratic presidential nomination.

And in Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp needs permission from the federal authorities to make main adjustments to each his state’s Medicaid program and the way in which individuals buy particular person insurance coverage below the Affordable Care Act.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Caitlin Owens of Axios and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

In Kentucky, the governor’s race featured incumbent Republican Matt Bevin, an opponent of the Affordable Care Act, versus Attorney General Andy Beshear, a supporter. Under Bevin, Kentucky tried to institute a piece requirement for Medicaid recipients (at the moment blocked by federal courts). Beshear stated in his victory speech Tuesday night time he would withdraw the plan. The Kentucky race will not be fairly over, nevertheless. The margin of victory for Beshear was so small that Bevin will not be but conceding. Meanwhile, in Virginia, Democrats received each homes of the state legislature — giving them full management of the state capital. Virginia struggled to move Medicaid enlargement and in the end was ready to take action solely by together with a piece requirement to realize some GOP help. It’s not going that coverage will now take impact. A standard thread in these elections is that Medicaid has confirmed to be a preferred political situation. Republicans have embraced a method during which opposing Medicaid would garner help however that is proving not the case. In Georgia, GOP Gov. Brian Kemp needs so as to add his personal work requirement as a situation for the state to increase Medicaid. He additionally needs to reconfigure the person insurance coverage market to permit individuals to get federal subsidies to buy cheaper plans with fewer advantages. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren continues to be getting warmth over her proposal to pay for the Medicare For All plan she has been pushing. It’s clear that Warren’s plan — or any Medicare For All plan — can be an unlimited carry each politically and financially and would trigger vital dislocation in additional than simply the well being care trade. Also nonetheless a query is whether or not placing out a lot element is nice for Warren politically. If she wins the nomination, help for such a dramatic change may alienate extra reasonable voters. On the opposite hand, candidates continuously reasonable their positions between major and normal elections.

Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Laura Ungar, who wrote the most recent KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment a couple of girls who purchased a medical insurance coverage that didn’t cowl some providers — after which ended up needing these providers. If you will have an outrageous medical invoice you wish to share with us, you are able to do that here.

Plus, for further credit score, the panelists advocate their favourite well being coverage tales of the week they assume it’s best to learn too:

Julie Rovner: Politico’s “Why North Carolina might be the most innovative health care state in America,” by Joanne Kenen

Caitlin Owens: ProPublica’s “How One Employer Stuck a New Mom With a $898,984 Bill for Her Premature Baby,” by Marshall Allen

Joanne Kenen: Politico’s “How the FDA and EPA’s failure to communicate could put patients in danger,” by Sarah Karlin-Smith, Annie Snider and Sarah Owermohle

Kimberly Leonard: Bloomberg Businessweek’s “America’s Largest Health Insurer Is Giving Apartments to Homeless People,” by John Tozzi

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Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nationwide well being coverage information service. It is an editorially unbiased program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which isn’t affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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