Blog

• Members of Congress Suggest Expanding Medicare Telehealth Options

  May 24, 2021: Early on in the pandemic, the federal government expanded telehealth services covered under traditional Medicare on a temporary, emergency basis. Before, only patients who lived in rural areas could access telehealth options from certain providers an...Read more >

• Hearing Exposes Greed of Drug Corporation AbbVie

  May 24, 2021: According to a study released on May 18 by the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee, the pharmaceutical corporation AbbVie has raised prices 470% in the United States for its widely used drugs Humira and Imbruvica over the past two decades. The ...Read more >

• As Pandemic Eases, Many Seniors Have Lost Strength, May Need Rehabilitative Services

  May 21, 2021: Ronald Lindquist, 87, has been active all his life. So, he wasn’t prepared for what happened when he stopped going out during the coronavirus pandemic and spent most of his time, inactive, at home. “I found it hard to get up and get out of bed...Read more >

• Stark Racial Disparities Persist in Vaccinations, State-Level CDC Data Shows

  May 20, 2021: Black Americans’ covid-19 vaccination rates are still lagging months into the nation’s campaign, while Hispanics are closing the gap and Native Americans show the highest rates overall, according to federal data obtained by KHN. The data, prov...Read more >

• Congress Takes Significant Steps to Strengthen the Postal Service

  May 17, 2021: The U.S. Senate confirmed two of President Biden’s nominees to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors last week: Ron Stroman, a former deputy postmaster general, and Amber McReynolds, chief executive of the National Vote at Home Institute. A th...Read more >

• Mounting Evidence Demonstrates Need for Action on High Drug Prices

  May 11, 2021: As the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on a bill requiring Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, a new report found that the pharmaceutical industry spent $92 million on lobbying Congress during the first three mont...Read more >

• Florida Alliance Sues State of Florida to Protect Voting Rights

  May 10, 2021: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed a sweeping new voter suppression bill on Thursday that restricts access to the ballot box for millions of voters. As soon as the legislation was signed into law, the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, the...Read more >

• KHN: Time to Say Goodbye to Some Insurers’ Waivers for Covid Treatment Fees

  April 26, 2021: Just as other industries are rolling back some consumer-friendly changes made early in the pandemic — think empty middle seats on airplanes — so, too, are health insurers. Many voluntarily waived  all deductibles, copayments and other costs f...Read more >

• News: Sen. Romney, Rep. Gallagher Re-Introduce the TRUST Act

  April 26, 2021: On Wednesday, Sen. Mitt Romney (UT) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI) introduced the “Time to Rescue United States’ Trusts” (TRUST) Act as stand alone bills in the U.S. Senate and House (S.1295 and H.R. 2575), reviving a threat to the retirement sec...Read more >

• KHN: From Rotten Teeth to Advanced Cancer, Patients Feel the Effects of Treatment Delays

  April 21, 2021: With medical visits picking up again among patients vaccinated against covid-19, health providers are starting to see the consequences of a year of pandemic-delayed preventive and emergency care as they find more advanced cancer and rotting and damag...Read more >