A Mass. woman knew the drug her doctor prescribed required preauthorization, but she didn’t realize the approval had an expiration date. It took weeks of calls and paperwork to get her prescription refilled.
Tips for navigating the process ⤵️
Several states have expanded dental services for Medicaid patients in recent years. But with federal funding cuts looming from the Big Beautiful Bill, many states could roll back coverage.
“We will lose all the gains we have made,” one dental policy researcher said.
Some state lawmakers and health associations say the political rhetoric around a federal program initially pitched to keep rural hospitals afloat doesn’t match reality.
“[It] will not save a single hospital in our state,” said the head of the Nebraska Rural Health Association.
US health officials are trying to delay a regional World Health Organization meeting that would confirm the loss of its measles elimination status until after the midterm elections in November.
This is a reckless, accountability-dodging move that puts politics over public health.
'One year of failure.' The Lancet slams RFK Jr.'s first year as health chief
www.npr.org/2026/02/28/n...
PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) take bribes or kickbacks to put medications on their formularies?
Learn more from Dr. Jeoffry Gordon @drsforamerica.bsky.social: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mymn...
Former NIH institute directors, autism researchers, and advocacy leaders established an independent board today to coordinate work among nongovernment autism research funders and create a scientific agenda for the autism community.
Read more at: https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/autism/120149
U.S. measles cases have topped 1,000 just 2 months into 2026, and outbreaks persist in a number of states, namely South Carolina and Arizona/Utah.
Read more at: https://www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/generalpediatrics/120027
“It raises alarm bells," said @kellymorrisonmn.bsky.social. "There are no beds, no blankets, minimal food. It’s freezing in there. Everyone is in leg shackles. It’s chaotic, disorganized, and frankly dangerous.”
@stephaniearmour.bsky.social reports ⤵️
HHS could completely eliminate the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) or delegitimize the independent body like it did with CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two original USPSTF members warned.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/preventivecare/120005
Trump wants to deregulate AI, especially in healthcare. Red states and blue states alike, want to curb AI in health insurance. Here's a new battlefield:
www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2...
My latest, with Lauren Sausser, for @usatoday.com/@kffhealthnews.org
In the latest push on medical debt protections, legislators in at least eight states are eyeing how to tamp down the practice of siphoning patients’ paychecks to pay back medical debt.
@raelnb.bsky.social reports kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Aging means “becoming a target” of the prescription drug industry, one expert said.
After decades of debate, politicians of all stripes are proposing bans of direct-to-consumer advertising.
In a claim disputed by researchers, RFK Jr. says he knows people, including family members, who’ve had a tougher time quitting SSRI anxiety meds than people have quitting heroin.
Doctors say the drugs are safe for extended use.
"It is also shocking to see the total or near-total collapse of [Medicare Advantage] in several states." -- Mark Meiselback, PhD, of @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social, discussing a study that showed 2.9 million people will be forced to disenroll from MA plans in 2026.
www.medpagetoday.com/publichealth...
NIH Director Jayanta "Jay" Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, has been tapped as the CDC's acting director, according to a Trump administration official.
Read more at: https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/119939
Exclusive: After pulling out of WHO, the Trump administration is proposing spending $2 billion a year to replicate the global disease surveillance and outbreak functions the United States once helped build, which will cost about three times as much.
Insurers need to be held responsible for the injury they’re causing Americans, or stop denying Americans care
JAMA: Nearly three million people with #MedicareAdvantage plans - or about 10% of all enrollees in the privately-managed program - had to find alternative coverage in 2026, as health insurers exited markets and scaled back plan options. @hcfanc.bsky.social
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
Moderna says the FDA has agreed to review its influenza vaccine, reversing an earlier decision to reject the application, after the company made modifications.
TrumpRx Exposed: What It Means for Your Prescriptions #CareTalk live @maybarduk.bsky.social @pcmedsaccess.bsky.social @publiccitizen.bsky.social
explores w/ me @healthcarevoices.org @mswmedia.com & Diane @socialsecurityworks.org @louisenorris.bsky.social answer your health insurance q’s
What RFK Jr. has done in his first year running the Dept. of Health has been incredibly unpopular with Americans, and has led to chaos, cuts, conspiracy theories and more sickness and preventable deaths.
More from @beckyrparks.bsky.social @protectourcare.org: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwpG...
CJ Richey is avoiding the doctor. Like many Americans, she saw her monthly health insurance premium spike this year — in her case, from $265 to $903.
https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-lost-aca-subsidies-cant-afford-health-insurance-premium-2026-2
Group in white coats walking towards the camera holding up banner that says "Medicare for All healthcareforallnc.org". Others are behind them walking forwards holding up smaller signs. They are all outside crossing a road near urban buildings.
Everyone deserves Healthcare! We were happy to spend our Valentine's Day with Bishop William J. Barber II and other activists from across NC for the "It's Time to Love Forward Mass People's Assembly and Moral March" advocating for healthcare for all!
The Trump administration has unveiled a sweeping set of regulatory proposals this week that would substantially change health plan offerings on the ACA marketplace next year.
One change would sharply raise annual out-of-pocket costs — to more than $27K for certain plans — while lowering premiums.
Hundreds of primary care doctors signed on to a 10-year federal program meant to make their jobs easier and their patients healthier. In the DOGE era, it didn’t survive.
A year later, the Trump administration has an alternative, reports @arjonesreports.bsky.social ⤵️
Uniformed health workers have been deployed to President Donald Trump’s secretive immigration operation at Guantánamo Bay. They describe a dark prison and limits on medical care.
@amymaxmen.bsky.social investigates ⤵️
New on Code WACK! 🎙️
Medicare Advantage covers most U.S. seniors, but many face delays, denials, and “paper benefits.” Psychiatrist Dr. Belinda McIntosh explains who’s harmed most and why.
🎧 Listen + reply: should Medicare be privatized?
https://loom.ly/V46tQEY
We need bold political leaders calling for Medicare for All. Democrats need to stop taking insurance campaign contributions.
The game is fixed. Insurers have theirs hands in the entire pot of healthcare
