The Health Wonk Shop

For decades, the cost of medical care, prescription drugs and health insurance has consistently risen faster than general inflation and wage growth, posing financial challenges for government, businesses and people. KFF polling has found that the cost of health care ranks as the top economic worry for adults and their families, and has implications for their financial security and access to care. Even people with insurance say they struggle to afford health care costs, and health care debt is a burden for a large share of Americans. Policymakers and experts across the ideological spectrum define affordability in different ways and have different policy solutions.On Tuesday, July 21, three experts joined Health Wonk Shop series moderator Larry Levitt for an hour-long discussion of health care affordability. During the discussion, the panelists considered affordability from a variety of perspectives, including how to define affordability, the question of affordability for whom, how to measure it, and what can be done to address affordability and the underlying cost of health care. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News reports across the country trumpet major mergers and consolidation involving health insurers, physician practices, pharmacy benefit managers, hospitals and health systems, and other providers, including many that integrate different services under a single umbrella. The wave of consolidation and integration has federal and state policy makers examining how it affects competition, prices, and overall costs.Three experts joined moderator Larry Levitt for a discussion about health care consolidation and integration. The panelists discussed the motivations behind horizontal and vertical consolidation in health care, its potential to lower or raise costs, the implications for patients and payers, and how policy makers could respond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amid perennial public concern about the cost of prescription drugs, the Trump administration has undertaken a raft of efforts to push or persuade drug manufacturers to lower drug prices. These include “Most Favored Nation” proposals that would tie U.S. drug prices to the lowest cost in other countries and encouraging manufacturers to make more drugs available for sale directly to consumers at discounted prices. To date, the administration has inked two voluntary deals with pharmaceutical companies to sell drugs to the Medicaid program at most-favored nation pricing and launch new drugs in the U.S. at the same price as in other countries in exchange for a three-year reprieve from new tariffs on their products. The administration also set up a website, Trumprx.gov, scheduled to launch in 2026, through which it plans to connect consumers to manufacturers and other vendors enabling direct-purchase of prescription drugs.On November 20 , three experts joined Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, for a 4“Health Wonk Shop” discussion about the latest developments in prescription drug pricing and what they mean for drug manufacturers, patients and public and private health insurance programs. Among the questions to be discussed include:How did the administration’s efforts to lower drug prices square with drug price negotiation in Medicare, and a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that allows drug companies to exempt more products from those negotiations?Are the Trump administration’s moves translating into lower drug prices for consumers? Which consumers might benefit most from these efforts? Are those prices at least as low as those paid for the same drugs in comparable countries?How will the availability of drugs be affected, if at all?What might the effects be on drug prices in other countries?How effective will voluntary agreements with drug companies be over time? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump signed into law in July a budget reconciliation package that mandates all adults who are eligible for Medicaid through the ACA expansion meet federal work and reporting requirements. At a minimum, the 41 states (including D.C.) that have expanded Medicaid under the ACA will be required to verify that individuals are working or meet certain exemptions when they apply for or renew their Medicaid coverage.Four experts, including two state Medicaid directors, joined Health Wonk Shop series moderator Larry Levitt for an hour-long discussion of how states will go about implementing the new Medicaid work requirements. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Thursday, April 24, three experts joined Health Wonk Shop series moderator Larry Levitt in an hour-long discussion designed to unpack claims about fraud and abuse and put them in a larger context. The event addressed such questions as: How do state Medicaid programs ensure program integrity and what does it take to go after fraud? What are the trade-offs? How substantial is fraud and abuse relative to total Medicaid spending? How do fraud and abuse relate to improper payments? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Health coverage enrollment through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces now exceeds 24 million people, a dramatic increase in recent years fueled largely by enhanced premium aid, which started in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act and extended through 2025 under the Inflation Reduction Act. But, with the subsidies set to expire at the end of this year, Congress and the Trump Administration will be faced with a choice of whether and how to extend the subsidies, alongside broader discussion about the budget. Key questions for the future of the ACA include the costs and benefits of the subsidies, the consequences for enrollees and the marketplaces should they expire, and what other changes the Trump administration and Congress might make. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the 2024 presidential election draws near, there are sharp differences in former President Trump’s and Vice President Harris’ records on health coverage and spending, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, prescription drugs, and more. Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy, moderated a 45-minute discussion with two veteran health policy advisors to explore the election’s potential impact on these issues. The discussion addressed questions such as: What are the candidates proposing? What are the pros and cons of the various proposals? What aren’t the candidates talking about? How might the health care policy agenda play out after the election based on who controls the White House and Congress? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court’s June 28 decision overturning the Chevron precedent that required federal courts to defer to reasonable agency decisions when federal law is unclear creates potential challenges for crafting health policy legislation and regulations. On July 25, 2024, a panel of experienced policy and legal experts explored how Congress and federal health agencies are likely to adapt to the Court’s decision and what that may mean for health care policymaking.Moderated by Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy, the discussion addressed questions including: How will the decision change how regulators approach drafting new regulations? What type of health policy regulations are likely to be most vulnerable to future court challenges? How will it alter the legislative process and the ability to pass new laws? To what extent will Congress be able to provide greater specificity in delegating authority to federal agencies in future legislation? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Congress looking for ways to cut health care costs for patients and the Medicare program, one approach drawing bipartisan attention involves site-neutral payments for outpatient services. The idea is for Medicare to pay the same amount for a service regardless of where it is provided – a departure from current Medicare reimbursement policy, which generally pays higher rates for services provided in hospital outpatient departments versus independent physician offices and ambulatory surgical centers.Listen to a panel of experts discuss the concept of site-neutral payments, including why it has become an issue for policymakers and private payers like insurers and employers, how Medicare payments currently work, how various proposals would change the law, and the potential impact of those changes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A panel of primary-care experts joined Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy, for a discussion on the current state of primary care in the country, including the extent of the shortage, how it varies geographically and for different populations, the impact on people’s health, and what can be done to address it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.