Weekly News Roundup for Aug 17, 2026


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Andy Imparato

Breaking News in Healthcare Reform

 

Featured Podcast

 

Ever spent hours on hold, battling claim denials, and jumping through hoops just to get the care you already paid for with your insurance premiums?

‘Rationing by Inconvenience:’  How Insurers Keep Patients From Care

Featuring Miranda Yaver, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh

Code WACK! | Podcast Episode 343 | August 17, 2026

 

“…the cost of healthcare continues to climb faster than inflation and wages. But states that enact policies to cap healthcare spending growth can slow that growth – if they build in penalties and other accountability measures….”

States Have Tools to Slow Healthcare Spending Growth, New UCLA Health Report Finds

UCLA Health | Gretchen McCartney | August 14, 2026

 

“The affordability of health care was the dominant concern among U.S. adults…. Half of Americans say the federal government is best able to address high health care cost problems.”

What Americans Want Fixed in Health Care — and Who They Think Should Do It

Commonwealth Fund | Avni Gupta, Arnav Shah, Carson Richards, Sara R. Collins | August 13, 2026

 

“Medical providers are collecting larger shares of what patients might owe at a time when rising deductibles mean patients are owing more for care.”

Hospitals Push for Upfront Payments as Patient Deductibles and Out-of-Pocket Costs Rise

CBS News | Julie Appleby | August 12, 2026

 

“The Trump administration rule, set to take effect on Oct. 13, would bar U.S. funding in the two federal-state healthcare programs from going toward gender-affirming care for youth.”

Trump Administration Ends Medicaid, CHIP Funding for Gender-Affirming Care for Children

CNBC | Annika Kim Constantino, Jacob Pramuk | August 11, 2026

 

“We update our previous analyses with the most recent data to project the economic benefits and the number of lives saved that would be achieved by single-payer universal coverage, as proposed in the Medicare for All Act.”

Yale Study: Medicare for All Would Save Over 114,000 Lives and $1 Trillion a Year

Common Dreams | Jessica Corbett | August 11, 2026

 

“The executive order aims to split the MMR vaccine into three separate shots and revive a court-stalled attempt to narrow the immunization schedule.”

Trump Signs Order Seeking to Upend Childhood Vaccine Schedule

Healthcare Dive | Delilah Alvarado | August 11, 2026

 

“For many common services, Medicare is no longer paying more for better care; it is paying more because of who owns the building.”

Is Congress Finally Ready to Stop Subsidizing Hospital Consolidation?

Healthcare Dive | Dr. Josh Umbehr | August 11, 2026

 

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