Breaking News in Healthcare Reform
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“The way people respond to cost sharing is either their health takes a hit or their finances take a hit or both – and what is the point of that?”
Insured But Still Can’t Afford Care? The Underinsured Crisis
Featuring Adam Gaffney, MD, MPH, Physicians for a National Health Program
Code WACK! | Podcast Episode 319 | March 2, 2026
“…in all, 1.9 million Californians renewed their plan or selected one for the first time — a 2.7% drop compared to last year. A closer look, however, shows that Californians are making concessions to afford staying insured.”
Californians Are Staying Insured — But Settling for Health Coverage They May Not Use
CalMatters | Ana B. Ibarra | February 28, 2026
“…capitation means that plans profit when people use fewer services, incentivizing them to keep enrollees from accessing care.”
CMS Proposes to Reduce Medicare Advantage Overpayment, Plans Still Profitable
Medicare Rights Center | Julie Carter | February 26, 2026
“While Congress created Medicare Advantage with the claim that it would be more efficient than traditional Medicare, the program has never saved money. This is because insurance companies have exploited the Medicare Advantage program to get the government to vastly overpay them to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.”
New Research Reveals Millions Will Lose Medicare Advantage Coverage This Year
Center for Economic and Policy Research | Brandon Novick | February 24, 2026
“Now, many of those Americans must decide whether to pay higher premiums, downgrade their coverage or perhaps drop their health insurance altogether.”
The ACA Health Coverage Subsidy Lapse Hit 22 Million People. Here Are Some of Their Stories
CNBC | Greg Iacurci | February 24, 2026
“A 2023 review of physician directories from five large health insurers found that 81% of entries had inconsistencies….”
Patients Hit Dead Ends with Insurance ‘Ghost Networks.’ Now, Some Are Suing.
NBC News | Aria Bendix, Jessica Herzberg, Kate Snow | February 24, 2026
“Clearly, the effect of the expanded availability of catastrophic insurance plans on the ACA exchanges will be a transfer of health care costs from insurance companies to patients.”
Trump’s Healthcare Affordability Pitch: Shift Costs to Patients
Center for Economic and Policy Research | Eileen Appelbaum | February 24, 2026
“A healthy 65-year-old couple has an 80% chance one of the partners will need some form of long-term care and Medicare doesn’t cover many of these costs….”
Healthcare in Retirement Could Cost You $172K. We Asked 11 Pros the Best Ways to Save
MarketWatch | Lara Becker | February 23, 2026
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Shining a light on ongoing inequities in health care
and the impact they have on vulnerable individuals and communities.
Our podcast Code WACK! brings to life the failures of America’s healthcare system with stories, commentary and analysis.
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