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“Starting in six states in January … under traditional Medicare, well, get ready. Because if you’re receiving some of these treatments – and there’s a whole host of them – suddenly you’re gonna be subjected to prior authorization. All driven by artificial intelligence, not attending physicians.” —Jeremy White
Love Your Medicare Advantage Plan?
It Does NOT Love You Back
Featuring
Jeremy White
Find us on Apple podcasts, our website or your favorite podcast platform.
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Breaking News in Healthcare Reform
“Open enrollment has already started for Obamacare plans and consumers are facing an average increase of 114 percent to their out-of-pocket premiums, according to an analysis from the health policy research group KFF.”
Obamacare Premiums Are Skyrocketing. Republicans Can’t Figure Out What To Do.
Politico | Robert King, Simon J. Levien | November 23, 2025
“…as small business owners [they] currently pay about $660 a month for health insurance … with the help of ACA subsidies. But without the subsidies, they are looking at paying about $1,700 a month in 2026 … more than their monthly mortgage in Portland, Oregon.”
Health Care Costs Are Skyrocketing. Americans Are Starting to Panic
Salon | Nicole Karlis | November 22, 2025
“…many people will pull back spending to the bare minimum … they will decide, ‘We’re just going to buy food, pay rent, pay health insurance, and that’s it…. I can’t see how it doesn’t ding the economy.’”
Panic Tears Through U.S. as Health Insurance Costs Spike
The American Prospect | Whitney Curry Wimbish | November 21, 2025
“The standard [Medicare Part B] monthly premium will be $202.90, an increase of $17.90 from this year…. That will eat up nearly one-third of the $56 monthly Social Security cost-of-living adjustment that retirees will receive in 2026.”
Senior Citizens Will Pay a Lot More for Medicare in 2026
CNN | Tami Luhby | November 21, 2025
“From Georgia to Oregon, clinics and wards are closing as Trump’s health law triggers steep Medicaid cuts and rising costs.”
Hospitals and Clinics Are Shutting Down Due to Trump’s Healthcare Cuts. Here’s Where
The Guardian | Carter Sherman | November 20, 2025
“…no matter how Republicans design their plan, their promise to take money out of the hands of big insurance companies and put it in the hands of patients will go unfulfilled, because the very arrangements they tout are administered by large financial institutions and the same big insurance companies.”
Report Details How ‘Half-Baked’ GOP Healthcare Scheme Would Further Enrich Insurance Giants
Common Dreams | Jake Johnson | November 19, 2025
“The American people are paying attention. Now is the time to act.”
Short of Medicare for All, Sanders Offers Democrats 6 Other Ways to Tackle Healthcare Crisis
Common Dreams | Jessica Corbett | November 18, 2025
“The stated reason behind the move to introduce preauthorization in traditional Medicare is CMS’s persistent view that overutilization of health services is what is driving costs up, despite the evidence that the driver of rising costs is the rising price of health services.”
Can the Medicare Prior Authorization Pilot Be Stopped?
Center for Economic and Policy Research | Eileen Appelbaum | November 18, 2025
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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.
Our Weekly News Roundup shares news and views about health policy, health equity and healthcare reform (from non-paywalled news sources)
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