You thought that medical procedure hurt? Just wait ’til you see the bill. The average cost of a one-day hospital stay in the US topped $3,200 in 2024, with California recording the highest costs ($4,700) and Mississippi the lowest ($1,400). It’s no wonder that about 36% of American households carry medical debt, with the average … Read more
Could “TrumpRx” be the prescription for lower drug prices? President Trump announced a landmark deal with Pfizer to cut drug prices and sell them on TrumpRx, a new direct-to-consumer federal website that’s slated to launch next year. Prescription drug prices in the US are roughly 2.78 times higher on average than in 33 other high-income … Read more
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz says the Trump administration plans to invest more than $200 billion “more dollars” into Medicaid following the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” “I’m trying to save this beautiful program, this noble effort, to help folks, giving them a hand up,” Oz told … Read more
If congressional Republicans go through with some of the deep Medicaid cuts they are considering, three states would be left in an especially tight bind. South Dakota, Missouri and Oklahoma have state constitutions requiring that they participate in Medicaid expansion, the part of Obamacare that expanded the health program for the poor to millions of … Read more
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity TV doctor, 53-45 and mostly along party lines to lead Medicare and Medicaid, which insure nearly half of all Americans. The future of both programs is the subject of fierce debate: Republicans are contemplating significant cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income Americans. … Read more
In a hearing on Friday, senators pressed Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV celebrity nominated to head Medicare and Medicaid, on Republican-led proposals that would significantly affect the health care coverage for nearly half of all Americans. At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Dr. Oz bantered with senators in a friendly atmosphere, joking … Read more
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV celebrity doctor, is expected to face a tense confirmation hearing on Friday, with Democratic senators planning to question how he would oversee Medicare and Medicaid now that Republicans and the Trump administration are weighing significant changes affecting millions of Americans. Among the possible plans being considered by Republican lawmakers and … Read more
Republican leaders in Congress have directed the committee that oversees Medicaid to cut $880 billion from the next budget. They say these cuts aren’t necessarily aimed at Medicaid, the insurance program for 72 million poor and disabled Americans. The cuts could come from Medicare, for instance. But Trump has vowed not to touch that very … Read more
As Congressional Republicans weigh major cuts to Medicaid, most voters do not want to see the public health plan’s funding dialed back, according to a poll released Friday by KFF, a nonpartisan health research firm. Just 17 percent of respondents said they supported cuts to Medicaid, the government health insurance program that covers more than … Read more
Get the skinny on this. Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company that manufactures Ozempic, said that it is “very likely” the cost of the popular diabetes-turned-weight loss drug will be cut in the second round of Medicare drug price negotiations. Ulrich Otte, the company’s senior vice president of finance and operations, made the claim at … Read more