Mississippi legislative leaders swap proposals on possible Medicaid expansion

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Senate leaders on Friday said for the first time that they are willing to expand Medicaid to the full level allowed under a federal law signed 14 years ago by then-President Barack Obama. But as part of negotiations with fellow Republicans in the House, key senators also continued to insist that … Read more

Kansas won’t have legal medical pot or expand Medicaid for at least another year

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas will remain among the handful of states that haven’t legalized the medical use of marijuana or expanded their Medicaid programs for at least another year. Republican state senators on Friday blocked efforts to force debates on both issues before the GOP-controlled Legislature’s scheduled adjournment for the year Tuesday. Supporters of each … Read more

Yoko Ono to receive Edward MacDowell Medal for lifetime achievement

NEW YORK — One of the country’s leading artist residency programs, MacDowell, has awarded a lifetime achievement prize to Yoko Ono. The groundbreaking artist, filmmaker and musician is this year’s recipient of the Edward MacDowell Medal, an honor previously given to Stephen Sondheim and Toni Morrison among others. “There has never been anyone like her; … Read more

Biden sees a $35 price cap for insulin as a pivotal campaign issue. It’s not that clear-cut

WASHINGTON — Rarely a day goes without President Joe Biden mentioning insulin prices. He promotes a $35 price cap for the medication for Americans on Medicare — in White House speeches, campaign stops and even at non-health care events around the country. His reelection team has flooded swing-state airwaves with ads mentioning it, in English … Read more

Venice day-trippers will face steep fines if they fail to pay an access fee under a pilot program

MILAN — Day-trippers to the fabled canal city of Venice who fail to pay 5 euros ($5.43) to enter the lagoon city’s historic center during a time-limited pilot program launching later this month will face fines starting at 10 times the entrance fee, officials said Thursday. Venice announced last year it would launch the long-discussed … Read more

South Korea’s Yoon vows not to back down in the face of doctors’ strike over medical school plan

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s president vowed Monday not to back down in the face of vehement protests by doctors seeking to derail his plan to drastically increase medical school admissions, as he called their walkouts “an illegal collective action” that poses “a grave threat to our society.” About 12,000 medical interns and residents … Read more

Biden is announcing a new rule to protect consumers who purchase short-term health insurance plans

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new steps to protect consumers who buy short-term health insurance plans that critics say amount to junk. A new rule finalized by the Democratic president’s administration will limit these plans to just three months. And the plans can only be renewed for a maximum of four months, instead of … Read more

Mississippi Senate passes trimmed Medicaid expansion and sends bill back to the House

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi lawmakers will try to negotiate on expanding Medicaid in one of the poorest states in the U.S. after the Senate voted Thursday for a vastly different plan than one proposed by the House. The upper chamber’s proposal would insure fewer people and bring less federal money to the state than the … Read more

Biden and Harris team up for health care event in North Carolina

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will promote their health care agenda on Tuesday in North Carolina, a battleground state that Democrats hope to flip in their favor after falling short to Donald Trump in the last two presidential elections. Fourteen years after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act … Read more

California wants to pay doctors more money to see Medicaid patients

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When Hunter Morgan bought an optometry practice in Southern California three years ago, one of the first things he did was start seeing patients who use Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance program for low-income people. The previous owners had not accepted patients on Medicaid, which covers roughly a third of California’s 39 … Read more