Providing farmworkers with health insurance is worth it for their employers − new research

Agricultural employers who provide farmworkers with health insurance earn higher profits, even after accounting for the cost of that coverage. In addition, farmworkers who get health insurance through their employers…

Lowering the cost of insurance in Colorado – a new analysis of the Peak Health Alliance

A community-led partnership in Colorado designed to negotiate health care prices lowered health care premiums in 2020 and 2021, we find in our new paper in the Journal of Risk…

Massive cuts to Health and Human Services’ workforce signal a dramatic shift in US health policy

On March 27, 2025, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced plans to dramatically transform the department. HHS is the umbrella agency responsible for pandemic…

A brief history of Medicaid and America’s long struggle to establish a health care safety net

The Medicaid system has emerged as an early target of the Trump administration’s campaign to slash federal spending. A joint federal and state program, Medicaid provides health insurance coverage for…

GOP lawmakers commit to big spending cuts, putting Medicaid under a spotlight – but trimming the low-income health insurance program would be hard

Efforts by Republicans in Congress to make steep spending cuts have stirred widespread concerns that the federal government may trim expenditures on Medicaid even though President Donald Trump has previously…

Health and Human Services secretary influences every aspect of America’s health

The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, plays a significant role in every American’s access to health care and in the nation’s overall well-being. Under…

5 of the most frustrating health insurer tactics and why they exist

The U.S. has made great progress in getting more people insured since the Affordable Care Act took effect in 2014. The share of uninsured Americans ages 18 to 64 fell…

Response to CEO killing reveals antipathy toward health insurers − but entire patchwork system is to blame for ill feeling

The U.S. health care system leaves much to be desired. It is convoluted, fragmented, complex and confusing. Experts have also raised concerns about quality, and disparities are rampant. And, of…

Preventive care is free by law, but many Americans get incorrectly billed − especially if you’re poor, a person of color or don’t have a college degree

Even though preventive care is supposed to be free by law for millions of Americans thanks to the Affordable Care Act, many don’t receive recommended preventive services, especially racial and…

A public health historian sizes up their records

Health care is a defining issue in the 2024 election – Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican contender Donald Trump have starkly different records on the issue. Rather than…