Health Insurance News and Research

RSS

End of enhanced Obamacare subsidies puts tribal health lifeline at risk

Leonard Bighorn said his mother tried for two years to get help for severe stomach pain through the limited health services available near her home on the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana.

11 Feb 2026

One in five US women prefer at-home HPV screening

National data shows women who experience healthcare discrimination favor at-home HPV testing, raising questions about trust and access in screening guidelines.

11 Feb 2026

Addiction consults improve care for drug-related eye infections

Eric Gaier, MD, PhD, and Dean Eliott, MD, of the Department of Ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, are co-authors of a paper published in Ophthalmology Retina, "Substance Use Disorder Interventions and Ophthalmic Outcomes for Injection Drug Use-Associated Endogenous Endophthalmitis."

10 Feb 2026

Obamacare sign-ups drop, but the extent won’t be clear for months

More Americans than expected enrolled in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for this year, after premium subsidies were dramatically cut — but it remains to be seen whether they’ll keep the coverage as their costs mount.

10 Feb 2026

Cannabis legalization linked to rising tobacco and cannabis co-use

The legalization of cannabis and the start of retail sales of the drug in the US are linked to both a rise in its recreational use and concurrent use of tobacco, as well as a fall in sole tobacco use, finds an analysis of health behavioral data, published online in the journal Tobacco Control.

9 Feb 2026

SCAI applauds bipartisan law removing barriers to pediatric specialty care

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) applauds the enactment of the Accelerating Kids' Access to Care Act. This bipartisan law removes longstanding administrative barriers that have delayed access to out-of-state specialty care for children with complex or congenital medical conditions.

6 Feb 2026

With ICE using Medicaid data, hospitals and states are in a bind over warning immigrant patients

The Trump administration's move to give deportation officials access to Medicaid data is putting hospitals and states in a bind as they weigh whether to alert immigrant patients that their personal information, including home addresses, could be used in efforts to remove them from the country.

6 Feb 2026

AI foundation model advances comprehensive brain MRI analysis

Mass General Brigham investigators have developed a robust new artificial intelligence (AI) foundation model that is capable of analyzing brain MRI datasets to perform numerous medical tasks, including identifying brain age, predicting dementia risk, detecting brain tumor mutations and predicting brain cancer survival.

5 Feb 2026

Newsom walks thin line on immigrant health as he eyes presidential bid

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is eyeing a presidential bid, has incensed both Democrats and Republicans over immigrant health care in his home state, underscoring the delicate political path ahead.

5 Feb 2026

Financial incentives improve glycemic control in low-income diabetes patients

A new study examined whether providing financial vouchers to offset medication costs, conditional on improved blood sugar levels, could enhance glycemic control.

3 Feb 2026

If you’re pregnant and uninsured, Medicaid might be your answer

When she noticed an unusual craving for hot dogs, Matte'a Brooks suspected her body was telling her something, so she decided to take a pregnancy test. She took two just to be sure. Both were positive.

3 Feb 2026

Most commercially insured patients live with chronic conditions

The majority (57.5 percent) of commercially insured patients had at least one chronic condition in 2024. The average allowed amount for a patient with no chronic conditions was $1,590, while the average allowed amount for a patient with one chronic condition was nearly double ($3,039).

2 Feb 2026

Large gaps exist between Medicaid enrollment and actual care

Almost one-third of physicians who are enrolled in Medicaid don't actually care for a single patient covered by Medicaid insurance, according to new research led by Oregon Health & Science University.

2 Feb 2026

Your next primary care doctor could be online only, accessed through an AI tool

When her doctor died suddenly in August, Tammy MacDonald found herself among the roughly 17% of adults in America without a primary care physician.

2 Feb 2026

When health insurance costs more than the mortgage

When Noah Hulsman, who owns a skate shop in Louisville, Kentucky, learned he no longer qualified for federal subsidies to help him pay for his "gold" Affordable Care Act health plan, the 37-year-old opted for skimpier coverage. But the deductible is about a quarter of his yearly income.

2 Feb 2026