Recent @kff.org analysis shows that only half of Americans would be able to pay a $500 medical bill in full, and it doesn't take much to run up a tab in US health care. My book Coverage Denied shows how insurance denials worsen these patient financial vulnerabilities. www.amazon.com/Coverage-Den...

The Help That Many Older Americans Need Most - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/h...

As I discussed in this article with Vanessa, this is the first time in history that Congress has taken away Medicare from any group, and the immigrants impacted are those with lawful presence in the U.S., many of whom have paid into the system for decades.

Also, despite these changes taking effect in July ‘25 for new Medicare enrollees, Social Sec. (which handles enrollment), hasn’t yet updated their procedures. Medicare advocates are deeply concerned not only re the policy but also that people are being harmed by the complete lack of any guidance

BREAKING: New enrollment data confirms more Americans uninsured and underinsured as a result of deliberate decisions made in the last year. Coverage in the #ACA marketplaces saw their first decrease in 5 years--a 5% drop of 1.2 million Americans. (1/)

This would be terrible. 99% of Medicare Advantage enrollees have prior authorization, a departure from how traditional Medicare has historically operated (though Oz is changing that), which causes delays and denials. What’s more, networks are often very limited, further reducing access to care.

I think this is the closest I've ever gotten to articulating my animating belief system.

WSJ Ed Board should read their own talented reporters work on MA. www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Because Social Security administers Medicare enrollment, these issues have affected Medicare beneficiaries too.

A less responsive Social Security Administration also meant more work for claimants and advocates. As one respondent told us, "The amount of resources spent just to get basic information is phenomenal." And using that level of resources on routine matters strained organizational capacity. 17/x

In 2025, Social Security also made a push to move clients to online platforms. Those are great...for some people. But many SSA clients face barriers to operating online, ranging from “someone who's in their 20s, but unhoused” to “someone who's in their 70s and having issues with memory loss.” 10/x

The impact of the changes at Social Security in 2025 landed hardest on those who were already marginalized. For instance, the phone system rolled out an AI chatbot. Lots of people found it annoying--but for people with speech and communication disabilities, it was a barrier to services. 9/x

My latest: New A.C.A. Plans Could Increase Family Deductibles to $31,000 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/h...

“The number of people in #Massachusetts contesting their detainments after masked men and women seize them off the streets has risen sharply over the past year … [with] a staggering 12,000% surge in habeas corpus petitions filed in Massachusetts federal courts in 2025.”

“a 25% increase in the steady state flow of immigrants to the US would result in 5,000 fewer deaths nationwide. We identify reduced use of nursing homes as a key mechanism driving this result.” - The Effect of Immigration on Older Adult Mortality in the United States

“a 25% increase in the steady state flow of immigrants to the US would result in 5,000 fewer deaths nationwide. We identify reduced use of nursing homes as a key mechanism driving this result.” - The Effect of Immigration on Older Adult Mortality in the United States

This is huge. Massachusetts is home to tens of thousands of hardworking Haitian TPS recipients who enrich the culture of our state, contribute to our economy, and help ensure we meet the needs of elders and patients in our health care and elder care industries - this victory belongs to them.

HUGE. A victory for more than a quarter million Haitians with Temporary Protected Status. A significant majority of them entered the United States legally and have never been out of status since. Even the Trump admin isn't saying Haiti is a safe country for them to go back to.

Folks blame government, but: "new work requirements for Medicaid highlight the profits to be made from adding complexity to the safety net. Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants & administrative costs as on healthcare for people."

i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals

“Parents are making impossible choices: declining surgery for their children, delaying emergency care, and refusing specialty referrals because they have calculated that the risks of deportation or family separation exceed the medical necessity." www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-ge...

Experts Alarmed by USPSTF Work Slowdown www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/...

CMS to stop requiring states to report childhood vaccination levels www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

“About a third of the staff at one Miami nursing home lost their jobs after the Trump administration ended the programs letting them work legally.”

By doing so here, the Trump Administration runs smack into the prohibition on Medicare and Medicaid regulating the practice of medicine (as opposed to deciding what they'll pay for). Congress recognized regulating the practice of medicine is a state function, not one for Medicare/Medicaid.

I am not aware of another Medicare/Medicaid condition of participation that bars a provider from using clinical judgment to provide a particular treatment to patients *not* paid for with federal dollars.

Under the proposed rule issued by the Trump Administration today, any Medicare- or Medicaid-participating hospital would be barred from providing gender-affirming care to *any child*, even if the care is not paid for by Medicare or Medicaid. public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-23465.pdf

With no extension of enhanced tax credits, ACA enrollees are going to start the year with premium payments increasing by an average of 114%, or over $1,000 a year per person. Some will find a way to pay it, some have switched to higher deductibles, and some have dropped coverage.

Scammers often purport to offer private Medicare Advantage plans; confusing array of enrollment options/procedures creates opportunities for fraudsters.

Complaints about gaps in Medicare Advantage networks are common. Federal enforcement is rare.

Starting Jan. 1, traditional Medicare recipients in Washington state will face a new hurdle to get certain procedures covered — private AI companies that get paid based on how many claims they deny. www.kuow.org/stories/thou...

In Massachusetts, 74% of working-age recipients of food stamps are employed, half of them full-time. Nearly 2,500 work for Amazon and another 2,300 work for Walmart. Uber, DoorDash and Tempus Unlimited each have more than 1,400 workers who rely on SNAP www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/m...

Not out yet, but my forthcoming book Coverage Denied is available for preorder! www.amazon.com/Coverage-Den...

We're drowning in passwords & multi-factor authentication & chatbots & "unusually high call volume" & robots ignoring "representative!" We should think more carefully about how Social Security uses these tools with our parents & grandparents. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/aint-no-pa...

I decided to convert dollars to centimeters. That allows us to visualize, for example, the distance between having no money and being at poverty level — about four city blocks. 2/8

Alice Wong was such an amazing activist. I had the honour of meeting her when she spoke as part of the Disrupting Disruptions series that I organize. May we continue to honour her work by working towards a more socially just world.

"(T)ens of millions of Americans rely on monthly SNAP benefits to pay for food. In support of their motion for a TRO, plaintiffs provided overwhelming evidence of the harms that even a short suspension of benefits would cause, including numerous declarations from SNAP beneficiaries"

This is an absolutely insane administrative process. Within the space of a week, states were told by judges/White House *no SNAP benefits *half benefits *full benefits *pause provision of benefits. Result is chaos, uncertainty, and uneven access to benefits depending on where people live.

SNAP UPDATE: I’m directing SNAP benefits to be processed today — and paid IN FULL starting tomorrow. Americans are going hungry because President Trump chose to play politics with their lives. People need to eat. We’re making sure they do.

Why Medicare Recipients Should Check Their 2026 Drug Plans Now www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/b...

(con't.) -- Medicare/Medicaid rule would be huge expansion of Presidential power to ban any care (abortion, IVF, mifepristone) it doesn't like. Trump has relied on intimidation until now to stop hospitals; new rules will finally subject this to tests of legality in court. @rikiwilchins.bsky.social

This week’s main story details what Medicare Advantage is, why it basically has all the pitfalls of private insurance, and what a Mountain Chicken is. And if you don’t already know what a Mountain Chicken is, go ahead and visualize a “Mountain Chicken” in your head now. Great. It’s not that.

Another shutdown casualty: Medicare telehealth coverage

Four in ten who buy their own coverage say they would go without coverage if ACA premiums doubled. They will increase 114% if enhanced tax credits are not extended: on.kff.org/4nACyIk

New: Broad support across the political spectrum for extending enhanced ACA premium tax credits.

I can’t say I know exactly how it all would have played out, but I would much rather live in the alternate universe where the leaders of Columbia University had stood up for the institution and all of its faculty and students.

This week a Medicare beneficiary won a retrospective change of status appeal that granted him coverage of costly hospital services. The appeal was made possible by the Center for Medicare Advocacy’s class action case, litigated with amazing co-counsel @justiceinaging.org & @wilsonsonsini.bsky.social

Great digging by Christina Jewett: Dr. Oz previously acted as a pitchman for iHerb, which sells the vitamin supplement that he promoted as an autism treatment sitting during Trump’s press conference, and which the FDA is moving to approve for that use www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/h...

We can save RFK Jr some time here, because we already know a lot about acetaminophen and autism! There’s no increased risk of autism from use of this drug. This isn’t based on some small study. It’s thanks to a beautiful study of literally millions of children… wapo.st/4nkMdCO

15 years after it passed, we're still debating Obamacare. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...