Julie Rovner

What lawmakers advanced, and stalled, on health care this week

Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, on Congress's healthcare stalemate and what it means for ACA marketplace shoppers.

The debate to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies continues as deadline looms

Julie Rovner, A Martínez

The extension of the extra financial help to buy Affordable Care Act health insurance is still up in the air. Republicans have politics and policy to weigh.

Demonstrators pray in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on July 8, a day the court ruled that employers with religious objections can decline to provide contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act. With the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the ACA's future is in doubt.

The Future Of The Affordable Care Act In A Supreme Court Without Ginsburg

Julie Rovner

The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg comes just as the Supreme Court was about to hear a case challenging the ACA. It could end Medicaid expansion and protections for preexisting conditions.

Casa de Salud clinicians, staff and health apprentices socially distance outside their New Mexico clinic. The facility is one of many social safety net clinics that haven't yet received pandemic-related funding and are now on the brink financially.

Medicaid Clinics And Doctors Have Been Last In Line For COVID-19 Relief Funding

Julie Rovner

Congress authorized $100 billion to reimburse health care providers for losses linked to the pandemic, but much of that money has gone for Medicare patients, with low-income families left behind.

Pedro Rivera waits with other volunteers in District Heights, Md. to hand out food. He's wearing a mask that reads, "This too shall pass."

Opinion: Always The Bridesmaid, Public Health Rarely Spotlighted Until It's Too Late

Julie Rovner

Because the public health system mostly operates in the background, it rarely gets the attention or funding it deserves ― until there's a crisis.

Former Vice President Joe Biden at a press conference in Wilmington, Del., in mid-March. His bid this week to allow 60-year-olds to get Medicare "reflects the reality," he says, "that, even after the current crisis ends, older Americans are likely to find it difficult to secure jobs."

Biden's Health Play In A COVID-19 Economy: Lower Medicare's Eligibility Age To 60

Julie Rovner

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden proposes letting 60-year-olds enroll in Medicare. He'd pay for the expansion out of general tax revenue, he says, not the Medicare fund.

Overall, U.S. health spending is more than twice the average of other Western nations, and it's not just a matter of high drug prices. No wonder voters list health and the high price of care as one of their major election concerns as they head to the polls.

U.S. Elections 2020: Understanding What's At Stake For Health Care

Julie Rovner

With the Iowa caucuses and first primaries just weeks away, many voters say they're still confused about how presidential candidates differ on health care. Here's a guide to key issues and terms.

Abortion-rights supporters demonstrate last May in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. A high court decision in a case that could curtail or even overturn <em>Roe v. Wade</em> is set for opening arguments in March.

Roe v. Wade: Settled Law Or Bad Precedent? States Prep For An Overturn

Julie Rovner

A Supreme Court case in March will test the new five-member conservative majority. If justices strike federal abortion protections, look for a state-by-state quilt of abortion "deserts" and "havens."

Student demonstrators cheered in 2015 outside the Supreme Court after learning that the high court had upheld the Affordable Care Act as law of the land. But Republican foes of the federal health law are still working to have it struck down.

Stakes High For Democrats And Republicans In Bid To Rush ACA To Supreme Court

Julie Rovner

Both sides say they want the high court to quickly weigh in on a case that could invalidate the federal health law. Whatever the court decides will likely have consequences in 2020 elections.

Families affected by preexisting medical conditions attend a Capitol Hill news conference in 2018 in support of the Affordable Care Act. Prior to the ACA, insurers could refuse to cover people who had even mild preexisting conditions — or charge them much more.

What Else Disappears If The ACA Is Overturned?

Julie Rovner

Though it has been on the books for nearly a decade, the Affordable Care Act faces a big court challenge right now that could overturn it. Here's what happens if the federal health law goes away.