The Case of the Two Grace Elliotts: A Medical Billing Mystery
By Mark Kreidler
December 21, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A health system charged a woman for a shoulder replacement at a hospital across the country that she had not visited for years. She didn’t receive the care, but she did receive the bill — and the medical records of a stranger.
Fact Check: Biden Sets High Bar in 1st State of the Union Speech
By Victoria Knight Colleen DeGuzman
March 2, 2022
KFF Health News Original
What a difference a year makes. The speech was delivered to a largely unmasked crowd of lawmakers, justices, and Cabinet members in the House chamber.
A Tale of Two Medicaid Expansions: Oklahoma Jumps In, While Missouri Lags
By Bram Sable-Smith
December 3, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Voters in Missouri and Oklahoma approved Medicaid expansion to begin in 2021. But while Oklahoma has enrolled over 200,000 people so far, Missouri has enrolled fewer than 20,000. Why are two such similar states handling the public insurance rollout so differently?
Cien millones de vacunas contra covid en 100 días no nos hará volver a la normalidad
By Victoria Knight
February 3, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Los epidemiólogos estiman que es necesario inocular al menos al 70% de la población para que se alcance la inmunidad colectiva, para poder frenar la pandemia.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 4: So, 2 Nuns Step Off a Train in Kansas … A Hospital’s Origin Story
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 20, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Mercy Hospital and the people of Fort Scott, Kansas, have a long, tangled history. To understand what the town lost when the hospital shut its doors, we rewind the story to 1886.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 13, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Fort Scott, Kansas, went without an ER for 18 days, after the local hospital shut down. Documenting local trauma during that “dark period” helped investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble unravel some of the complications that come after a rural hospital closes.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 2: Unimaginable, After a Century, That Their Hospital Would Close
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 6, 2020
KFF Health News Original
After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble traveled to Kansas and spent time with former hospital president Reta Baker and City Manager Dave Martin — to understand what their town lost.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 7: After a Rural Town Loses Hospital, Is a Health Clinic Enough?
By Sarah Jane Tribble
November 10, 2020
KFF Health News Original
In Fort Scott, Kansas, the Community Health Center’s big green-and-white sign replaced Mercy Hospital’s name on the front of the town’s massive medical building. In the final chapter of Season One: “No Mercy,” we have an appointment to see what’s inside.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 5: With Rural Hospital Gone, Cancer Care Means a Daylong Trek
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 27, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The hunt for good cancer treatment often means miles on the road, time spent waiting and exhaustion from treatment and transit. “The further you have to travel to get care, the less likely that you are going to take that effort to do that,” said Boban Mathew, an oncologist in southeastern Kansas.
To Vaccinate Veterans, Health Care Workers Must Cross Mountains, Plains and Tundra
By Patricia Kime
February 19, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Veterans Affairs officials are flying COVID-19 vaccines to remote locations in Montana and Alaska to quickly inoculate rural veterans before the drugs expire.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 6: Trickle-Down Heartache Reaches the Next Generation in a Rural Town With No Hospital
By Sarah Jane Tribble
November 3, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Meet Josh. He’s a teenager in Fort Scott, Kansas, who dropped out of high school around the same time the town’s hospital closed. He says those two things are related.
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
By Sarah Jane Tribble
September 29, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Listen to “Where It Hurts,” each episode debuting on Tuesdays, from Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
Students’ Mass Migration Back to College Gets a Failing Grade
By Victoria Knight
September 17, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Epidemiologists and disease modelers tried to predict what would happen when students moved back to campus. Although some universities listened to their advice, that didn’t stop outbreaks from happening.
As the Terror of COVID Struck, Health Care Workers Struggled to Survive. Thousands Lost the Fight.
By Christina Jewett Robert Lewis
December 23, 2020
KFF Health News Original
At least 2,900 health workers have died since the pandemic began. Many were minorities with the highest levels of patient contact.
Electronic Health Records Creating A ‘New Era’ Of Health Care Fraud
By Fred Schulte Erika Fry, Fortune
December 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The federal government funneled billions in subsidies to software vendors and some overstated or deceived the government about what their products could do, according to whistleblowers.
Payroll Tax Is One State’s Bold Solution To Help Seniors Age At Home
By Donna Gordon Blankinship
June 7, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Under a program enacted in Washington state this spring, workers can get up to $36,500 to help pay for long-term health care and services such as installing grab bars in the shower or respite care for family caregivers.
Price Of A Brace Brings Soccer Player To His Knees
By Paula Andalo
March 26, 2019
KFF Health News Original
After a sports injury, Esteban Serrano owed $829.41 for a knee brace purchased with insurance through his doctor’s office. The same kind of braces sell for less than $250 online, he says.
Missed Visits, Uncontrolled Pain And Fraud: Report Says Hospice Lacks Oversight
By Melissa Bailey
July 31, 2018
KFF Health News Original
A new government watchdog report outlines vulnerabilities in Medicare’s $17 billion hospice program, pointing to inadequate services, inappropriate billing and outright fraud.
Depression Among Heart Attack Survivors Can Be Deadly, Yet Is Often Ignored
By Liz Szabo
July 20, 2017
KFF Health News Original
One in 5 heart attack patients suffers from severe depression, yet many get little or no treatment that could ease their suffering or save their lives.
Do You Speak Health Insurance? It’s Not Easy.
By Mark Zdechlik, Minnesota Public Radio
January 4, 2016
KFF Health News Original
Even savvy consumers stumble over terms like “coinsurance.”
