KFF Health News On NPR

Listen: With Abortion Rights on the Ballot in Michigan, Women Tell Their Stories

Women who need abortion care come to Michigan from surrounding states that already have banned the procedure. A clinic in suburban Detroit allowed a reporter to interview patients, doctors, and nurses to understand what is at stake as voters decide whether to guarantee abortion access in the Michigan Constitution.

Listen: Medical Bills Upended Her Life and Her Credit Score

Penny Wingard, 58, of Charlotte, North Carolina, worries she won’t ever get out from under her medical debt despite new policies that are supposed to prevent medical debt from harming people’s credit scores.

Listen: Grieving Families Face the Cruelest Bills

KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber talks with NPR’s “Consider This” podcast about her reporting on families confronted with medical bills while grieving the loss of a baby who received expensive hospital care.

Turned Away From Urgent Care — And Toward a Big ER Bill

Russell Cook was expecting a quick and inexpensive visit to an urgent care center for his daughter, Frankie, after she had a car wreck. Instead, they were advised to go to an emergency room and got a much larger bill.

Organ Transplants Are Up, but the Agency in Charge Is Under Fire

A two-year congressional investigation has identified troubling lapses in the nation’s organ transplant system. Blood types mismatched, diseased organs transplanted anyway, and — most often — organs lost or damaged before they can save a life.

The $18,000 Breast Biopsy: When Having Insurance Costs You a Bundle

An online calculator told a young woman that a procedure to rule out cancer would cost an uninsured person about $1,400. Instead, the hospital initially charged almost $18,000 and, with her high-deductible health insurance, she owed more than $5,000.

On the Wisconsin-Illinois Border: Clinics in Neighboring States Team Up on Abortion Care

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Wisconsin banned nearly all abortions. To preserve access, now more than a dozen providers are traveling across the border into Illinois to treat patients. This partnership between Planned Parenthood organizations could be a model as dozens of abortion clinics close across the U.S.

They Call It ‘Tranq’ — And It’s Making Street Drugs Even More Dangerous

Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, has made it into the illegal drug supply of opioids and cocaine. It is changing the way outreach workers treat overdoses and may be responsible for grisly injuries and infections among people who unknowingly inject it.

Social Media Posts Criticize the 988 Suicide Hotline for Calling Police. Here’s What You Need to Know.

The July launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline was celebrated by many mental health providers and advocates, but it triggered concerns, too, from people who say using the service could lead to increased law enforcement involvement or forced hospitalization.

Because of Texas Abortion Law, Her Wanted Pregnancy Became a Medical Nightmare

A Houston woman was 18 weeks pregnant when her water broke. That means her fetus had virtually no chance of survival, and she was at risk of an infection that could threaten her future fertility and even her life. Following Texas’ law, the hospital made her wait until she was showing signs of serious infection to terminate the pregnancy.