Latest KFF Health News Stories
Emergency Medical Responders Confront Racial Bias
In a recent study of patients treated by emergency medical responders in Oregon, black patients were 40 percent less likely to get pain medicine than their white peers. Why?
Massachusetts Stroke Patient Receives ‘Outrageous’ $474,725 Medical Flight Bill
After a 34-year-old woman suffered a stroke in Kansas, doctors there arranged for her to be transferred to a Boston hospital, via an Angel MedFlight Learjet. The woman and her father believed the cost of the medical flight would be covered by her private insurance. Then they got the bill.
Refund On The Way To Latest ‘Bill Of The Month’ Patient
Ski buff Sarah Witter will get $6,358.26 back from her hospital and insurer after a careful review of her bill following the KHN-NPR story on her case.
Year One Of KHN’s ‘Bill Of The Month’: A Kaleidoscope Of Financial Challenges
A crowdsourced investigation in which we dissect, investigate and explain medical bills you send us.
Taking Surprise Medical Bills To Court
Some legal experts say contract law could provide consumers another avenue to challenge unexpected hospital bills.
After Her Skiing Accident, An Uphill Battle Over Snowballing Bills
She took a bad fall on the slopes and her surgeon used a metal plate to put the splintered bones of her leg back together. When that device failed less than four months later, she and her insurer had to pay full price for the replacement plate.
Health Suffers Deep In The Troubled Heart Of Texas
The Lone Star State is an economic powerhouse, yet it fails to take care of its residents’ health and is home to some of the most extreme entrepreneurial medical practices.
Check Your Medical Records For Dangerous Errors
Medical records often contain incorrect information that can lead to inappropriate medical treatment. Patients need to review them on a regular basis and correct any errors that creep in.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Measure To Cap Dialysis Profits Pummeled After Record Spending By Industry
The dialysis industry raised nearly $111 million in a successful bid to defeat the measure, which also was opposed by hospitals and doctors. The union that sponsored the measure collected about one-sixth that amount.
Readers And Tweeters: Are Millennials Killing The Primary Care Doctor?
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
VA Adding Opioid Antidote To Defibrillator Cabinets For Quicker Overdose Response
A project that started in a Boston Veterans Affairs facility will soon go nationwide. It puts naloxone, also known as Narcan, into emergency supplies cabinets throughout the VA system.
Will Congress Bring Sky-High Air Ambulance Bills Down To Earth?
Medevac helicopter companies are on the radar of an FAA funding bill likely to pass the House and Senate this week.
Le cobran $56,603 por un traslado de emergencia en un helicóptero-ambulancia
Luego de un accidente con un vehículo todo terreno, este radiólogo de Texas no solo perdió su brazo izquierdo, sino la esperanza en el sistema de salud.
Taken For A Ride: After ATV Crash, Doctor Gets $56,603 Bill For Air Ambulance Trip
After an accident in an all-terrain vehicle crushed a doctor’s left arm, he was whisked by air ambulance to the closest trauma center for specialized care. Soon he was fighting over the $56,603 bill.
Senators Unveil Legislation To Protect Patients Against Surprise Medical Bills
The measure is designed to help people getting emergency care from hospitals or doctors that are not part of their insurance network.
¡Puñalada! Tienes seguro, pero igual debes pagar $109 mil por un ataque al corazón
Un maestro de Austin, Texas, quien sufrió un ataque cardíaco, tuvo que vivir una odisea cuando recibió una cuenta astronómica.
A Jolt To The Jugular! You’re Insured But Still Owe $109K For Your Heart Attack
A Texas teacher, 44, faces a “balance bill” of almost twice his annual salary for a heart attack he never expected to have.
Voters To Settle Dispute Over Ambulance Employee Break Times
Unlike most other workers, private-ambulance employees are frequently called away from their meals and rest breaks to respond to emergency calls, but there’s no law explicitly allowing that practice. Proposition 11 would change that, but some say its real purpose is to get California’s largest ambulance company out of costly litigation.
Doctors Reckon With High Rate Of Suicide In Their Ranks
The devastating loss of a promising young doctor prompts soul-searching and action at one of the nation’s largest emergency room staffing companies.
