Latest News On Hospitals

Latest KFF Health News Stories

An Arm and a Leg: Wrestling With a Giant: How to Dispute a Hospital Bill

Podcast

One listener tried to dispute a $1,300 “facility fee” with the treating hospital, his insurer, a bill-mediation service provided by his employer, and finally a debt collector. He didn’t win, but he learned valuable lessons about advocating for hospital discounts.

Watch: Emergency Room Turns Simple Injury Into a Big Bill

KFF Health News Original

This installment of InvestigateTV and KHN’s “Costly Care” series looks at the case of a New Orleans woman whose thumb injury saddled her with a big ER bill for a tetanus shot and some minor care.

Hospitales rurales aplican a nuevo programa federal para intentar sobrevivir

KFF Health News Original

Más de 140 hospitales rurales han cerrado en todo el país desde 2010, y observadores de políticas de salud no están seguros de cuántas de las más de 1,700 instalaciones rurales elegibles para la nueva designación aplicarán a un nuevo programa.

Struggling to Survive, the First Rural Hospitals Line Up for New Federal Lifeline

KFF Health News Original

Hospitals in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma are among the first to apply for a new rural hospital payment model that shifts the focus of services away from overnight stays to outpatient and emergency care. Still, experts say the law needs to be amended to provide the right mix of care for rural communities.

Information Blackout Shrouds New Reports of Deaths, Injuries, and Abuse at Montana State Hospital

KFF Health News Original

Patient injuries, abuse, and neglect have continued at the Montana State Hospital since the state-run psychiatric facility lost its federal certification due to preventable patient deaths. But state officials won’t release details, citing laws making those reports confidential.

Surprise-Billing Law Loophole: When ‘Out of Network’ Doesn’t Quite Mean Out of Network

KFF Health News Original

Billing experts and lawmakers are playing catch-up as providers find ways to get around new surprise-billing laws, leaving patients like Danielle Laskey of Washington state with big bills for emergency care.

California requiere que hospitales recurran a familiares cercanos de pacientes para decisiones médicas, cerrando un vacío de larga data

KFF Health News Original

Desde el 1 de enero, California se sumó a otros 45 estados y al Distrito de Columbia con leyes que permiten a una persona tomar decisiones en nombre de un paciente, incluso si no estaba autorizada por el paciente antes de que ocurriera la situación médica.

California Requires Hospitals to Turn to a Patient’s Next of Kin, Closing a Longtime Loophole

KFF Health News Original

A state law establishes a list of representatives who can make medical decisions for patients unable to convey their wishes. California is late to making the change; 45 other states and the District of Columbia already have next-of-kin laws.

Montana’s Tax-Exempt Hospitals Oppose Increased Oversight by State Officials

KFF Health News Original

As Montana officials seek to make nonprofit hospitals prove the benefits they provide the community justify their tax exemptions, industry leaders propose their own changes — which state officials say would further limit the state’s authority.

A Baby Spent 36 Days in an In-Network NICU. Why Did the Hospital Next Door Send a Bill?

KFF Health News Original

A baby spent more than a month in a Chicago NICU. A big bill revealed she was treated by out-of-network doctors from the children’s hospital next door. Her parents were charged despite a state law protecting patients from such out-of-network billing — and sent to collections when they didn’t pay up.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': As US Bumps Against Debt Ceiling, Medicare Becomes a Bargaining Chip

Podcast

The debt ceiling crisis facing Washington puts Medicare and other popular entitlement programs squarely on the negotiating table this year as newly empowered Republicans demand spending cuts. Meanwhile, as more Americans than ever have health insurance, the nation’s health care workforce is straining under the load. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Despite Doctors’ Concerns, University of California Renews Ties With Religious Affiliates

KFF Health News Original

The public university’s health system is renewing contracts with outside hospitals and clinics even as some doctors and faculty say clearer language is needed to protect physicians performing abortions and gender-affirming treatments.