Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Decision of Where to Seek Care Is Complicated by the Multitude of Options
The proliferation of care options — particularly urgent care centers and free-standing emergency departments — can make the head spin. Facilities have little incentive to clear up the confusion of where to go. But for patients, the wrong choice can mean big bills and possibly poor health outcomes.
Hospitals’ Use of Volunteer Staff Runs Risk of Skirting Labor Laws, Experts Say
Hospitals using volunteers is commonplace. But some labor experts argue that deploying unpaid workers to do work that benefits the organization’s bottom line lets for-profit hospitals skirt federal labor laws, deprives employees of work, and potentially exploits the volunteers.
Medicaid and Abortion Top Health Agenda for Montana Lawmakers
State lawmakers say their health care goals for the new legislative session are to lower costs and improve access to care. They’ll have to grapple with a full slate of other issues, as well.
ER Doctors Call Private Equity Staffing Practices Illegal and Seek to Ban Them
Doctors, consumer advocates, and some lawmakers are looking forward to a California lawsuit against private equity-backed Envision Healthcare. The case is part of a multistate effort to enforce rules banning corporate ownership of physician practices.
The Case of the Two Grace Elliotts: A Medical Billing Mystery
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.
An Air Force Career Held up Because of Debt Owed for Medical Bills
Emergency room care left Samaria Bradford with $5,000 in medical bills. Now she has to track down and pay that debt before she can hope to enlist in the military.
A Retiree Returns to Work After a Calamitous Year of Health Emergencies
In 2020, diabetes and covid-19 landed David Zipprich in the hospital three times. Even with insurance, he was inundated with bills, debt notices, and calls from collectors.
Hundreds of Hospitals Sue Patients or Threaten Their Credit, a KHN Investigation Finds. Does Yours?
An examination of billing policies and practices at more than 500 hospitals across the country shows widespread reliance on aggressive collection tactics.
Inside a Children’s Hospital: Struggling to Cope With a Surge of Respiratory Illness
Pediatric cases of RSV and flu have families crowding into ERs, as health systems juggle staff shortages. In Michigan, only 10 out of 130 hospitals have a pediatric ICU.
Readers and Tweeters Chime In on Disability Rights and Drug Discounts
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Abrumados por los costos, hospitales crean sus propias agencias de enfermería
Cada vez más sistemas hospitalarios están creando equipos internos de personal para hacer frente a la escasez de enfermeras provocada por la pandemia, y para tratar de vencer a las agencias privadas de personal temporal con sus propias armas.
Squeezed by Temp Nurse Costs, Hospital Systems Create Their Own Staffing Agencies
Hospitals have depended on travel nurses to fill shifts, especially during covid surges. Now some larger systems, reeling from high contract labor costs, have created staffing units, aiming to lure nurses who want more work flexibility and better pay than staff RNs get.
What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt
Coal mining ended in Germany’s Saarland a decade ago, but the transition away from coal has been smoother than in West Virginia, which has more medical debt than any state in America.
KHN Investigation: The System Feds Rely On to Stop Repeat Health Fraud Is Broken
A months-long KHN examination of the system meant to bar fraudsters from Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health programs found gaping holes and expansive gray areas through which banned individuals slip to repeatedly bilk taxpayer-funded programs.
Journalists Explain Medicaid Work Requirements and Hospital Price Transparency
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Los hospitales optimizan los ingresos tratando de mantener sus camas llenas al 100 %, y llenas de pacientes con condiciones que las aseguradoras reembolsan bien.
Hospital Financial Decisions Play a Role in the Critical Shortage of Pediatric Beds for RSV Patients
Yes, the U.S. is experiencing an unusual spate of childhood RSV infections. But the critical shortage of hospital beds to treat ailing children stems from structural problems in pediatric care that have been brewing for years.
A Family Death During the Holidays Prompts Questions and Reflection
The death of a sharp but frail patriarch just days before Thanksgiving casts a shadow on a family’s holiday season.
Watch: Big Medicaid Changes in California Leave Millions of Patients Behind
KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discusses how California’s big Medicaid experiment to bring social services to the sickest and costliest patients doesn’t help most patients.
¿Deberían los adultos mayores someterse a cirugías invasivas? Nueva investigación ofrece guía
Casi 1 de cada 7 adultos mayores muere dentro del año después de someterse a una cirugía mayor, según un nuevo estudio que arroja luz sobre los riesgos que enfrentan las personas mayores cuando tienen procedimientos invasivos.
