Latest KFF Health News Stories
Giant Health System Almost Saved a Community Hospital. Now, It Wants to ‘Extract Every Dollar.’
A bankruptcy judge will soon decide whether a Central Valley hospital needs to liquidate to repay its creditors. Its largest creditor, St. Agnes Medical Center, is the very entity that backed out of purchasing the Madera Community Hospital last December.
Un sistema de salud gigante casi salvó a un hospital de Madera. Ahora quiere “sacarle cada dólar”
Problemas como el de Madera son comunes en otros hospitales pequeños con situaciones financieras precarias en California, y en todo el país.
Medical Debt Is Making Americans Angry. Doctors and Hospitals Ignore This at Their Peril.
Doctors and hospitals hold an exalted position in American life, retaining public confidence even as other institutions such as government, law enforcement, and the media are losing people’s trust. But with health care debt out of hand, medical providers risk their good standing.
Doctors Created a Primary Care Clinic as Their Former Hospital Struggled
With the community’s help, former co-workers came together to fill gaps in care left by the loss of doctors and departments at a Gallup, New Mexico, hospital.
A Mom Owed Nearly $102,000 for Hospital Care. Her State Attorney General Said to Pay Up.
As politicians bash privately run hospitals for their aggressive debt collection tactics, consumer advocates say one North Carolina family’s six-figure medical bill is an example of how state attorneys general and state-operated hospitals also can harm patients financially.
As Nonprofit Hospitals Reap Big Tax Breaks, States Scrutinize Their Required Charity Spending
Nonprofit hospitals avoid paying taxes if they provide community benefits such as charity care. More states are examining that trade-off, scrutinizing the extent of hospitals’ spending on their communities.
The Hospital Bills Didn’t Find Her, but a Lawsuit Did — Plus Interest
Recovering from emergency gallbladder surgery, a Tennessee woman said she spent months without a permanent mailing address and never got a bill. She was sued by the health system two years later.
What One Hospital’s Slow Recovery From a Cyberattack Means for Patients
U.S. hospitals have seen a record number of cyberattacks over the past few years. Getting hacked can cost a hospital millions of dollars, expose patient data, and even jeopardize patient care.
International Rights Group Calls Out US for Allowing Hospitals to Push Millions Into Debt
In a new report, Human Rights Watch urges stronger federal and state action to hold hospitals to account for a medical debt crisis that now burdens more than 100 million Americans.
Will a ‘National Patient Safety Board,’ Modeled After the NTSB, Actually Fly?
A push is underway to create a National Patient Safety Board modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates plane crashes and other transportation disasters. But unlike the NTSB, some patient safety advocates say, the current proposal is toothless and wouldn’t provide transparency about the nation’s hospitals.
California Hospitals Seek a Broad Bailout, but They Don’t All Need It
As hospitals squeeze Democratic leaders in Sacramento for more money, health care finance experts and former state officials warn against falling for the industry’s fear tactics. They point to healthy profits and a recession-era financing scheme that allows rich hospitals to take tax money from poorer ones.
He Returned to the US for His Daughter’s Wedding. He Left With a $42,000 Hospital Bill.
After emergency surgery, an American expatriate with Swiss insurance now carries the baggage of a five-figure bill. Costs for medical care in the U.S. can be two to three times the rates in other developed countries, so foreigners and expats with good insurance in their home countries need travel insurance to protect themselves from “crazy prices.”
New Mexico Program to Reduce Maternity Care Deserts in Rural Areas Fights for Survival
A federally funded program in remote New Mexico has helped hundreds of pregnant mothers stay healthy, but it’s running out of time and money despite a growing national maternity care crisis. The four-year, nearly $3 million grant has provided telehealth, coordinated care, and social services to mothers in need.
As More Hospitals Create Police Forces, Critics Warn of Pitfalls
Nearly 30 states have active or proposed laws authorizing independent hospital police forces. Groups representing nurses and hospitals say the laws address the daily realities of patients who become aggressive or agitated. But critics worry about unintended consequences.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Crisis Is Officially Ending, but Covid Confusion Lives On
The public health emergency declaration for covid-19 ends May 11, ushering in major changes in how Americans can access and pay for the vaccines, treatments, and tests particular to the culprit coronavirus. But not everyone will experience the same changes, creating a confusing patchwork of coverage — not unlike health coverage for other diseases. Meanwhile, outside advisers to the FDA formally recommended allowing a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription. If the FDA follows the recommendation, it would represent the first over-the-counter form of hormonal contraception. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Dancing Under the Debt Ceiling
House Republicans passed their plan to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, along with major cuts to health (and other domestic) programs. Unlikely to become law, it calls for new work requirements for adults on Medicaid. Meanwhile, state efforts targeting trans people bear a striking resemblance to the fight against abortion rights. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Renuka Rayasam, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a specialist’s demand to be paid as much as $15,000 before treating a woman’s serious pregnancy complication.
How a 2019 Florida Law Catalyzed a Hospital-Building Boom
In Wesley Chapel, Fla., near Tampa, residents will soon have three general hospitals within a five-minute drive. The new construction is part of a hospital-building boom across Florida unleashed almost four years ago, when the state dropped a requirement that companies obtain government approval to open new hospitals.
An Arm and a Leg: A $229,000 Medical Bill Goes to Court
Lisa French was told her surgery would cost $1,337. But the hospital sent her a bill for $229,000, then sued her. The case went all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court. The court’s ruling could have major implications for determining a “reasonable price” in health care.
Falta de doctores y residencias médicas impactan en la salud de las zonas rurales
Expertos dicen que los factores sistémicos son barreras comunes para establecer y mantener programas de capacitación para médicos en las zonas rurales de Estados Unidos.
Doctor Shortages Distress Rural America, Where Few Residency Programs Exist
Patients in rural northeastern Nevada soon will have fewer providers and resources, after a local hospital decided to close its medical residency program. Nationally, the number of rural residency slots has grown during the past few years but still makes up just 2% of programs and residents nationwide.
