Listen: Got A Sky-High Bill? Don’t Write The Check.
Have you gotten a medical bill that sounds way too expensive or is just downright confusing? Send it to us. KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal talks with NPR Morning Edition Host Steve Inskeep about the launch of “Bill Of The Month,” KHN and NPR’s new crowdsourced investigation.
Bill Of The Month: A College Student’s $17,850 Drug Test
Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with NPR, kicks off a series that will examine and decode your perplexing medical bills.
Pain Hits After Surgery When A Doctor’s Daughter Is Stunned By $17,850 Urine Test
Elizabeth Moreno got hit with a $17,850 bill from a Texas lab after leaving a urine sample at her doctor’s office.
Big Pharma Greets Hundreds Of Ex-Federal Workers At The ‘Revolving Door’
A KHN data analysis finds that the door of opportunities connecting Capitol Hill, the federal government and the drug industry likely spins in Big Pharma’s favor.
University Under Fire For Off-The-Grid Herpes Vaccine Experiments
Southern Illinois University’s medical school has halted all herpes research, one of its most high-profile projects, amid growing controversy over a researcher’s unauthorized methods offshore and in the U.S.
Grassley Calls For ‘Corrective Action’ On Abuses In Herpes Vaccine Research
The Republican senator sent out letters to the Food and Drug Administration and HHS demanding an explanation about a rogue herpes vaccine trial.
Unregulated Herpes Experiments Expose ‘Black Hole’ Of Accountability
Controversial research methods by university researcher unlikely to prompt federal response or institutional change, experts say.
Doing More Harm Than Good? Epidemic of Screening Burdens Nation’s Older Patients
Patients are often aggressively screened for cancer, even if they won’t live long enough to benefit.
Medicare Fails To Recover Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Lab Overcharges
Genetic testing firms declare bankruptcy and wipe out debt to the federal government.
University Was Tipped Off To Possible Unauthorized Trials Of Herpes Vaccine
Southern Illinois University has concluded its researcher violated university rules and U.S. law.
Doctors Make Big Money Testing Urine For Drugs, Then Ignore Abnormal Results
Medicare and insurers struggle to oversee a booming business in testing urine samples. In some cases, pain doctors’ lack of follow-through can turn fatal.
Taken For A Ride? Ambulances Stick Patients With Surprise Bills
Public outrage over surprise medical bills prompted 21 states to pass consumer protection laws. But these laws largely ignore ambulance rides, which can leave patients stuck with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in bills.
Years Before Heading Offshore, Herpes Researcher Experimented On People In U.S.
Southern Illinois University’s William Halford conducted unregulated human herpes experiments in hotels near university campus, emails show.
Liquid Gold: Pain Doctors Soak Up Profits By Screening Urine For Drugs
With the nation’s opioid crisis, urine testing has become a booming business and is especially lucrative for doctors who operate their own labs, a Kaiser Health News investigation finds. And dozens of practitioners have earned “the lion’s share” of their Medicare income exclusively from urine drug screens.
Enriched By The Poor: California Health Insurers Make Billions Through Medicaid
Medicaid is rarely associated with getting rich. But some insurance companies are reaping spectacular profits off the taxpayer-funded program in California, even when the state finds their patient care is subpar.
‘No One Is Coming’: Hospice Patients Abandoned At Death’s Door
U.S. hospice agencies promise to be available around-the-clock to help patients dying in their homes. But a Kaiser Health News investigation shows that in an alarming number of cases, that promise is broken.
So Much Care It Hurts: Unneeded Scans, Therapy, Surgery Only Add To Patients’ Ills
Overtreatment of breast cancer and other diseases is pervasive, burdening patients and the health care system with enormous costs and needless suffering.
Desperate Quest For Herpes Cure Launched ‘Rogue’ Trial
Patients flocked to researcher who ignored usual patient protections, as university claimed ignorance.
Nowhere To Go: Young People With Severe Autism Languish In Hospitals
Some teens and young adults are spending weeks or even months in retrofitted emergency rooms — even in mesh-covered tents — until specialized care can be found. ‘It’s a huge problem,’ one doctor says.
As Care Shifts From Hospital To Home, Guarding Against Infection Falls To Families
Despite a lack of medical training, relatives increasingly are assigned complex, risky medical tasks at home, such as maintaining catheters. If done incorrectly, blood clots, infections, even death can result.
