Investigations

Three People Shot at Super Bowl Parade Grapple With Bullets Left in Their Bodies

Despite the rise of gun violence in America, few medical guidelines exist on removing bullets from survivors’ bodies. In the second installment of our series “The Injured,” we meet three people shot at the Kansas City Super Bowl parade who are dealing with the bullets inside them in different ways.

Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Driver’s Seat

Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor’s own financial policy — which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon — can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.

FDA Announces Recall of Heart Pumps Linked to Deaths and Injuries

Some pumps used in end-stage heart failure caused a buildup of biological material that blocks blood flow from the device to the heart’s aorta. The FDA’s recall affects nearly 14,000 devices.

Los hirieron en el desfile del Super Bowl: un mes después se sienten olvidados

Durante el primer mes, los líderes comunitarios de Kansas City han discutido cómo atender a las personas que quedaron atrapadas bajo el fuego cruzado y cómo distribuir los más de $2 millones donados a los fondos públicos para las víctimas bajo el doloroso impacto inicial.

Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop ‘Clawback Cruelty’

Commissioner Martin O’Malley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the “injustices” of suspending people’s monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.

They Were Injured at the Super Bowl Parade. A Month Later, They Feel Forgotten.

In the first of our series “The Injured,” a Kansas family remembers Valentine’s Day as the beginning of panic attacks, life-altering trauma, and waking to nightmares of gunfire. Thrown into the spotlight by the shootings, they wonder how they will recover.

New York Joins Local Governments in Erasing Billions in Medical Debt

New York City is the latest jurisdiction to buy and forgive a backlog of unpaid medical bills for its residents. Local governments across the country, including in the Chicago area, are doing the same to reduce debt burdens for lower-income residents.

In Year 6, KFF Health News-NPR’s ‘Bill of the Month’ Helps Patients in a Changing System

In the sixth year of the KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” series, patients shared more than 750 tales of medical billing problems, and reporters analyzed more than $730,000 in charges — including more than $215,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.

‘AGGA’ Inventor Testifies His Dental Device Was Not Meant for TMJ or Sleep Apnea

The FDA and Department of Justice are investigating the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or “AGGA.” TMJ and sleep apnea patients have filed lawsuits alleging the device harmed them. Its inventor now says the AGGA was never meant for these ailments.

The Year in Opioid Settlements: 5 Things You Need to Know

In the past year, opioid settlement money has gone from an emerging funding stream for which people had lofty but uncertain aspirations to a coveted pot of billions being invested in remediation efforts. Here are some important and evolving factors to watch going forward.

‘I Am Just Waiting to Die’: Social Security Clawbacks Drive Some Into Homelessness

The Social Security Administration is reclaiming billions of dollars in alleged overpayments from some of the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable, leaving some people homeless or struggling to stay in housing, beneficiaries and advocates say.