A Baby Spent 36 Days in an In-Network NICU. Why Did the Hospital Next Door Send a Bill?
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.
Did Your Health Plan Rip Off Medicare?
KHN has released never-before-seen details of federal audits as the government weighs action against dozens of Medicare Advantage plans.
Watch: Patient Sent to Collections for Surgery She Never Had
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss how difficult a clerical error can be to fix and how patients can respond if it happens to them.
KHN-NPR’s ‘Bill of the Month’ at 5: A Treasury of Solutions for Confounding Medical Bills
Readers and listeners shared more than 1,000 personal stories of medical billing problems with KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” investigative series this year, helping us illuminate the financial decisions patients are pressed to make in their most vulnerable moments.
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.
Her Credit Was Ruined by Medical Debt. She’s Been Turned Away From Doctors, Jobs, and Loans
When Penelope Wingard’s cancer went into remission, she lost her Medicaid coverage in North Carolina. Without insurance, the debts piled up for her follow-up care. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get ahead of it.
From Her View in Knoxville, the Health System Is ‘Not Designed for Poor People’
Monica Reed was the first in her family to own a home and has lived “a frugal kind of life.” Cancer treatment left her with almost $10,000 in debt, pushing her to the edge financially.
A Medical Cost-Sharing Plan Left Pastor With Most Of The Cost
Jeff and Kareen King joined a medical cost-sharing plan advertised as a “refreshing non-insurance approach” to paying for health care. It had a big proviso: Preexisting conditions like Jeff’s heart condition were not fully covered for the first two years. He needed heart surgery after just 16 months.
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.
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.
How Medicare Advantage Plans Dodged Auditors and Overcharged Taxpayers by Millions
Facing rare scrutiny from federal auditors, some Medicare Advantage health plans failed to produce any records to justify their payments, government records show. The audits revealed millions of dollars in overcharges to Medicare over three years.
In Rural America, Deadly Costs of Opioids Outweigh the Dollars Tagged to Address Them
Some people say it’s reasonable for densely populated areas to receive more settlement funds, since they serve more of those affected. But others worry this overlooks rural communities disproportionately harmed by opioid addiction.
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.
Para lanzar un nuevo fármaco al mercado, la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos (FDA) exige a las farmacéuticas estudios exhaustivos para demostrar su seguridad y eficacia. Conseguir que un medicamento salga al mercado unos meses antes, y con menos gastos de lo habitual, puede traducirse en beneficios millonarios para el fabricante.
The Business of Clinical Trials Is Booming. Private Equity Has Taken Notice.
Private equity-backed Headlands Research heralded its covid-19 vaccine trials as a chance to boost participation among diverse populations, then it shuttered multiple sites that conducted them.
An Unexplained Injury Discovered After Eye Surgery. What Should Happen Next?
Some doctors and medical practices voluntarily give rebates on a bill if an injury occurs during a procedure, while others will not, an expert says. Here’s how patients can respond.
Cuando hay mala praxis en centros de salud comunitarios, pagan los contribuyentes
Los 1,375 centros de salud financiados con dinero federal, que atienden a 30 millones de estadounidenses de bajos ingresos, son en su mayoría organizaciones privadas. Sin embargo, reciben $6,000 millones anuales en subvenciones federales y, según la ley federal, sus responsabilidades legales están cubiertas por el gobierno
When Malpractice Occurs at Community Health Centers, Taxpayers Pay
Federally funded clinics and their doctors are protected against lawsuits by federal law, with taxpayers footing the bill. The health centers say that allows them to better serve their low-income patients, but lawyers say the system handcuffs consumers with a cumbersome legal process and makes it harder for the public to see problems.
