Latest KFF Health News Stories
Bad Bedside Manna: Bank Loans Signed In The Hospital Leave Patients Vulnerable
Hospitals increasingly team up with lending institutions to offer low- or no-interest loans to patients to make sure their bills get paid. But critics say the complexity of hospital pricing means consumers should be cautious.
Estudiante universitaria recibe una cuenta de $17,850 por una prueba de orina
Esta historia forma parte de una serie en la que KHN investigará cuentas médicas sorprendentes enviadas por los usuarios.
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.
Maryland Offers Many Insured Men Free Vasectomy Coverage
But state officials are trying to get assurances from the Internal Revenue Service that the new law does not conflict with federal rules for health savings accounts.
Trump’s Budget Proposal Swings At Drug Prices With A Glancing Blow
The Trump administration rolled out a list of actions to attack drug prices, but most dance around the edges.
Cut In Federal Subsidies Threatens Basic Health Programs In N.Y., Minn.
President Donald Trump’s decision to stop paying cost-sharing reduction subsidies means the federal government will reduce its funding of the Basic Health Program that provides low-cost coverage to more than 800,000 low-income people in those two states.
Parents Are Not Liable For Medical Debts Of Adult Children On Shared Insurance
Even though the federal health law allows young adults to stay on their parents’ plan, those children are generally responsible for their own debts.
Study Gives Mixed Reviews On Laws To Equalize Cancer Patients’ Out-Of-Pocket Costs
Most states have laws that require that cancer patients who get their treatment orally rather than by infusion in a doctor’s office not pay more out-of-pocket. A new study finds that the impact of those laws is mixed.
Beyond The Shattered Lives And Bodies, Money Worries Weigh On Las Vegas Victims
Many of the gunshot survivors who suffered serious injuries face not only high deductibles and out-of-network charges but also lost wages.
Social Security Giveth, Medical Costs Taketh Away
Out-of-pocket health costs eat up about 18 percent of retirees’ incomes.
5 ideas controversiales para arreglar el mercado de seguros individual
Desde modificar la edad de ingreso al Medicare, hasta tener un Medicaid “a la carta”, estas ideas están sonando y generando polémica en los pasillos del Congreso.
5 Outside-The-Box Ideas For Fixing The Individual Insurance Market
As lawmakers look for ways to stabilize the health law marketplaces, a number of ideas — such as expanding who can “buy in” to Medicare and Medicaid or pushing young adults off their parents’ plans into the marketplaces — might come into play.
Too Few Patients Follow The Adage: You Better Shop Around
Three-quarters of participants in a newly released study said they did not know of resources for comparing health care costs, while half said that if a website were available to provide such information, they would use it.
Trump Plan Might Cut Expenses For Some Insured Patients With Chronic Needs
High-deductible health insurance plans linked to a health savings account cannot cover some care and drug expenses for chronic health conditions until the patient has met a deductible.
5 Ways GOP Reforms Could Change Your Health Plan Options
A key bill provision would likely lower premiums, but coverage would be skimpier with consumers left to figure out the trade-offs.
Analysis: Senate’s Latest Health Blueprint Cuts Costs At The Expense Of Chronically Ill
The Senate draft bill released Thursday to replace the Affordable Care Act risks creating a high-cost ghetto for those with preexisting conditions or long-term sickness, experts say.
GOP Seeks To Sweeten Health Savings Account Deals. Will Consumers Bite?
A new study found that fewer than half of people with health savings accounts deposited any money in them in 2016.
Reactions To The GOP Health Bill: Voices From The States
What will happen to people with preexisting conditions is one worry some Americans expressed; the high costs of insurance under Obamacare is another.
Parents Of Sick Children Fear Trap If States Have Say On ‘Preexisting Conditions’
“I’m not going to risk my son’s health on the political whims of Jefferson City,” says one Missouri father, whose son requires about $20,000 to $30,000 in medical care expenses a year. The new GOP health bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act lets states decide whether or not insurers must cover people with preexisting conditions, such as birth defects.
