Latest News On Surprise Bills

Latest KFF Health News Stories

The Case of the $489,000 Air Ambulance Ride

KFF Health News Original

Diagnosed with aggressive leukemia on a Western trip, a young man thought his insurance would cover an air ambulance ride home to North Carolina. Instead, questions about medical necessity left him with an astronomical bill.

How to Avoid Surprise Bills — And the Pitfalls in the New Law

KFF Health News Original

The No Surprises Act offers protection from many surprise medical bills — but that protection may be only as good as a patient’s knowledge of the law and ability to make sure it’s enforced. Here’s what you need to know.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Congress Shelves Covid Funding for Now

KFF Health News Original

The Biden administration’s request for billions more in funding to fight covid-19 hit a snag on Capitol Hill this week, as Democrats objected to Republican demands that money allocated to states but not yet spent be reclaimed. Meanwhile, the big annual spending bill about to cross the finish line addresses other health policy changes, such as giving the FDA authority to regulate “synthetic” nicotine. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Jessie Hellmann of Modern Healthcare join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

An $80,000 Tab for Newborns Lays Out a Loophole in the New Law to Curb Surprise Bills

KFF Health News Original

The insurance company said that the birth of the Bull family’s twins was not an emergency and that NICU care was “not medically necessary.” The family’s experience with a huge bill sent to collections happened in 2020, but it exposes a hole in the new No Surprises law that took effect Jan. 1.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: Know Your ‘No Surprises’ Rights

KFF Health News Original

The No Surprises Act protects patients from surprise out-of-network bills. But there are caveats. For instance, these protections apply only to care in a hospital. This episode breaks it all down.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade’s (Possibly Last) Anniversary

KFF Health News Original

Jan. 22 marks the 49th — and very likely last — anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. The court’s conservative supermajority seems poised to overturn later this year the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Also this week, the Biden administration turns 1, with much of its domestic and health agenda yet unrealized. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, about what a post-Roe world might look like.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Contagion Confusion

KFF Health News Original

It’s 2022 and the covid-19 pandemic is still with us, as are congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden’s big health and social spending bill. But other issues seem certain to take center stage on this year’s health agenda, including abortion, the state of the health care workforce, and prescription drug prices. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Victoria Knight, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Oh, Oh, Omicron

KFF Health News Original

Even before the omicron variant of covid starts to spread widely in the U.S., hospitals are filling up with post-holiday delta cases. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court signals — loudly — that 2022 will be the year it rolls back abortion rights in a big way. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Suit by Doctors, Hospitals Seeks Change in How Arbitrators Settle Surprise Billing Cases

KFF Health News Original

The American Medical Association and American Hospital Association are not arguing to halt the law that protects patients from unexpected bills from providers they didn’t know were outside their insurance network. Instead, they want to change the rules for the mediators who will settle the dispute between insurers and providers.

Becerra Says Surprise Billing Rules Force Doctors Who Overcharge to Accept Fair Prices

KFF Health News Original

The Health and Human Services secretary says the administration has heard complaints from doctors and hospitals about the rules it unveiled for implementing the law to end surprise medical bills. But he says providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost — or close.