Latest News On Surprise Bills

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Crushed By A Hospital Bill? Stand Up For Yourself

KFF Health News Original

Most hospitals must offer free or reduced-cost care to certain patients, based on income, even if they have insurance. But some hospitals erect barriers to charity care, so it’s up to patients to advocate for themselves.

Analysis: Who Profits From Steep Medical Bills? The People Tasked With Fixing Them.

KFF Health News Original

Surprise bills are just the latest weapons in a decades-long war among health care industry players over who gets to keep the fortunes generated each year from patient illness: $3.6 trillion in 2018. The practice is an outrage, yet no one in the health care sector wants to unilaterally make the type of big concessions that would change things.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Live from D.C. With Rep. Donna Shalala

KFF Health News Original

President Donald Trump’s proposed budget includes billions of dollars in health spending cuts, Congress gets back to work on surprise medical bills, and health care remains a top issue for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), a former Health and Human Services secretary, joins the panel at a special taping before a live audience in Washington, D.C. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Women Shouldn’t Get A Bill For An IUD … But Sometimes They Do

KFF Health News Original

The Affordable Care Act requires that insurers cover birth control with no out-of-pocket costs, but the enforcement mechanism is weak and a pending court case could add further complications.

For 2020, California Goes Big On Health Care

KFF Health News Original

California lawmakers are proposing ambitious health care ideas, from creating a state generic drug label to banning the sale of flavored e-cigarette products. Even though Democrats control state government, they’re likely to face pushback from powerful health care industry groups like hospitals. 

Loopholes Limit New California Law To Guard Against Lofty Air Ambulance Bills

KFF Health News Original

A new state law limits what consumers owe if they’re transported by an air ambulance that’s not part of their insurance network to the amount that they’d be charged if they used an in-network provider. But the law won’t protect millions of consumers whose health plans aren’t regulated by the state.

For Her Head Cold, Insurer Coughed Up $25,865

KFF Health News Original

A New York City woman, worried that her sore throat might be strep, got swabbed at her doctor’s office. The sample was sent to an out-of-network lab for sophisticated DNA tests ― with a price tag similar to a new SUV.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: ACA Still Under A Cloud After Court Ruling

KFF Health News Original

A federal appeals court in New Orleans has agreed with a lower court that a key piece of the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. But it is sending the case back to the lower-court judge to decide how much of the rest of the law can stand. Also, Congress is leaving town after finishing work on a major spending bill that includes many changes to health policy. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.

Loophole Averted After Surprise-Bill Brouhaha In Texas

KFF Health News Original

The Texas Medical Board bowed out of the rule-making process for a new law protecting consumers from surprise medical bills. Advocates hailed the new rules written by the state insurance regulators.