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Friday, Feb 16 2018

Pain Hits After Surgery When A Doctor’s Daughter Is Stunned By $17,850 Urine Test

Fred Schulte

Elizabeth Moreno got hit with a $17,850 bill from a Texas lab after leaving a urine sample at her doctor’s office.

Bill Of The Month: A College Student’s $17,850 Drug Test

Fred Schulte

Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with NPR, kicks off a series that will examine and decode your perplexing medical bills.

Listen: Got A Sky-High Bill? Don’t Write The Check.

Have you gotten a medical bill that sounds way too expensive or is just downright confusing? Send it to us. KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal talks with NPR Morning Edition Host Steve Inskeep about the launch of “Bill Of The Month,” KHN and NPR's new crowdsourced investigation.

FDA Head Vows To Tackle High Drug Prices And Drugmakers ‘Gaming The System’

Sarah Jane Tribble and Liz Szabo

In an exclusive interview, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb describes what he’s doing to spur competition and bring down drug prices.

In An Effort To Curb Drug Costs, States Advance Bills To Prod Feds On Importation

Shefali Luthra

Legislatures in blue and red states alike are considering proposals that would allow them to import prescription drugs from Canada.

Trump’s Budget Proposal Swings At Drug Prices With A Glancing Blow

Sarah Jane Tribble

The Trump administration rolled out a list of actions to attack drug prices, but most dance around the edges.

KHN On NPR: The Uniquely American Problem Of High Prescription Drug Costs

Kaiser Health News Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal discusses drug costs with Scott Simon, the host of NPR's Weekend Edition. Listen to the broadcast and read a transcript of that conversation.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ What Do The Budget, Idaho And FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb Have In Common?

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield-Cunningham of The Washington Post discuss President Donald Trump’s budget plan and how some states are trying to stabilize the Affordable Care Act, while others are trying to violate it. Also, Rovner and KHN’s Sarah Jane Tribble interview Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Idaho Blue Cross Jumps Into Controversial Market For Plans That Bypass ACA Rules

Julie Appleby

Focus turns to whether the Trump administration will challenge Idaho’s move to allow such plans to be sold to individuals.

Work-For-Medicaid Lifts Off In Indiana, But Even Fans Fret About Red Tape

Requiring some Medicaid recipients to work or perform community service for their benefits has stirred controversy. KHN's Sarah Varney explores what the policy could mean for 30,000 low-income Hoosiers.

Maryland Offers Many Insured Men Free Vasectomy Coverage

Michelle Andrews

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.

KHN Conversation On Living Well With Dementia

Listen and learn from this Kaiser Health News’ Facebook Live event. “Navigating Aging” columnist Judith Graham led a discussion about dementia, one of the most challenging chronic conditions for individuals and their families — which affects millions of American families.

Doctors Learn How To Talk To Patients About Dying

Melissa Bailey

Clinicians can be so focused on fixing problems and saving lives that they often avoid talking to patients about their prognosis.

At Some Veterans Homes, Aid-In-Dying Is Not An Option

JoNel Aleccia

Citing fears of losing federal funds, California is the latest state to require discharge of terminally ill residents from state veterans homes if they plan to end their lives with lethal drugs.

California’s Regulators To Investigate Aetna’s Medical Coverage Decisions

Barbara Feder Ostrov

The investigations follow testimony in a lawsuit by a former Aetna medical director who said he relied on information from nurses, without reviewing patient records himself, when deciding which treatments to allow and deny.

The Training Of Dr. Robot: Data Wave Hits Medical Care

John McQuaid

Algorithms and other technologies are moving from research labs to hospitals and clinics to predict and combat disease.

Could A Rare, Deadly ‘Superbug’ Fungus Be Gaining A Foothold?

David Thill, Medill News Service

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the number of confirmed cases of Candida auris in the U.S. has climbed from seven in 2016 to at least 200.

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