Colorado Checkup: June 2023
At Least 1.7M Americans Use Health Sharing Arrangements, Despite Lack of Protections
By Markian Hawryluk
A new report boosts the estimated number of people enrolled in plans whose members — usually brought together by shared religious beliefs — pay one another’s health costs.
What’s It Really Like to Be HHS Secretary? Three Who’ve Done It Spill the Beans
By Julie Rovner and Emmarie Huetteman
Three secretaries of Health and Human Services, who served under Presidents Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Barack Obama, gathered this week for a rare, candid conversation hosted by the Aspen Ideas Festival and KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” about the experience of being the nation’s top health official.
International Rights Group Calls Out US for Allowing Hospitals to Push Millions Into Debt
By Noam N. Levey
In a new report, Human Rights Watch urges stronger federal and state action to hold hospitals to account for a medical debt crisis that now burdens more than 100 million Americans.
Opioid Settlement Payouts to Localities Made Public for First Time
By Aneri Pattani
KFF Health News obtained documents showing the exact dollar amounts — down to the cent — that local governments have been allocated in 2022 and 2023 to battle the ongoing opioid crisis.
Find Out How Much Opioid Settlement Cash Your Locality Received
By Aneri Pattani
You can use documents obtained by KFF Health News to see the exact dollar amounts that local governments in your state have been allocated in 2022 and 2023.
Massage Therapists Ease the Pain of Hospice Patients — But Aren’t Easy to Find
By Kate Ruder
The pandemic disrupted the massage industry. Now those who specialize in hospice massage therapy are in demand and redefining their roles.
The Hospital Bills Didn’t Find Her, but a Lawsuit Did — Plus Interest
By Bram Sable-Smith
Recovering from emergency gallbladder surgery, a Tennessee woman said she spent months without a permanent mailing address and never got a bill. She was sued by the health system two years later.