KHN Weekly Edition: Jan. 28, 2022
The Doctor Didn’t Show Up, but the Hospital ER Still Charged $1,012
By Noam N. Levey
A St. Louis-area toddler burned his hand on the stove, and his mom took him to the ER on the advice of her pediatrician. He wasn’t seen by a doctor, and the dressing on the wound wasn’t changed. The bill was more than a thousand dollars.
Watch: ER Charged $1,012 for Almost No Care
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal weighs in on the January installment of KHN-NPR's Bill of the Month, in which a family gets burned over a visit to the emergency room.
CDC Tells Pharmacies to Give 4th Covid Shots to Immunocompromised Patients
By Liz Szabo
The health agency and the White House acted in the wake of a KHN story about pharmacists refusing to give shots to patients with moderate to severe immune suppression.
Pharmacies Are Turning Away Immunocompromised Patients Seeking 4th Covid Shot
By Liz Szabo
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly changed its guidance to allow an extra shot in certain cases, but some pharmacy personnel are confused about who is eligible.
In Super-Vaxxed Vermont, Covid Strikes — But Packs Far Less Punch
By Sarah Varney
With its highest-in-the-nation vaccination rates, Vermont offers a glimpse of what’s possible as the U.S. learns to live with coronavirus.
With a Vaccine Mandate Looming, Nursing Homes Face More Staffing Problems
By Eric Berger
Missouri has the worst covid-19 vaccination rate for nursing home health care workers in the nation. There, the federal mandate for workers to get vaccinated — upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court — reveals the problems that operators have hiring staff, keeping them, and providing decent care.
Vaccine Wars Ignite in California as Lawmakers Seek Stronger Laws
By Angela Hart
Anti-vaccination activists say California’s Democratic lawmakers are helping strengthen their movement nationally by pushing for tougher vaccine requirements — without exemptions for religious or personal beliefs. But a new pro-vaccine lobbying force is vowing to fight back.
Why Medicare Doesn’t Pay for Rapid At-Home Covid Tests
By Michelle Andrews
The laws governing Medicare don’t provide coverage for self-administered diagnostic tests, which is precisely what the rapid antigen tests are and why they are an important tool for containing the pandemic.
Medicare Patients Win the Right to Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage
By Susan Jaffe
If federal officials accept a court’s decision, some patients will get a chance to seek refunds for their nursing home and other expenses.
Georgia Bill Aims to Limit Profits of Medicaid Managed-Care Companies
By Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine
Georgia lawmakers unveiled a mental health bill that would limit the profits of the managed-care companies that serve Medicaid patients. KHN previously reported that Georgia, unlike most states, does not set a medical loss ratio for the companies’ spending on medical care and quality improvements.
I Write About America’s Absurd Health Care System. Then I Got Caught Up in It.
By Bram Sable-Smith
A KHN reporter had written for years about the people left behind by the absurdly complex and expensive U.S. health care system. Then he found himself navigating that maze as he tried to get his insulin prescription filled.
What the Federal ‘No Surprises Act’ Means in California
By Bernard J. Wolfson
The new federal law will provide protection against surprise medical bills for between 6 million and 7 million Californians who are not covered under state law.
Resistance to a Boston Hospital’s Expansion Centers on Rising Prices
By Harris Meyer
Mass General Brigham’s $2.3 billion expansion plan is raising state officials’ concerns that it will reduce competition and raise the price of care in Massachusetts. It also signals a national shift from a focus on hospital mergers and purchases of physician practices — which boost the cost of care — to individual hospitals’ expansions to gain a bigger share of the market.
After Miscarriages, Workers Have Few Guarantees for Time Off or Job-Based Help
By Bryce Covert
About a quarter of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. Despite the large number of workers affected, no national laws protect them when they need time off to deal with the loss.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Record ACA Enrollment Puts Pressure on Congress
Temporary subsidies helped boost enrollment under the Affordable Care Act to a record 14.5 million, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But unless Democrats in Congress extend those subsidies, many of those new enrollees will be in for a rude surprise just ahead of midterm elections. Meanwhile, the need to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer further crowds an already tight legislative schedule. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Diana Greene Foster, author of “The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having — Or Being Denied — An Abortion.”
Listen: Generous Deals, and a Few Unwanted Surprises, at Covered California
Southern California correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson answers questions about the health coverage deals available on California’s Affordable Care Act marketplace during Radio Bilingüe’s news program “Línea Abierta.”
Readers and Tweeters: Give Nurse Practitioners Their Due
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.