KHN Weekly Edition: June 24, 2022
Medical Bills Can Shatter Lives. North Carolina May Act to ‘De-Weaponize’ That Debt.
Aneri Pattani
Medical debt is most prevalent in the Southeast, where states have not expanded Medicaid and have few consumer protection laws. Now, North Carolina is considering two bills that could change that, making the state a leader in protecting patients from high medical bills.
Watch: She Almost Died. The $250K Debt Took Their House.
CBS Evening News spotlights Jim and Cindy Powers, who faced crippling medical debt.
Watch: Still Paying Off Bills From Twins’ Birth. The Kids Are 10 Now.
Marcus and Allyson Ward explain to "CBS Mornings" how the premature birth of their twins left them with $80,000 in medical debt. A new KHN-NPR investigation reveals they are among 100 million people afflicted financially by the U.S. health system.
Journalists Dig Deep on Medical Debt and the Boundaries of AI in Health Care
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Senate Deal Raises Hopes for a Reduction in Gun Suicides
Carly Graf
A bipartisan U.S. Senate agreement on guns that focuses on mental health raises hopes and doubts in rural Western states with high suicide rates and easy access to guns.
Tribes Show Little Interest in Offering Abortions on Reservations Despite Speculation They Could
Arielle Zionts
The notion that Native American nations could use tribal sovereignty to bypass state restrictions on abortion if Roe v. Wade falls is an idea largely proposed by non-Native groups.
Seniors With Prediabetes Should Eat Better, Get Moving, but Not Fret Too Much About Diabetes
Judith Graham
About half of adults 65 and older have above-normal blood sugar levels that put them in the prediabetes category. Although that is a signal to improve your eating habits and get more exercise, researchers say only a small percentage of the group will develop diabetes.
New Weight Loss Treatment Is Marked by Heavy Marketing and Modest Results
Julie Appleby
Approved as a device, not a drug, Plenity contains a plant-based gel that swells to fill 25% of a person’s stomach, to help people eat less. Results vary widely but are modest on average.
Health Care Startups Turn to ‘Coaches’ to Help Patients Cope and Monitor Treatment
Darius Tahir
The interest, and investment, in coaching and encouragement is a curious turn for an industry that likes to boast of its billion-dollar pills and sophisticated artificial intelligence.
Medi-Cal Will Cover Doulas at More Than Twice California’s Initial Proposed Rate
Rachel Bluth
Under a budget passed by California lawmakers, the state will pay nonmedical workers who assist in pregnancy and labor up to $1,154 per birth through Medi-Cal, which is up significantly from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial offer of $450. Though it’s more than what most other states pay, many doulas say it falls short of the $3,600 they sought.
Sobering Lessons in Untying the Knot of a Homeless Crisis
Angela Hart
The homeless tragedy in Portland, Oregon, now spills well beyond the downtown core, creating a crisis of conscience for a fiercely liberal city that has generously invested in homeless support services.
Trump’s Legacy Looms Large as Colorado Aims to Close the Hispanic Insurance Gap
Rae Ellen Bichell and Markian Hawryluk
Hispanic residents have long been among the least likely to have health insurance — in Colorado and across the country — in part because of unauthorized immigrants. The state is expanding coverage to some of them, although the change runs up against lingering fears about the use of public benefits.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The FDA Goes After Nicotine
The FDA is using its power to regulate tobacco products — ordering the vaping device Juul off the market and announcing its intention to lower the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other products. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rules on Medicare and kidney dialysis, and Congress makes progress on legislation surrounding guns and mental health. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey about the new KHN-NPR project on the growing impact of medical debt.
Readers and Tweeters Weigh In on Medical Debt, the Obesity Epidemic, and Opioid Battles
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.