KHN Weekly Edition: March 10, 2023
Why Does Insulin Cost So Much? Big Pharma Isn’t the Only Player Driving Prices
Arthur Allen
Big Pharma may be moving on from squeezing diabetes patients on insulin prices, but it’s the arbitrators that jack up prices for those who can least afford them.
Medicaid Health Plans Try to Protect Members — And Profits — During Unwinding
Phil Galewitz
States are turning to the big health insurance companies to keep Medicaid enrollees insured once pandemic protections end in April. The insurers’ motive: profits.
Biden Administration Urged to Take More Aggressive Steps to Relieve Medical Debt
Noam N. Levey
Consumer and patient advocates push for new federal rules to protect Americans from debt collectors and force hospitals to make financial assistance more accessible.
For Young People on Medicare, a Hysterectomy Sometimes Is More Affordable Than Birth Control
Gina Jiménez
While Medicare was designed as health insurance for those 65 and older, it also covers people with disabilities who are young enough to still get pregnant. Yet they often struggle to get their birth control covered and end up with large medical bills — or instead opt for hysterectomies or tubal ligations, which Medicare sometimes will cover.
Girls in Texas Could Get Birth Control at Federal Clinics, Until a Christian Father Objected
Sarah Varney
A Donald Trump-appointed federal judge agreed that even the possibility that the father’s daughters might access contraception without his permission violated the tenants of his Christian faith.
Jimmy Carter Took on the Awful Guinea Worm When No One Else Would — And Triumphed
Jason Beaubien, NPR and Sam Whitehead
The effort to end Guinea worm disease relies almost entirely on changes in people’s behavior. There is no cure, no vaccination. When the 39th president of the United States left office, Jimmy Carter campaigned to eradicate the disease.
Seniors With Anxiety Frequently Don’t Get Help. Here’s Why.
Judith Graham
Older people often aren’t being screened for anxiety disorders, even though it is a common affliction — one masked by other problems when growing old.
Covid Aid Papered Over Colorado Hospital’s Financial Shortcomings
Markian Hawryluk
Financial pitfalls at the nation’s highest-elevation hospital serve as a cautionary tale as rural hospitals emerge from the pandemic on shaky ground.
Virtual or In Person: Which Kind of Doctor’s Visit Is Better, and When It Matters
Michelle Andrews
While there are no hard-and-fast rules about when to opt for a telehealth visit versus seeing a doctor face-to-face, physicians offer guidance about when it may make more sense to choose one or the other.
Struggling to Survive, the First Rural Hospitals Line Up for New Federal Lifeline
Sarah Jane Tribble
Hospitals in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma are among the first to apply for a new rural hospital payment model that shifts the focus of services away from overnight stays to outpatient and emergency care. Still, experts say the law needs to be amended to provide the right mix of care for rural communities.
Despite Pharma Claims, Illicit Drug Shipments to US Aren’t Full of Opioids. It’s Generic Viagra.
Phil Galewitz
The FDA has long blocked the importation of cheap medicine, agreeing with pharmaceutical manufacturers that it opens the door to opioids. The agency’s own data shows that rarely happens.
California Offers Bipartisan Road Map for Protecting Kids Online Even as Big Tech Fights Back
Mark Kreidler
Last year, state lawmakers adopted the country’s toughest online privacy restrictions. The law offers Congress a path forward on federal protections even as it serves as a cautionary tale for taking on Big Tech.
Reentry Programs to Help Former Prisoners Obtain Health Care Are Often Underused
Renuka Rayasam
More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.
Journalists Discuss Insulin Prices, Gun Violence, Distracted Driving, and More
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.
Black Patients Dress Up and Modify Speech to Reduce Bias, California Survey Shows
Annie Sciacca
Many Black patients also try to be informed and minimize questions to put providers at ease. “The system looks at us differently,” says the founder of the African American Wellness Project.
Montana Considers New Wave of Legislation to Loosen Vaccination Rules
Keely Larson
Bills being considered by Montana lawmakers would allow people to refuse routine vaccinations based on their conscience, along with setting new rules for schools, courts, and businesses.
Watch: Walgreens Won’t Sell Abortion Pill in 21 States Under GOP Threat of Legal Action
Sarah Varney
Under pressure from Republican attorneys general, the nation's second-largest pharmacy chain says it will not dispense the abortion pill mifepristone.
Watch: Emergency Room Turns Simple Injury Into a Big Bill
This installment of InvestigateTV and KHN’s “Costly Care” series looks at the case of a New Orleans woman whose thumb injury saddled her with a big ER bill for a tetanus shot and some minor care.
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