KHN Weekly Edition: Sept. 30, 2022

$2,700 Ambulance Bill Pulled Back From Collections

Bram Sable-Smith

After reporting from KHN, NPR, and CBS News, a patient’s $2,700 ambulance bill was pulled back from collections.

Watch: Their Baby Died. The Medical Bills Haunted Them.

Sterling Raspe lived just eight months. In this KHN video, her father shows the 2-inch stack of medical bills generated by Sterling’s care.

Turned Away From Urgent Care — And Toward a Big ER Bill

Sam Whitehead

Russell Cook was expecting a quick and inexpensive visit to an urgent care center for his daughter, Frankie, after she had a car wreck. Instead, they were advised to go to an emergency room and got a much larger bill.

Few Places Have More Medical Debt Than Dallas-Fort Worth, but Hospitals There Are Thriving

Noam N. Levey

Some hospitals notch big profits while patients are pushed into debt by skyrocketing medical prices and high deductibles, a KHN analysis finds.

At This Recovery Center, Police Cope With the Mental Health Costs of the Job

Katja Ridderbusch

Burnout, PTSD, depression, and substance misuse are rampant among first responders, partly fueled by the anti-police sentiments after the killing of George Floyd. Combined with low morale, the poor state of officers’ mental health has pushed many out of the profession, leaving those who remain exhausted. A handful of specialized treatment facilities are trying to meet demand, but more resiliency training is needed, experts said.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: On Government Spending, Congress Decides Not to Decide

Congress has once again decided not to decide how to fund the federal government in time for the start of the fiscal year, racing toward a midnight Sept. 30 deadline to pass a stopgap bill that would keep the lights on for two more months. However, it does appear the FDA’s program that gets drugmakers to help fund some of the agency’s review staff will be renewed in time to stop pink slips from being sent. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews filmmaker Cynthia Lowen, whose new documentary, “Battleground,” explores how anti-abortion forces played the long game to overturn Roe v. Wade.

‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 12: When Indigenous People Move to Cities, Health Care Funding Doesn’t Follow

When Indigenous people started moving to cities in large numbers after World War II, many found hardship and discrimination there … but not the health care they were entitled to. Episode 12, the season finale, explores the efforts of urban Indian health providers to close those gaps by providing affordable, culturally competent care.

Is Covid ‘Under Control’ in the US? Experts Say Yes

Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact and Jeff Cercone, PolitiFact

PolitiFact has been tracking this campaign promise since 2020. Experts are now saying it's fair to describe the covid pandemic as "under control."

Centene Agrees to Pay Massachusetts $14 Million Over Medicaid Prescription Claims

Andy Miller and Samantha Young

Massachusetts is the latest state to settle with St. Louis-based Centene Corp. over allegations that it overcharged Medicaid prescription drug programs.

Pharma-Funded FDA Gets Drugs Out Faster, But Some Work Only ‘Marginally’ and Most Are Pricey

Arthur Allen

Since pharmaceutical companies started funding their FDA drug applications 30 years ago, the agency’s reviews have gone much faster — perhaps too fast.

Britain’s Hard Lessons From Handing Elder Care Over to Private Equity

Christine Spolar

Four Seasons Health Care collapsed after years of private equity investors rolling in one after another to buy its business, sell its real estate, and at times wrest multimillion-dollar profits from it through complex debt schemes. The deal-making failed to account for the true cost of senior care.

Embedded Bias: How Medical Records Sow Discrimination

Darius Tahir

Medical records can contain seemingly objective descriptions that are actually full of coded language and subtext. How does that affect care?

Journalists Dissect Medical Coding and Parse the President’s Words

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.

Health Plan Shake-Up Could Disrupt Coverage for Low-Income Californians

Bernard J. Wolfson

Four managed-care insurance plans may lose contracts with California’s Medicaid program, which would force nearly 2 million low-income residents to switch their health plans — and possibly their doctors. The plans are fighting back.

Environmental Justice Leader Says Proposition 30 Would Help Struggling Areas Clear the Air

Heidi de Marco

Ana Gonzalez, who leads an environmental justice group in the Inland Empire, has endorsed Proposition 30, a ballot initiative backed by the ride-hailing company Lyft that would tax millionaires to fund zero-emission vehicle subsidies and electric charging stations. She contends most state policies overlook marginalized communities that are disproportionately affected by air pollution.

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