Weekly Edition: January 4, 2019
When Medicine Makes Patients Sicker
By Sydney Lupkin and Heidi de Marco
The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to inspect all factories, foreign and domestic, that produce drugs for the U.S. market. But a KHN review of thousands of FDA documents — inspection records, recalls, warning letters and lawsuits — reveals how drugs that are poorly manufactured or contaminated can reach consumers.
How The Government Shutdown Affects Health Programs
By Shefali Luthra
Medicare and Medicaid are fine, but the food safety component of the Food and Drug Administration and bio-threat surveillance done by the Department of Homeland Security are among the public health functions feeling the pinch.
As Hospitals Post Sticker Prices Online, Most Patients Will Remain Befuddled
By Julie Appleby and Barbara Feder Ostrov
The new rule took effect Jan. 1 but, for consumers seeking hospital price information, using it to find answers may be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Insured But Still In Debt: 5 Jobs Pulling In $100K A Year No Match For Medical Bills
By JoNel Aleccia and Heidi de Marco
An Arizona couple played by the rules and bought employer-provided health insurance. But after they had a baby this year, their out-of-pocket hospital costs and doctors’ bills climbed to more than $12,000 — and medical debt now threatens their new family.
Massachusetts Stroke Patient Receives ‘Outrageous’ $474,725 Medical Flight Bill
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
After a 34-year-old woman suffered a stroke in Kansas, doctors there arranged for her to be transferred to a Boston hospital, via an Angel MedFlight Learjet. The woman and her father believed the cost of the medical flight would be covered by her private insurance. Then they got the bill.
Refund On The Way To Latest ‘Bill Of The Month’ Patient
By Jordan Rau
Ski buff Sarah Witter will get $6,358.26 back from her hospital and insurer after a careful review of her bill following the KHN-NPR story on her case.
Coverage Denied: Medicaid Patients Suffer As Layers Of Private Companies Profit
By Chad Terhune and Heidi de Marco
Managed-care plans, which reap billions in taxpayer dollars to coordinate care for low-income Americans on Medicaid, outsource crucial treatment decisions to subcontractors that aren’t directly accountable to the government. In California, health officials say one firm improperly withheld or delayed care for hundreds of people.
Medicaid Patients In Puerto Rico Don’t Get Coverage For Drugs To Cure Hepatitis C
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
The program that provides health care for about half of the U.S. territory’s population cannot afford to cover the drugs.
Up To A Third Of Knee Replacements Pack Pain And Regret
By Liz Szabo
Many patients face lingering pain and disappointment after undergoing knee replacement surgery, which costs an average $31,000. And doctors are increasingly concerned that the procedure is overused and that its benefits have been oversold.
No-Go On Drunken Driving: States Deploy Breathalyzers In Cars To Limit Road Deaths
By Ana B. Ibarra
On New Year’s Day, California joined the majority of U.S. states that require people convicted of drunken driving to install ignition-linked breathalyzers in their vehicles. If the devices detect alcohol above a predetermined level, the cars don’t start.
How Sen. Orrin Hatch Changed America’s Health Care
By Erik Neumann, KUER
Utah's Orrin Hatch is leaving the Senate, after 42 years. The Republican led bipartisan efforts to provide health care to more kids and AIDS patients. He also thrived on donations from the drug industry.
En Route To Congress, California Democrats Hit Wall On ‘Medicare-For-All’
By Samantha Young
California’s incoming congressional delegation will be the largest in the U.S. House of Representatives to support progressive health care policies such as “Medicare-for-all.” But the political reality of a Republican Senate and president means that they will need to pursue ideas that “aren’t pie in the sky.”
Too High To Drive: States Grapple With Setting Limits On Weed Use Behind Wheel
By Shefali Luthra
States that have legalized marijuana are trying to set standards for pot impairment that would help keep the roadways safe. But the science behind it is not clear-cut.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Ask Us Anything!
From Medicare dental coverage to drug prices to fetal tissue research, the panelists answer listeners’ questions. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner.