Weekly Edition: September 13, 2019
‘UVA Has Ruined Us’: Health System Sues Thousands Of Patients, Seizing Paychecks And Claiming Homes
Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas
Over six years, the state institution filed 36,000 lawsuits against patients seeking a total of more than $106 million in unpaid bills, a KHN analysis finds.
Virginia Governor And UVA Vow To Revamp Practice Of Suing Patients As CEO Exits
Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas
A Kaiser Health News investigation, which first appeared in The Washington Post, showed that the University of Virginia Health System has sued patients 36,000 times for more than $106 million.
UVA Suspends Medical Lawsuits In Wake Of KHN Investigation
Jay Hancock and Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
KHN reported this week that the University of Virginia Health System has filed 36,000 lawsuits against patients the past six years.
UVA To Cut Back On Lawsuits Against Patients
Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas
But critics say the new policy still leaves some patients exposed to lawsuits and crippling bills.
Despite Repeated Calls For Unity, Democrats Throw Debate Punches On Health Plans
Emmarie Huetteman
When it came to health care plans, there were big ideas and big numbers, even though fewer candidates were on the stage.
Do 50 Million People Really Lose Health Coverage Each Year Because Of Their Jobs?
Emmarie Huetteman
Sen Bernie Sanders' statement during Thursday night's Democratic debate serves up interesting data, with a side of misrepresentation.
Castro’s Attack On Biden For Blanking On His Health Care Plan Falls Flat
Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
It turns out the health care plans put forth by the campaigns of former Vice President Joe Biden and former Cabinet secretary Julián Castro are not that different.
Congress Rakes In Millions From Drugmakers
Elizabeth Lucas
In the first six months of this year, pharmaceutical firms and their trade groups donated almost $4 million to the campaigns of a variety of senators and House members.
Investors’ Deep-Pocket Push To Defend Surprise Medical Bills
Rachel Bluth and Emmarie Huetteman
As lobbyists purporting to represent doctors and hospitals fight attempts to control surprise medical bills, it has become increasingly clear that the force behind the effort is not just medical professionals, but also investors from private equity firms.
Hospital Giant Sutter Health Faces Legal Reckoning Over Medical Pricing
Jenny Gold
A long-awaited class-action lawsuit against Sutter is set to open this month in San Francisco Superior Court. The hospital giant stands accused of violating California’s antitrust laws by leveraging its market power to drive out competition and overcharge patients.
Vapers Seek Relief From Nicotine Addiction In — Wait For It — Cigarettes
Ana B. Ibarra
Even though e-cigarette makers market their products as a safer alternative to cigarettes, a growing number of vapers are trying to quit— and they’re turning to cigarettes to help them.
Vaping By The Numbers
Harriet Blair Rowan
The explosive rise in a serious lung illness linked to vaping spotlights the popularity of e-cigarettes among teens and young adults. Vaping is now so pervasive among young people that federal health officials say its use has fueled a sharp reversal in what had been a celebrated two-decade decline in overall tobacco use by teenagers.
Listen: Health Officials Warn People To Stop Vaping
California Healthline reporter Ana Ibarra appeared Monday on WNYC to discuss the recent outbreak of mysterious lung diseases related to vaping, including 60 possible cases in California.
A Dubious Product: A Rape Kit For Home Use
Victoria Knight
Two companies are selling at-home rape kits as the latest direct-to-consumer product, but hardly anyone thinks this is a good idea.
California Hospitals And Nursing Homes Brace For Wildfire Blackouts
Barbara Feder Ostrov
Facing billions of dollars in legal claims for the role its equipment has played in a spate of deadly wildfires, California utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric plans to step up efforts to cut power to broad regions of the state during high-risk weather conditions. The potential for prolonged blackouts has prompted disaster preparations by hospitals, nursing homes and home care providers.
‘Crackhouse’ Or ‘Safehouse’? U.S. Officials Try To Block Philly’s Supervised Injection Site
Nina Feldman, WHYY
An average of three people a day died of opioid overdose in Philadelphia in 2018. But efforts to combat the crisis with a supervised injection site could be stymied by “the crackhouse statute,” a portion of federal law meant to protect neighborhoods during the crack epidemic of the 1980s.
In Search Of Age-Friendly Health Care, Finding Room For Improvement
Judith Graham
Simple alterations — like better signs, seating, parking or door design — can make it easier for older patients to navigate health care facilities. Here are several changes doctors’ offices, clinics and hospitals could make.
Millions Of Diabetes Patients Are Missing Out On Medicare’s Nutrition Help
Phil Galewitz
Health experts say the little-used benefit represents a lost opportunity for older adults to improve their health — and for the program to save money by preventing costly complications from diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Despite Booming Economy, Uninsured Rate Ticks Up
Nearly 2 million more Americans were uninsured in 2018 than in the previous year, according to the Census Bureau’s annual report. Plus, the Trump administration announced plans to ban flavored vape liquids, and Congress is back and working to address high prescription drug prices and “surprise” medical bills. This week, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Breaking A 10-Year Streak, The Number Of Uninsured Americans Rises
Phil Galewitz
Census officials said most of the drop in health coverage was related to a 0.7% decline in Medicaid. The number of people with private insurance remained steady.
Legislation To End Surprise Medical Bills Has High Public Support — In Both Parties
Emmarie Huetteman
Almost 80% of Americans support efforts in Congress to protect patients from bills that come from doctors or hospitals that were outside their insurance network.
States Pass Record Number Of Laws To Reel In Drug Prices
Steven Findlay
So far this year, 33 states have enacted more than 50 measures to address drug prices, affordability and access. Congress is eyeing the efforts to see what works.