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Her First Colonoscopy Cost Her $0. Her Second Cost $2,185. Why?

By Michelle Andrews May 31, 2022 KFF Health News Original

Preventive care, like screening colonoscopies, is supposed to be free of charge to patients under the Affordable Care Act. But some hospitals haven’t gotten the memo.

Bye-Bye to Health Insurance ‘Birthday Rule’? Kansas Lawmaker Floats Fix

By Cara Anthony July 27, 2021 KFF Health News Original

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) introduced a bill to do away with a health insurance rule that dictates which parent’s plan becomes a new baby’s primary insurer. This could save some parents from unexpected, sometimes massive medical bills. Davids took up the issue after a KHN/NPR Bill of the Month story on one family’s unexpected $207,455 NICU bill.

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

By Sam Whitehead September 29, 2022 KFF Health News Original

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.

Readers and Tweeters Take a Close Look at Eye Care and White Mulberry Leaf

September 29, 2022 KFF Health News Original

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

If You’re Worried About the Environment, Consider Being Composted When You Die

By Bernard J. Wolfson October 11, 2022 KFF Health News Original

The idea of human composting — to help restore a forest or grow flowers — may be a little off-putting to some, but it has many advantages over traditional-but-toxic methods of burial and cremation.

Hospitals’ Lobbying Frustrates Montana Lawmakers Who Sought To Boost Oversight

By Mike Dennison April 23, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Montana’s powerful hospital lobby was instrumental in renewing the state’s Medicaid expansion program and has also fended off most legislation to increase state oversight of their business.

The Doctor Didn’t Show Up, but the Hospital ER Still Charged $1,012

By Noam N. Levey January 24, 2022 KFF Health News Original

A St. Louis-area toddler burned his hand on the stove, and his mom took him to the ER on the advice of her pediatrician. He wasn’t seen by a doctor, and the dressing on the wound wasn’t changed. The bill was more than a thousand dollars.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Abortion Politics Front and Center

October 7, 2021 KFF Health News Original

The polarizing abortion issue threatens to tie up Congress, the Supreme Court and the states for the coming year. Meanwhile, Congress kicks the can down the road to December on settling its spending priorities. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Yasmeen Abutaleb of The Washington Post and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Aneri Pattani, who delivered the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a covid test that cost as much as a luxury car.

Montana Looks To Regulate Prior Authorization as Patients, Providers Decry Obstacles to Care

By Mike Dennison February 13, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Patients and providers say health insurers’ preapproval requirements lead to delays and denials of needed medical treatments. Insurers argue that prior authorization keeps costs down.

Readers and Tweeters Weigh In on Medical Debt, the Obesity Epidemic, and Opioid Battles

June 24, 2022 KFF Health News Original

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

End of Internet Subsidy Leaves Millions Facing Telehealth Disconnect

By Sarah Jane Tribble June 11, 2024 KFF Health News Original

When the clock struck midnight on May 31, more than 23 million low-income households were dropped from a federal internet subsidy program that for years had helped them get connected. The Affordable Connectivity Program was created in 2021, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, to help people plug into jobs, schools and health care by reducing their internet […]

Their First Baby Came With Medical Debt. These Illinois Parents Won’t Have Another.

By Noam N. Levey May 10, 2024 KFF Health News Original

Millions of new parents in the U.S. are swamped by medical debt during and after pregnancy, forcing many to cut back on food, clothing, and other essentials.

The $18,000 Breast Biopsy: When Having Insurance Costs You a Bundle

By Lauren Sausser August 23, 2022 KFF Health News Original

An online calculator told a young woman that a procedure to rule out cancer would cost an uninsured person about $1,400. Instead, the hospital initially charged almost $18,000 and, with her high-deductible health insurance, she owed more than $5,000.

Pain Clinics Made Millions From ‘Unnecessary’ Injections Into ‘Human Pin Cushions’

By Brett Kelman Illustration by Oona Zenda February 18, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Pain MD, which once ran as many as 20 clinics across three states, gave chronic-pain patients about 700,000 total injections near their spines, according to court documents. Last year, federal prosecutors proved at trial that the shots were medically unnecessary and part of an extensive fraud scheme.

Republicans Aim To Punish States That Insure Unauthorized Immigrants

By Phil Galewitz and Christine Mai-Duc May 23, 2025 KFF Health News Original

A GOP tax-and-spending bill the House approved Thursday would slash federal Medicaid reimbursement for states that offer health coverage to immigrants without legal status.

A Baby Spent 36 Days in an In-Network NICU. Why Did the Hospital Next Door Send a Bill?

By Harris Meyer January 30, 2023 KFF Health News Original

A baby spent more than a month in a Chicago NICU. A big bill revealed she was treated by out-of-network doctors from the children’s hospital next door. Her parents were charged despite a state law protecting patients from such out-of-network billing — and sent to collections when they didn’t pay up.

Montana’s Small Pharmacies Behind Bill To Corral Pharmacy Benefit Managers

By Mike Dennison March 31, 2025 KFF Health News Original

A bill designed to force PBMs to pay higher fees to independent drugstores sailed through the state House, but lobbyists are marshaling their forces to kill the measure in the Senate.

Progressives Seek Health Privacy Protections in California, But Newsom Could Balk

By Vanessa G. Sánchez March 14, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Democratic state lawmakers in California have proposed bills to protect women, transgender people, and immigrants in response to concerns that their health data could be used against them. If the measures reach his desk, Gov. Gavin Newsom could lay such legislation aside to focus on securing federal funds.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Underinsured Is the New Uninsured

September 14, 2023 Podcast

The percentage of working-age adults with health insurance went up and the uninsured rate dropped last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. There isn’t much suspense about which way the uninsured rate is now trending, as states continue efforts to strip ineligible beneficiaries from their Medicaid rolls. But is the focus on the uninsured obscuring the struggles of the underinsured? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these issues and more.

Democratic Hopefuls Fault GOP Incumbents for Anti-Abortion Records in Congress

By Molly Castle Work September 27, 2024 KFF Health News Original

Democratic congressional hopefuls in California are highlighting the anti-abortion records of vulnerable Republican incumbents, many of whom have moderated their stances ahead of the election. With control of the U.S. House at stake, Democrats hope to convince voters that their candidates will do more to protect women’s health.

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