What Would a Second Trump Presidency Look Like for Health Care?
By Julie Rovner
January 16, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Health policy during Donald Trump’s tenure was dominated by covid-19 and a failed effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. His appointments to the Supreme Court led to the end of national abortion rights, and he took steps to increase hospital price transparency and improve care for veterans.
Nueva ley de California ofrece protección contra facturas por viajes en ambulancia
By Bernard J. Wolfson
November 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
En California, casi tres cuartas partes de los traslados de emergencia en ambulancia generan facturas fuera de la red. La factura sorpresa promedio es de $1,209, la más alta del país
An Arm and a Leg: How a Surprise Bill Can Hitch a Ride to the Hospital
By Dan Weissmann
August 16, 2023
Podcast
The No Surprises Act has helped rein in out-of-network medical bills, but ground ambulances are a costly exception. Hear why this service can still hit patients with big bills and what to do if you get one.
Social Security Clawbacks Hit a Million More People Than Agency Chief Told Congress
By David Hilzenrath and Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group
December 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
More than 2 million people a year have been sent notices that Social Security overpaid them and demanding they repay the money. That’s twice as many as the head of Social Security disclosed at a congressional hearing in October.
When a Quick Telehealth Visit Yields Multiple Surprises Beyond a Big Bill
By Darius Tahir
December 19, 2023
KFF Health News Original
For the patient, it was a quick and inexpensive virtual appointment. Why it cost 10 times what she expected became a mystery.
Need to Get Plan B or an HIV Test Online? Facebook May Know About It
By Darius Tahir and Simon Fondrie-Teitler, The Markup
June 30, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Twelve of the largest drugstores in the U.S. sent shoppers’ sensitive health information to Facebook or other platforms, according to an investigation by The Markup and KFF Health News.
Personal Medical Debt in Los Angeles County Tops $2.6 Billion, Report Finds
By Molly Castle Work
June 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Medical debt is a leading public health problem, researchers say. Despite the county’s ongoing expansion of health coverage, the prevalence of medical debt remained unchanged from 2017 to 2021.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Debt Deal Leaves Health Programs (Mostly) Intact
June 7, 2023
Podcast
The bipartisan deal to extend the U.S. government’s borrowing authority includes future cuts to federal health agencies, but they are smaller than many expected and do not touch Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. becomes the first drugmaker to sue Medicare officials over the federal health insurance program’s new authority to negotiate drug prices. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about the perils of visiting the U.S. with European health insurance.
A ‘Payday Loan’ From a Health Care Behemoth
By Dan Weissmann
June 6, 2023
Podcast
UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurer in the United States. And it keeps growing. This has led some health care experts to call for antitrust regulation of this “behemoth” company.
Readers Rail at Social Security Overpayments and Insurers’ Prior Authorizations
September 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Wait, What’s a PBM?
By Dan Weissmann
July 13, 2023
Podcast
Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are companies that negotiate the prices of prescription drugs. Hear about their role in raising drug prices and the ongoing efforts to regulate this complex industry.
An Arm and a Leg: A $229,000 Medical Bill Goes to Court
By Dan Weissmann
April 20, 2023
Podcast
Lisa French was told her surgery would cost $1,337. But the hospital sent her a bill for $229,000, then sued her. The case went all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court. The court’s ruling could have major implications for determining a “reasonable price” in health care.
Ouch. That ‘Free’ Annual Checkup Might Cost You. Here’s Why.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
January 26, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The designers of the Affordable Care Act might have assumed that they spelled out with sufficient clarity that millions of Americans would no longer have to pay for certain types of preventive care. But they didn’t reckon with America’s ever-creative medical billing juggernaut.
If You’re Poor, Fertility Treatment Can Be Out of Reach
By Michelle Andrews
February 26, 2024
KFF Health News Original
For low-income people who are on Medicaid or whose employer health plan is skimpy, help for infertility seems unattainable.
Health Care Is Front and Center as DeSantis and Newsom Go Mano a Mano
By Daniel Chang and Angela Hart
November 27, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will square off in a first-of-its-kind debate on Nov. 30. KFF Health News compared the political rivals’ health care positions, showing how their policies have helped — or hindered — the health of their states’ residents.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The New Speaker’s (Limited) Record on Health
October 26, 2023
Podcast
The House finally has a new speaker: Mike Johnson (R-La). He’s a relative newcomer who’s been a lower-level member of the House GOP leadership. And while he’s an outspoken opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage, his record on other health issues is scant. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health appears on track to be getting a new director, and Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement experiment is off to a very slow start. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Crisis Is Officially Ending, but Covid Confusion Lives On
May 11, 2023
Podcast
The public health emergency declaration for covid-19 ends May 11, ushering in major changes in how Americans can access and pay for the vaccines, treatments, and tests particular to the culprit coronavirus. But not everyone will experience the same changes, creating a confusing patchwork of coverage — not unlike health coverage for other diseases. Meanwhile, outside advisers to the FDA formally recommended allowing a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription. If the FDA follows the recommendation, it would represent the first over-the-counter form of hormonal contraception. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
He Returned to the US for His Daughter’s Wedding. He Left With a $42,000 Hospital Bill.
By Sarah Jane Tribble
May 23, 2023
KFF Health News Original
After emergency surgery, an American expatriate with Swiss insurance now carries the baggage of a five-figure bill. Costs for medical care in the U.S. can be two to three times the rates in other developed countries, so foreigners and expats with good insurance in their home countries need travel insurance to protect themselves from “crazy prices.”
How a Medical Recoding May Limit Cancer Patients’ Options for Breast Reconstruction
By Rachana Pradhan and Anna Werner, CBS News and Leigh Ann Winick, CBS News
May 31, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The federal government’s arcane process for medical coding is influencing which reconstructive surgery options are available, creating anxiety for breast cancer patients.
New Social Security Report Shows Growing Overpayment Problem Tops $23B
By Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group and KFF Health News Staff
November 17, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Social Security has been overpaying recipients for years, then demanding the money back, leaving people with bills for up to tens of thousands of dollars or more.