Hope You’re Sitting Down: Hospital Charges $4,700 For A Fainting Spell
A 39-year-old man fainted after getting a flu shot at work, and a colleague called 911. He turned out to be fine, but the trip to the ER cost him his whole deductible.
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Hospitals Check To See If Patients Are Donor-Worthy — Not Their Organs, But Pockets
Hospitals often contract with market data firms to screen patients’ wealth. That software allows the hospitals to gauge patients’ propensity to donate based on public records, including property and stock ownership and campaign donations.
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Analysis: Pulling Back Curtain On Hospital Prices Adds New Wrinkle In Cost Control
The Trump administration has ordered hospitals to reveal their prices. If patients and politicians pay attention, this could be a game changer for health care.
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Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
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Drug-Pricing Policies Find New Momentum As ‘A 2020 Thing’
Emboldened by midterm election results and interest in possible presidential runs, Democrats are advancing a slew of new and old legislative proposals. It’s not yet clear, though, which if any could go the distance.
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Postpartum Psychosis Is Real, Rare And Dangerous
Postpartum psychosis is rare but very real, doctors say. And, unlike in some countries, U.S. moms who need inpatient psychiatric care can’t bring along their babies, adding to the trauma.
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Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Medicare-For-All’? More? Some?
“Medicare-for-all” has become the rallying cry for Democrats in the new Congress. But there is a long list of other ways to increase insurance coverage. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to chip away at the Medicaid program for the poor, and new rules could mean higher costs for individual health insurance in 2020. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week.
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Students With Addictions Immersed In The Sober Life At ‘Recovery’ High Schools
At one Seattle public school, students earn their diplomas while attending daily support groups and meeting with counselors to help them stay off drugs and alcohol. There are about 40 similar schools around the country, both public and private, and more are on the drawing board.
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Trump Zeroes In On Surprise Medical Bills In White House Chat With Patients, Experts
Patients and doctors got a chance to share their nightmarish experiences with medical bills with President Donald Trump and other top White House officials.
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Listen: ‘Death Certificate Project’ Aims At Opioid Crisis, But Doctors Cry Foul
A radio report on an effort in California to hold doctors responsible when a patient overdoses on opioids. Doctors say it is unfair, but the state medical board defends the new project.
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Doctors Call California’s Probe Of Opioid Deaths A ‘Witch Hunt’
In a unique crackdown on what it sees as “excessive prescribing,” the state medical board is investigating hundreds of doctors whose patients ultimately died of opioid overdoses — whether or not the doctors prescribed the fatal medications.
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Alcohol-Linked Disease Overtakes Hep C As Top Reason For Liver Transplant
New research suggests that attitudes toward liver transplant candidates who have a history of alcohol abuse are softening.
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New House Democrats’ Focus On Abortion Rights Could Stymie Work With Senate
Members of the new Democratic majority in the House are vowing to reverse restrictions that Republicans have imposed on abortions. But the efforts could lead to titanic fights that imperil other legislation.
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Analysis: Can States Fix The Disaster Of American Health Care?
The governor of California has proposed some big ideas. Who knows whether he can pull them off, but there’s reason for hope.
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Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
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County By County, Researchers Link Opioid Deaths To Drugmakers’ Marketing
A JAMA study looking at county-specific federal data finds that the more opioid-related marketing dollars spent in a county, the higher rates of doctors who prescribed those drugs, and ultimately, more overdose deaths.
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Pain From The Government Shutdown Spreads. This Time It’s Food Stamps
Food stamps for February are being distributed about two weeks early because officials say the federal money to pay for them won’t be available later due to the government shutdown. State and local officials are scratching their heads about what might happen in March if the impasse continues.
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Furloughed Feds’ Health Coverage Intact, But Shutdown Still Complicates Things
Some federal employees face insurance paperwork glitches that affect their health coverage and add pressure to the stress of going without pay.
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Secretive ‘Rebate Trap’ Keeps Generic Drugs For Diabetes And Other Ills Out Of Reach
Patients are often forced into using brand names because drug formularies favor them over cheaper competitors.
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Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Drug Prices Are Rising Again. Is Someone Going To Do Something About It?
As drugmakers hike prices, interest to rein them in grows on Capitol Hill. Next week marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion decision, and both the House, whose leaders back abortion rights, and the Senate, controlled by abortion foes, are holding statement votes. And the government shutdown is still affecting health programs. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues.
