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Many of the 14 million patients in Medi-Cal are in managed care health plans that outsource their care to subcontractors or sub-subcontractors. For patients with difficult health care needs, it can be hard to know where to turn.
In this episode, host Dan Weissmann talks to reporters who investigated the shortage of tests and traced the U.S. rapid-testing problem back to government agencies.
After baby Dorian Bennett arrived two months early and spent more than 50 days in the neonatal ICU, his parents received a bill of more than $550,000 — despite having insurance. The Florida hospital had a not-so-helpful suggestion: monthly payments of more than $45,000 for a year.
The letters function as liens that “protect” spine surgery clinics while patients could be left with inflated medical bills and unexpected health risks.
A mother’s immune response to covid can be a greater danger to the fetus than the virus itself.
Families of four with incomes of less than about $40,000 a year can pay no premiums and have low deductibles. For some others, health insurance in 2022 will cost more than in 2021 — in some cases, significantly more.
Public health officials and policymakers alike see rapid antigen tests as a strong tool to keep businesses open and parents working. But a look at Montana’s distribution of the tests shows a patchwork system with limited access for many.
Stores like Walmart and Shopko opened pharmacies in small towns, either buying out the local pharmacy or driving it out of business. What happens when those chains later withdraw, leaving communities with no pharmacy?
Stressed vaccine communicators battle anti-vaccine propaganda while seeking to persuade Latino farmworkers to get covid boosters.
There were variants, vaccine hesitancy and messaging mix-ups. And, despite campaign promises, Biden and his administration sometimes took actions or made statements without waiting for full scientific evidence to back them up.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Gunnison paramedics cover the largest response zone in Colorado. Because of covid and the lack of nearby hospital beds, patients increasingly are transported long distances, leaving few ambulances to respond to emergencies.
Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.
Even in states where abortion rights are likely to be preserved, Planned Parenthood turns to “deep canvassing” to fortify support.
Facility fees, designed to help hospitals cover the high cost of staying open 24/7, have long rankled consumers. Now, some patients are assessed the fees while sitting at home for a telehealth appointment.
Even before the omicron variant of covid starts to spread widely in the U.S., hospitals are filling up with post-holiday delta cases. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court signals — loudly — that 2022 will be the year it rolls back abortion rights in a big way. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
In tough labor negotiations across the nation, here’s what nurses don’t want: “appreciation that is lip service,” “marketing campaigns” and “shiny new buildings.” And this year might well prove to be a turning point in efforts to organize health care’s essential workers.
California wants to hold nursing homes accountable for the quality of care they provide by tying Medicaid funding more directly to performance. But the nursing home industry, an influential player in the Capitol, is gearing up for a fight.
Although covid vaccines have been available to children as young as 5 for more than a month, they’re not being offered in some rural Montana counties, and parents don’t know where to find them in others.
In January, California’s Medicaid program will begin offering nontraditional services —such as ridding homes of roaches, replacing mattresses and installing air purifiers — to some low-income asthma patients. But the rollout could be chaotic, with insurance companies struggling to identify groups that can deliver the services.
