Readers and Tweeters Decry Medical Billing Errors, Price-Gouging, and Barriers to Benefits
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Cancer
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Despite Katie Couric’s Advice, Doctors Say Ultrasound Breast Exams May Not Be Needed
When Katie Couric announced she had breast cancer, she urged women to get a mammogram — and, if they have dense breasts, to get supplemental screening by ultrasound. But medical experts point out that ultrasound and other auxiliary screenings haven’t been proven to do more than regular mammography in reducing mortality.
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$38,398 for a Single Shot of a Very Old Cancer Drug
Lupron, a drug patented half a century ago, treats advanced prostate cancer. It’s sold to physicians for $260 in the U.K. and administered at no charge. Why are U.S. hospitals — which may pay nearly as little for the drug — charging so much more to administer it?
By Arthur Allen -
Miami’s Little Haiti Joins Global Effort to End Cervical Cancer
Creole-speaking public health workers teach women how to test themselves for HPV, the virus that causes some cervical cancers.
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Reporter Follows Up on ‘Cancer Moonshot’ Progress and the Bias in Digital Health Records
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.
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Genetic Tests Create Treatment Opportunities and Confusion for Breast Cancer Patients
Doctors are divided on whether blanket testing of breast cancer patients is warranted, since scientists and physicians are sometimes unsure about how to interpret the results.
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New Abortion Laws Jeopardize Cancer Treatment for Pregnant Patients
As abortion restrictions take effect across the South in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, cancer doctors are trying to decipher the laws. They’re grappling with how to discuss options with pregnant patients, who may be forced to choose whether to proceed or forgo lifesaving cancer treatments that can prove toxic for the fetus.
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Many Preventive Medical Services Cost Patients Nothing. Will a Texas Court Decision Change That?
A federal judge in Texas issued a decision this week that affects the Affordable Care Act. It says one way that preventive services are selected for no-cost coverage is unconstitutional.
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Rural Americans Have Difficulty Accessing a Promising Cancer Treatment
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy has eliminated tumors in some late-stage cancer patients, but the cost and complexity of care mean rural Americans have trouble accessing the treatment.
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The $18,000 Breast Biopsy: When Having Insurance Costs You a Bundle
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.
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For Medically Vulnerable Families, Inflation’s Squeeze Is Inescapable
Inflation hasn’t hit Americans like this in decades. And families living with chronic diseases have little choice but to pay more for the medicine, supplies, and food they need to stay healthy.
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After ‘a Lot of Doors Shut in Our Face,’ Crusading Couple Celebrate Passage of Burn Pit Bill
Le Roy and Rosie Torres founded the Burn Pits 360 group that advocated for years for Congress to help veterans suffering from injuries caused by the massive disposal sites on overseas bases. Le Roy came home from Iraq suffering from breathing problems.
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Hospices Have Become Big Business for Private Equity Firms, Raising Concerns About End-of-Life Care
Private equity firms are seeing opportunities for profit in hospice care, once the domain of nonprofit organizations. The investment companies are transforming the industry — and might be jeopardizing patient care — in the process.
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In America, Cancer Patients Endure Debt on Top of Disease
Medical breakthroughs mean cancer is less likely to kill, but survival can come at an extraordinary cost as patients drain savings, declare bankruptcy, or lose their homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
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Damaged Credit Delays the Dream of Buying a Home
Joe Pitzo was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018. After surgery, the bills topped $350,000. “This just took a major toll on my credit,” Joe said. “It went down to next to nothing.”
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100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt
The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.
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She’s 31, Has Stage 4 Kidney Cancer — And Talked Openly About It in a Job Interview
Katie Coleman’s friends warned her not to tell prospective employers about her cancer diagnosis, fearing it would jeopardize her chances of being hired — even though it’s illegal for employers to discriminate because of a medical condition.
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Long-Excluded Uterine Cancer Patients Are a Step Closer to 9/11 Benefits
More than 20 years after the terrorist attacks, the World Trade Center Health Program is considering covering the most common form of uterine cancer, in what patient advocates say is a key acknowledgment of the women affected by the 9/11 fallout.
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The War on Cancer at 50: The Origin Story Begins With a Socialite Citizen-Lobbyist
After the National Cancer Act became law 50 years ago, cancer went from shameful taboo to one of the best-funded areas of medicine. Much of the credit for this transformation goes to one woman, Mary Lasker.