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In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico talk about a spate of health-related legislative action on Capitol Hill, including Senate passage of a bill to address the opioid epidemic. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week.
A decade ago, California stopped licensing surgery centers and then gave approval power to private accreditors that are commonly paid by the same centers they inspect. That system of oversight has created a troubling legacy of laxity, a Kaiser Health News investigation finds.
The measure is designed to help people getting emergency care from hospitals or doctors that are not part of their insurance network.
Amid the buzz over apps and electronic medical records rescuing modern medicine, California’s Medicaid program still clings to 1970s-era technology. A reboot may cost half a billion dollars.
Federal officials are allowing the private insurance plans to use “step therapy” for drugs administered by doctors. In step therapy, patients must first use cheaper drugs to see if they work before receiving more expensive options.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Doctors and hospitals love to talk about the patients they’ve saved with precision medicine, and reporters love to write about them. But the people who die still vastly outnumber the rare successes.
Alec Raeshawn Smith was 23 when diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and 26 when he died. He couldn't afford $1,300 per month for his insulin and other diabetes supplies. So he tried to stretch the doses.
Desperate for help in finding a lifesaving drug for a fatal genetic disease, families banded together to fund early research and then worked with drug companies on clinical trials and marketing. Yet, this small patient advocacy group is stunned by pharma’s pricing.
A Health Affairs study quantifies the financial effects of such mergers on consumers and their insurers. The hospital industry and doctor practices say the consolidation leads to better coordination of care.
“I don’t feel any consumer should have to go through this,” says Drew Calver, who faced a life-changing surprise bill from an Austin hospital after a heart attack last year. After attention as a "Bill of the Month" patient, he paid the hospital $332. But he worries about other patients with surprise bills.
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico answer listeners’ questions about health policy and politics.
The story of a Texas teacher who faced a surprise “balance bill” of almost twice his annual salary gets a surprise happy ending.
A new study of 6,000 older patients shows little gain from surgeries for breast cancer.
Up to two-thirds of residents in nursing homes may have impacted earwax, which can worsen hearing loss, falls and cognitive decline.
A Texas teacher, 44, faces a “balance bill” of almost twice his annual salary for a heart attack he never expected to have.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
NYU’s promise to help keep medical students debt-free generates joy on campus. But critics question whether it is the best way to recruit a more diverse student pool or get young doctors to commit to primary care.
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss Senate action on health funding and opioid legislation, the state of the individual insurance market and consternation over expiration dates on EpiPens, the self-injected allergy remedy. Also, could an otter with asthma signal a potential public health crisis?
California’s third-largest insurer faces anger from customers in the individual market who unexpectedly lost their insurance despite paying premiums faithfully. In its recently filed lawsuit, the company blamed a contractor for “egregious” billing problems.
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