Uninsured Archives - Page 3 of 31

As US Bumps Against Debt Ceiling, Medicare Becomes a Bargaining Chip

Episode 280

Jan. 19, 2023

The debt ceiling crisis facing Washington puts Medicare and other popular entitlement programs squarely on the negotiating table this year as newly empowered Republicans demand spending cuts. Meanwhile, as more Americans than ever have health insurance, the nation’s health care workforce is straining under the load. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

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A woman stands outside in late afternoon sun and looks at the camera.

Diagnosis: Debt

An Air Force Career Held up Because of Debt Owed for Medical Bills

Emergency room care left Samaria Bradford with $5,000 in medical bills. Now she has to track down and pay that debt before she can hope to enlist in the military.

By Aneri Pattani

Dec. 21, 2022

An illustration depicts two human figures looking at a notice that they've been fined.

California Stockpiles Penalties From Uninsured Residents Instead of Lowering Care Costs

California is collecting hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax penalties from uninsured residents. The state was supposed to use the money to help lower costs for Californians who couldn’t afford insurance but hasn’t distributed any of the revenue it has collected — citing uncertain economic times.

By Angela Hart

Nov. 14, 2022

Podcasts

‘An Arm and a Leg’: No Money, No Job, No Health Care? Not Always.

For many Americans, it’s open enrollment season for 2023 health insurance. One listener asked: If you don’t have a job and are too old to be on your parents’ plan, does it make sense to rely on charity care? This episode breaks it all down.

By Dan Weissmann

Nov. 11, 2022

Female holding credit card making online payment, closeup view.

This Open Enrollment Season, Look Out for Health Insurance That Seems Too Good to Be True

Complaints about misleading health insurance marketing are soaring. State insurance commissioners are taking notice. They’ve created a shared internal database to monitor questionable business practices, and, in the future, they hope to provide a public-facing resource for consumers. In the meantime, consumers should shop wisely as open enrollment season begins.

By Bram Sable-Smith

Nov. 1, 2022

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Graham’s Bill Recenters Abortion Debate

Republicans would like to shift the political focus away from abortion to economic issues for the midterm elections, but a bill from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy has put the issue squarely back on their agenda. The proposal was not welcomed by many of his colleagues, especially Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Also this week, the muddle about where the fight against covid stands and near-record-low numbers of uninsured in the U.S. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join KHN’s partnerships editor, Mary Agnes Carey, to discuss these issues and more.

Sept. 15, 2022

A woman in a black shirt stands in front of a mantlepiece.

Patients for Profit: How Private Equity Hijacked Health Care

Buy and Bust: Collapse of Private Equity-Backed Rural Hospitals Mired Employees in Medical Bills

The U.S. Labor Department investigates Noble Health after former employees of its shuttered Missouri hospitals say the private equity-backed owner took money from their paychecks and then failed to fund their insurance coverage.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

Aug. 16, 2022

A woman with wearing a black T-shirt and orange skirt is filling her car up with gas at the station. The car, to the right of the image, is black and glossy. She faces the gas pump and recoils at the price.

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.

By Heidi de Marco

Aug. 15, 2022

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kansas Makes a Statement

In the first official test vote since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, voters in Kansas’ primary said in no uncertain terms they want to keep a right to abortion in their state constitution. Meanwhile, the Senate is still working to reach a vote before summer recess on its health care-climate-tax measure, but progress is slow. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Bram Sable-Smith, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about a very expensive ambulance trip.

Aug. 4, 2022

A digital illustration in pencil and watercolor. A woman with pink, curly hair climbs up a spiral staircase. She is trying to avoid medical bills that fall from above like heavy snowfall. The staircase is colored various shades of vibrant blues and darken s at the center to appear bottomless. The image looks to be a dreamscape or nightmare of medical debt.

Diagnosis: Debt

How to Get Rid of Medical Debt — Or Avoid It in the First Place

Medical bills can add stress to the already stressful experience of dealing with a medical crisis. And if you can’t pay those bills, they can linger, wreaking havoc on your financial goals and credit. Here’s how to protect yourself.

By Yuki Noguchi, NPR News

July 1, 2022

A photo shows Armando Peniche Rosales standing at home, facing the right. A window on the right casts the left side of his face in shadow.

Trump’s Legacy Looms Large as Colorado Aims to Close the Hispanic Insurance Gap

Hispanic residents have long been among the least likely to have health insurance — in Colorado and across the country — in part because of unauthorized immigrants. The state is expanding coverage to some of them, although the change runs up against lingering fears about the use of public benefits.

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Markian Hawryluk

June 23, 2022

A closeup photo shows a child viewed from the front getting an eye exam with a phoropter. The large medical instrument obscures most of the child's face from view.

Children’s Vision Problems Often Go Undetected, Despite Calls for Regular Screening

Eye exams for children are required under federal law to be covered by most private health plans and Medicaid, and many states mandate school vision screenings. But a federal survey finds that a quarter of children and teens are still not getting the recommended tests.

By Colleen DeGuzman

June 9, 2022

A photo illustration shows a vial of insulin and a syringe on top of the state of California, tinted yellow. The blue background is faintly textured with $100 bills.

California Wants to Slash Insulin Prices by Becoming a Drugmaker. Can It Succeed?

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed spending $100 million to make insulin affordable to millions of people with diabetes under a new state generic drug label, CalRx. But state officials haven’t said how much the insulin will cost patients or how the state will deal with distribution and other challenges.

By Angela Hart

June 7, 2022

Immigration Bureaucracy Threatens 11-Year-Old’s Spot on Transplant Lists

Julia Espinosa is a U.S. citizen who needs high-tech care and three transplants. But if the federal government won’t let her father work here, she could lose her insurance.

By Michael McAuliff

June 6, 2022

A healthcare worker walks up to a car in a drive-through covid testing site.

Despite Losing Federal Money, California Is Still Testing Uninsured Residents for Covid — For Now

Federal funding that paid for covid testing, treatment, and vaccines for uninsured people has run out. While some states struggle to make up the difference, California is relying on other state and local programs to continue free testing.

By Rachel Bluth

April 25, 2022

A photo of a young girl, wearing a mask and glasses, getting vaccinated outdoors.

Postcard From Los Angeles

Attendance Plummets at LA Covid Vaccination Events

Across Los Angeles County, few people are showing up at covid vaccination drives even though nearly 2 million residents remain unvaccinated.

By Heidi de Marco

April 18, 2022

ACA Sign-Ups for Low-Income People Roll Out Amid Brokers’ Concerns About Losing Their Cut

The Biden administration unveiled a new special enrollment option aimed at signing up low-income Americans for Affordable Care Act coverage — even if it is outside of the usual annual open enrollment period. But insurers are cutting broker commissions at the same time.

By Julie Appleby

April 5, 2022

Missouri Takes Months to Process Medicaid Applications — Longer Than Law Allows

Missouri has more people waiting to have their Medicaid applications processed than it has approved since the expansion of the federal-state health insurance program. Although most states process Medicaid applications within a week, Missouri is taking, on average, more than two months. Patient advocates fear that means people will stay uninsured longer, leading them to postpone care or get stuck with high medical bills.

By Bram Sable-Smith and Phil Galewitz

Feb. 18, 2022

A stethoscope rests on top of a sheet of health insurance paperwork.

Why Millions on Medicaid Are at Risk of Losing Coverage in the Months Ahead

State Medicaid agencies for months have been preparing for the end of a federal mandate that has prevented states from removing people from the safety-net program during the pandemic.

By Rachana Pradhan

Feb. 14, 2022

The Spinal Tap

Federal Investigation Into Spine Surgeries Uses Mob Laws to Target Health Care Fraud

Investigators allege a Texas company that arranges spine surgery and other medical care for people injured in car crashes accepted bribes in violation of 1960s-era racketeering law.

By Fred Schulte

Feb. 8, 2022

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