Latest Morning Briefing Stories
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.
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.
Call The Midwife! (If The Doctor Doesn’t Object)
Hospitals and medical practices are battling outdated stereotypes and sometimes their own doctors to hire certified nurse midwives. Research shows that women cared for by certified nurse midwives have fewer cesarean sections, which can produce significant cost savings for hospitals.
Patients Turn To GoFundMe When Money And Hope Run Out
Medical fundraisers account for 1 in 3 of the website’s campaigns and bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category. Americans’ confidence they can afford health care is slipping, some say.
GoFundMe CEO: ‘Gigantic Gaps’ In Health System Showing Up In Crowdfunding
Fundraising for medical expenses leads this crowdfunding website and, according to its chief executive, highlights a deep national need to address the high costs of health care.
Listen: Do Consumers Benefit When Hospitals Post Sticker Prices Online?
As of Jan. 1, hospitals must post price lists — known as chargemasters — online. These massive compendiums include the costs set by each hospital for every service or drug a patient might encounter.
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.
Bills, Bills, Bills: Readers And Tweeters Offer Solace, Solutions And Scoldings
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Extreme Temperatures May Pose Risks To Some Mail-Order Meds
Loretta Boesing is on a mission to make sure prescription drugs delivered by mail are safe and effective. The life of her son — and others who order medicine by mail — could depend on it, she says.
Health Care Industry Spends $30B A Year Pushing Its Wares, From Drugs To Stem Cell Treatment
Critics say patients are often misled by ads that advocate high-priced drugs or genetic tests.
Will I Always Face The Threat Of A Peanut-Laden Kiss Of Death?
A reporter with a serious peanut allergy explains what it is like to process news reports that tout new pharmaceutical products that might minimize the danger of accidental exposure.
After Bitter Closure, Rural Texas Hospital Defies The Norm And Reopens
The 25-bed hospital in Crockett, Texas, abruptly closed its doors in 2017, joining the ranks of nearly 100 rural hospitals that have shut down in the past decade. But the community kept the faith and several doctors reopened the facility this year.
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.
When Medicine Makes Patients Sicker
The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to inspect all factories, foreign and domestic, that produce drugs for the U.S. market. But a KHN review of thousands of FDA documents — inspection records, recalls, warning letters and lawsuits — reveals how drugs that are poorly manufactured or contaminated can reach consumers.
As Hospitals Post Sticker Prices Online, Most Patients Will Remain Befuddled
The new rule took effect Jan. 1 but, for consumers seeking hospital price information, using it to find answers may be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Ask Us Anything!
From Medicare dental coverage to drug prices to fetal tissue research, the panelists answer listeners’ questions. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner.
Coverage Denied: Medicaid Patients Suffer As Layers Of Private Companies Profit
Managed-care plans, which reap billions in taxpayer dollars to coordinate care for low-income Americans on Medicaid, outsource crucial treatment decisions to subcontractors that aren’t directly accountable to the government. In California, health officials say one firm improperly withheld or delayed care for hundreds of people.
How Sen. Orrin Hatch Changed America’s Health Care
Utah’s Orrin Hatch is leaving the Senate, after 42 years. The Republican led bipartisan efforts to provide health care to more kids and AIDS patients. He also thrived on donations from the drug industry.
Insured But Still In Debt: 5 Jobs Pulling In $100K A Year No Match For Medical Bills
An Arizona couple played by the rules and bought employer-provided health insurance. But after they had a baby this year, their out-of-pocket hospital costs and doctors’ bills climbed to more than $12,000 — and medical debt now threatens their new family.
Massachusetts Stroke Patient Receives ‘Outrageous’ $474,725 Medical Flight Bill
After a 34-year-old woman suffered a stroke in Kansas, doctors there arranged for her to be transferred to a Boston hospital, via an Angel MedFlight Learjet. The woman and her father believed the cost of the medical flight would be covered by her private insurance. Then they got the bill.
