Health Care Costs

Latest KFF Health News Stories

An Arm and a Leg: When Hospitals Sue Patients (Part 1)

Podcast

Some hospitals sue patients over unpaid medical bills. But is this even an effective way for hospitals to recoup lost revenue? On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with medical-debt experts to explore a different solution.

Listen: What Our 2-Year-Long Investigation Into Medical Debt Reveals

KFF Health News Original

An award-winning project by KFF Health News and NPR found that at least 100 million people in the United States are saddled with medical bills they cannot pay — and exposed a health care system that systematically pushes people into debt.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Democrats See Opportunity in GOP Threats to Repeal Health Law 

Podcast

Sensing that Republicans are walking into a political minefield by threatening once again to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Biden administration is looking to capitalize by rolling out a series of initiatives aimed at high drug prices and other consequences of “corporate greed in health care.” Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hears a case that could determine when and how much victims of the opioid crisis can collect from Purdue Pharma, the drug company that lied about how addictive its drug, OxyContin, really was. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann of KFF Health News’ sister podcast, “An Arm and a Leg,” about his investigation into hospitals suing their patients over unpaid bills.

Programas ponen los medicamentos sin usar en manos de pacientes que los necesitan

KFF Health News Original

Recogen de centros de salud, residentes, farmacias o prisiones los medicamentos sin abrir y sin caducar que se acumulan cuando los pacientes son dados de alta, cambian de medicina o mueren, y los redistribuyen a pacientes vulnerables.

Social Security Clawbacks Hit a Million More People Than Agency Chief Told Congress

KFF Health News Original

More than 2 million people a year have been sent notices that Social Security overpaid them and demanding they repay the money. That’s twice as many as the head of Social Security disclosed at a congressional hearing in October.

Watch: The Long-Term Care Crisis: Why Few Can Afford to Grow Old in America

KFF Health News Original

Long-term care options in the U.S. are costly, complex, and often inadequate. KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau and Reed Abelson of The New York Times host a Zoom panel to explore the challenges of providing — and affording — care.

These Programs Put Unused Prescription Drugs in the Hands of Patients in Need

KFF Health News Original

States and counties look to expand programs that accept donations of unused surplus drugs from places like nursing homes and hospitals and redistribute them to low-income and uninsured residents.

Colorado Says Drug Industry Blocked Its Canada Dreams – And Biden Hasn’t Helped

KFF Health News Original

Colorado’s leaders had grand plans to import cheaper medicines from Canada, after the Trump administration issued rules in 2020 allowing states to try it. But officials in Denver say they’ve been stymied by opposition from drugmakers — as well as the Biden administration’s inaction on the policy. That’s according to a Dec. 1 report we […]

California’s Ambitious Medicaid Experiment Gets Tripped Up in Implementation

KFF Health News Original

The health care insurers, nonprofit organizations, and other groups responsible for implementing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plan to infuse Medicaid with social services say their ability to serve vulnerable, low-income Californians is hamstrung.

Adultos mayores, detectives contra avisos engañosos de Medicare Advantage

KFF Health News Original

Funcionarios de los Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid le han pedido a las personas mayores y a otros miembros de la comunidad que sean detectives contra el fraude, denunciando tácticas de venta engañosas al 800-MEDICARE.

FTC Chief Gears Up for a Showdown With Private Equity

KFF Health News Original

Lina Khan, chair of the FTC, says a recent lawsuit is meant to chill the consolidation of medical groups that results in higher prices for consumers. But it may be too late to curb price hikes.