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The proliferation of care options — particularly urgent care centers and free-standing emergency departments — can make the head spin. Facilities have little incentive to clear up the confusion of where to go. But for patients, the wrong choice can mean big bills and possibly poor health outcomes.
While some doctors seem eager for a huge payoff, others are warily watching what happens when private equity firms take charge of orthopedic practices.
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss how difficult a clerical error can be to fix and how patients can respond if it happens to them.
Another effort to make upfront cost comparisons possible in an industry known for its opaqueness: an online tool for consumers to get some idea of what they may pay for medical care.
The editorial team of “An Arm and a Leg” looks back on the reporting that hit close to home over the past year, including insulin pricing and prenatal testing.
Readers and listeners shared more than 1,000 personal stories of medical billing problems with KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” investigative series this year, helping us illuminate the financial decisions patients are pressed to make in their most vulnerable moments.
A car crash left a woman in need of oral surgery, but her health insurance wouldn’t cover it. Her ongoing fight shows podcast host Dan Weissmann the weird way insurance treats teeth and reveals a big problem in the Obamacare marketplace.
An examination of billing policies and practices at more than 500 hospitals across the country shows widespread reliance on aggressive collection tactics.
Jeff and Kareen King joined a medical cost-sharing plan advertised as a "refreshing non-insurance approach" to paying for health care. It had a big proviso: Preexisting conditions like Jeff's heart condition were not fully covered for the first two years. He needed heart surgery after just 16 months.
Monica Reed was the first in her family to own a home and has lived "a frugal kind of life." Cancer treatment left her with almost $10,000 in debt, pushing her to the edge financially.
In 2020, diabetes and covid-19 landed David Zipprich in the hospital three times. Even with insurance, he was inundated with bills, debt notices, and calls from collectors.
When Penelope Wingard's cancer went into remission, she lost her Medicaid coverage in North Carolina. Without insurance, the debts piled up for her follow-up care. She doesn't think she'll ever get ahead of it.
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.
A health system charged a woman for a shoulder replacement at a hospital across the country that she had not visited for years. She didn’t receive the care, but she did receive the bill — and the medical records of a stranger.
Many colleges require students to have health insurance coverage, and the college option can be costly. In addition, some schools mandate that students pay a fee to cover health services on campus.
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Since 2017, Medicaid expansion has been adopted in seven states where a question was placed directly on the ballot. But campaign leaders say that strategy may not work in Florida and Wyoming, where Republican opposition remains strong.
Coal mining ended in Germany’s Saarland a decade ago, but the transition away from coal has been smoother than in West Virginia, which has more medical debt than any state in America.
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.
Yes, the U.S. is experiencing an unusual spate of childhood RSV infections. But the critical shortage of hospital beds to treat ailing children stems from structural problems in pediatric care that have been brewing for years.
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