Latest KFF Health News Stories
Watch: She Almost Died. The $250K Debt Took Their House.
CBS Evening News spotlights Jim and Cindy Powers, who faced crippling medical debt.
Medical Bills Can Shatter Lives. North Carolina May Act to ‘De-Weaponize’ That Debt.
Medical debt is most prevalent in the Southeast, where states have not expanded Medicaid and have few consumer protection laws. Now, North Carolina is considering two bills that could change that, making the state a leader in protecting patients from high medical bills.
Medi-Cal Will Cover Doulas at More Than Twice California’s Initial Proposed Rate
Under a budget passed by California lawmakers, the state will pay nonmedical workers who assist in pregnancy and labor up to $1,154 per birth through Medi-Cal, which is up significantly from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial offer of $450. Though it’s more than what most other states pay, many doulas say it falls short of the $3,600 they sought.
Journalists Dig Deep on Medical Debt and the Boundaries of AI in Health Care
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.
Watch: Still Paying Off Bills From Twins’ Birth. The Kids Are 10 Now.
Marcus and Allyson Ward explain to “CBS Mornings” how the premature birth of their twins left them with $80,000 in medical debt. A new KHN-NPR investigation reveals they are among 100 million people afflicted financially by the U.S. health system.
A Proposal to Import Drugs from Other Countries Creates an Unusual Alliance in the Senate
As a Senate committee considered legislation to reauthorize the FDA’s user fee program, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul agreed on a proposed amendment related to importing drugs from Canada, the U.K., and other nations.
Más de 100 millones de estadounidenses viven acosados por las deudas médicas
La investigación revela un problema mucho más extendido de lo que se había informado anteriormente. Esto se debe a que gran parte de la deuda que acumulan los pacientes figura como saldos de tarjetas de crédito, préstamos familiares o planes de pago a hospitales y otros proveedores médicos.
Double Shifts, Credit Card Debt, and Family Loans When Twins Were Born Early
One Chicago woman gave birth to twins 10 weeks prematurely, and the children needed extensive care. The medical bills topped out at around $80,000. Desperate, the parents loaded up credit cards, borrowed from relatives, and delayed repaying student loans.
A Surgery Shatters Retirement Plans and Leads to Bankruptcy
Sherrie Foy had surgeries and medical complications that produced about $850,000 in bills. The Foys ended up declaring bankruptcy. “They took everything we had.”
A Sexual Assault and Years of Calls From Debt Collectors
Edy Adams had just graduated from college when she was sexually assaulted in 2013. After getting examined at an ER, she received calls from debt collectors for years over a $131 bill. “I was being haunted by this zombie bill.”
Damaged Credit Delays the Dream of Buying a Home
Joe Pitzo was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018. After surgery, the bills topped $350,000. “This just took a major toll on my credit,” Joe said. “It went down to next to nothing.”
Nineteen Surgeries Over Five Years. Then They Lost Their House.
Even though one Colorado woman had health insurance, she was swamped with $250,000 in medical debt from surgeries for a twisted intestine. “It was five years of hell,” said her husband.
Hospital Lawsuits and Garnished Wages on Top of Diabetes
A small infection related to diabetes on one New York man’s foot set off a cascade of medical emergencies and financial struggles that his family is still struggling to cope with.
Denied Care for a Dangerous Infection Because of Past-Due Bills
One seriously ill Arizona man was denied care because of past-due bills. His only choice was to go to the ER, where he was stuck with thousands of dollars of additional bills he couldn’t pay.
100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt
The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.
Upended: How Medical Debt Changed Their Lives
People talk about the sacrifices they made when health care forced them into debt.
Five Quick Takeaways From a Yearlong Investigation of Medical Debt in America
Today, debt from medical and dental bills touches nearly every corner of American society.
Buy and Bust: When Private Equity Comes for Rural Hospitals
Noble Health swept into two small Missouri towns promising to save their hospitals. Instead, workers and vendors say it stopped paying bills and government inspectors found it put patients at risk. Within two years — after taking millions in federal covid relief and big administrative fees — it locked the doors.
Preventive Care May Be Free, but Follow-Up Diagnostic Tests Can Bring Big Bills
Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers cannot charge consumers for various preventive services that have been recommended by experts. But if those screenings indicate more testing is needed to determine whether something is wrong, patients may be on the hook for hundreds or even thousands of dollars for diagnostic services.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Taking a Shot at Gun Control
The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare’s trustees board.
