Healthcare Costs Archives - Page 56 of 94

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Booster Time

As the delta variant continues to spread around the U.S., the Biden administration is taking steps to authorize covid vaccine boosters, require nursing home workers to be vaccinated and protect school officials who want to require masks despite state laws banning those mandates. Meanwhile, the U.S. House is returning from its summer break early to start work on its giant budget bill, which includes a long list of health policy changes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Aug. 19, 2021

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Senate Acts

The U.S. Senate worked well into its scheduled August recess to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget blueprint that outlines a much larger bill — covering key health priorities — to be written this fall. Meanwhile, the latest surge of covid is making both employers and schools rethink their opening plans. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Yasmeen Abutaleb of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Aug. 12, 2021

The Spinal Tap

Surgeons Cash In on Stakes in Private Medical Device Companies

Doctors tied to professional sports teams share in investment bonanza.

By Fred Schulte

Aug. 10, 2021

Shot of shelves stocked with various medicinal products in a pharmacy

The Last Drugstore

Pharmacies Face Extra Audit Burdens That Threaten Their Existence

Pharmacy benefit managers have curtailed in-person audits of pharmacy claims during the pandemic, switching to virtual audits done by computer. That has markedly increased the number of claims they can review — and the chances for payment denials — squeezing pharmacies and bringing in more cash for the benefit companies.

By Markian Hawryluk

Aug. 6, 2021

Analysis: Don’t Want a Vaccine? Be Prepared to Pay More for Insurance.

Health insurers could do more to encourage vaccination, including letting the unvaccinated foot their bills.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal and Glenn Kramon

Aug. 4, 2021

At Urgent Care, He Got 5 Stitches and a Big Surprise: A Plastic Surgeon’s Bill for $1,040

The Biden administration is weighing how to treat urgent care clinics as part of broad regulations banning surprise, out-of-network medical bills. At the heart of the matter: What counts as an emergency?

By Rachana Pradhan

Aug. 2, 2021

Bill of the Month

Watch: Cyclist Hits Olympic-Size Medical Bills After Crash

KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal appears on "CBS This Morning" to discuss the latest installment of the KHN-NPR Bill of the Month investigative series.

July 31, 2021

Bill of the Month

Olympic Dream Dashed After Bike Crash and Nightmare Medical Bill Over $200K

A bicyclist from California competed in a Pennsylvania race that could have landed him in this month’s Tokyo Olympics. Instead, a crash on the velodrome track landed him in two hospitals where his out-of-state, out-of-network surgeries garnered huge bills.

By Samantha Young

July 29, 2021

KHN Impact

Bye-Bye to Health Insurance ‘Birthday Rule’? Kansas Lawmaker Floats Fix

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) introduced a bill to do away with a health insurance rule that dictates which parent’s plan becomes a new baby’s primary insurer. This could save some parents from unexpected, sometimes massive medical bills. Davids took up the issue after a KHN/NPR Bill of the Month story on one family’s unexpected $207,455 NICU bill.

By Cara Anthony

July 27, 2021

The Pandemic Made Telemedicine an Instant Hit. Patients and Providers Feel the Growing Pains.

Patients seem to like remote visits, and health care providers now depend on them. But outages, freezing and other glitches cost time and money, and compromise quality of care.

By Hannah Norman

July 26, 2021

Contraception Is Free to Women, Except When It’s Not

The landmark federal health law required most commercial health plans to cover a comprehensive list of birth control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration free of charge to female patients. But health plans don’t have to cover every option, and newer methods are not included in the federal list of covered services.

By Michelle Andrews

July 23, 2021

Readers and Tweeters Connect the Dots on Topics From Vaccine Development to Long Covid

Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

July 23, 2021

Biogen headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Facing Headwinds on New Alzheimer’s Drug, Biogen Launches Controversial Campaign

The makers of Aduhelm, a drug approved last month despite concerns raised by experts about its effectiveness, have launched a website and ads designed to urge people who are worried about their memory to ask doctors about testing. But some health advocates say it is misleading because some memory loss with aging is normal.

By Julie Appleby

July 23, 2021

After 18 Months, Sutter Antitrust Settlement Finally Poised for Formal Approval

A year and a half after Sutter Health agreed to a tentative settlement in a closely watched antitrust case, the San Francisco judge presiding over the case indicated she would sign off on the terms, pending agreement on another contentious issue: attorney fees.

By Jenny Gold

July 22, 2021

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Delta Changes the Covid Conversation

With covid cases on the upswing again around the country, partisan division remains over how to address the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Biden administration proposes bigger penalties for hospitals that fail to make their prices public as required. Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Tami Luhby of CNN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite stories of the week they think you should read, too.

July 22, 2021

Sen. Wyden: $3.5T Budget May Have to Trim but It Can Set a Path to ‘Ambitious Goals’

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who is helping to negotiate the health care spending framework for the Democrats' budget plan, said lawmakers may have to settle for very basic versions of programs deployed in the package. But the key, he added, is to get the "architecture of these changes, bold changes," started and show people what is possible.

By Michael McAuliff

July 20, 2021

Still Cashing In

Hospital ‘Trauma Centers’ Charge Enormous Fees to Treat Minor Injuries and Send People Home

Only severely injured patients are supposed to be billed for “trauma team alert” fees that can exceed $50,000.

By Jay Hancock

July 16, 2021

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Here Comes Reconciliation

Democrats in Congress reached a tentative agreement to press ahead on a partisan bill that would dramatically expand health benefits for people on Medicare, those who buy their own insurance and individuals who have been shut out of coverage in states that didn’t expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, controversy continues to rage over whether vaccinated Americans will need a booster to protect against covid-19 variants, and who will pay for a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.

July 15, 2021

Bill of the Month

How ERs Fail Patients With Addiction: One Patient’s Tragic Death

Two intractable failings of the U.S. health care system — addiction treatment and medical costs — come to a head in the ER, where patients desperate for addiction treatment arrive, only to find the facility may not be equipped to deal with substance use or, if they are, treatment is prohibitively expensive.

By Aneri Pattani

July 15, 2021

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Becerra Urges Congress to Expand Medicare, Address Rx Prices

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is the special guest for this bonus episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast. He and host Julie Rovner discuss a breadth of topics the secretary oversees, including covid-19, prescription drug prices, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

July 13, 2021

Trump 2.0

Public Health

Audio Reports

Special Reports

More Topics

Healthcare Costs