Health Care Costs

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ New Year, New Health Proposals

KFF Health News Original

Democratic governors and mayors are unveiling new ideas to control costs and expand coverage. The federal government shutdown has spared most health agencies, but not all. And learn the latest on that lawsuit out of Texas, which is threatening the Affordable Care Act once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week. Rovner also interviews KHN’s Jordan Rau about the latest “Bill of the Month.”

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Ask Us Anything!

KFF Health News Original

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

KFF Health News Original

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.

Insured But Still In Debt: 5 Jobs Pulling In $100K A Year No Match For Medical Bills

KFF Health News Original

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

KFF Health News Original

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.

Hep C And Drug Abuse Often Go Hand In Hand, But Screening For Infection Lags

KFF Health News Original

As the number of people who inject drugs has soared, the rate of hepatitis C infection has climbed steeply, too, because the disease can be tied to sharing needles. Yet many drug patients are not checked for the virus that can damage the liver.

Health Care Industry ‘Pays Tribute’ To California’s Influential Lawmakers

KFF Health News Original

The leaders of California’s legislative health committees who wield power over state health policy have been showered with money from the health care sector, with drug companies, health plans, hospitals and doctors providing nearly 40 percent of their 2017-18 campaign funds.