Health Industry

Latest KFF Health News Stories

The $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Down To $332. What About Other Surprise Bills?

KFF Health News Original

“I don’t feel any consumer should have to go through this,” says Drew Calver, who faced a life-changing surprise bill from an Austin hospital after a heart attack last year. After attention as a “Bill of the Month” patient, he paid the hospital $332. But he worries about other patients with surprise bills.

HHS Watchdog To Probe Enforcement Of Nursing Home Staffing Standards

KFF Health News Original

The study follows a Kaiser Health News and New York Times investigation that found nearly 1,400 nursing homes have reported fewer registered nurses on duty than Medicare requires or failed to provide reliable staffing information to the government.

Tuition-Free Med School Touches Off Multimillion-Dollar Debate

KFF Health News Original

NYU’s promise to help keep medical students debt-free generates joy on campus. But critics question whether it is the best way to recruit a more diverse student pool or get young doctors to commit to primary care.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Opioids, EpiPens And Health Funding

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss Senate action on health funding and opioid legislation, the state of the individual insurance market and consternation over expiration dates on EpiPens, the self-injected allergy remedy. Also, could an otter with asthma signal a potential public health crisis?

The Man Who Sold America On Vitamin D — And Profited In The Process

KFF Health News Original

The doctor most responsible for turning the sunshine supplement into a billion-dollar juggernaut has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the vitamin D industry, according to government records and interviews.