Rising Health Costs, Soaring Drug Prices, Confusing Bills! What’s A Consumer To Do?
KHN correspondent Shefali Luthra answered a wide variety of questions about health care in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” chat.
Health Industry
2,321 - 2,340 of 3,946 Results
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Of ‘Miracles’ And Money: Why Hemophilia Drugs Are So Expensive
The market is flooded with 28 different medications for just 20,000 patients with the hereditary bleeding disorder. Yet intense competition hasn’t worked to bring costs down. Sales amount to $4.6 billion annually in the U.S.
By Jenny Gold -
From The ER To Inpatient Care — At Home
Some health systems are encouraging selected ill emergency department patients who are stable and don’t need intensive, round-the-clock care to opt for hospital-level care at home.
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At New Health Office, ‘Civil Rights’ Means Doctors’ Right To Say No To Patients
The HHS civil rights division refocuses on the rights of health care providers who have moral objections to treatments such as abortion or sterilization, alarming critics.
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User-Friendly Or Error-Ridden? Debate Swirls Around Website Comparing Nursing Homes
State says its new site is easier to navigate, though it remains a work in progress. Advocates for nursing home patients call it “a huge step in the wrong direction” that could endanger people’s lives.
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Simple surgeries. Tragic results.
As Surgery Centers Boom, Patients Are Paying With Their Lives
An investigation by Kaiser Health News and the USA TODAY Network discovers that more than 260 patients have died since 2013 after in-and-out procedures at surgery centers across the country. More than a dozen — some as young as 2 — have perished after routine operations, such as colonoscopies and tonsillectomies.
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Never Too Late To Operate? Surgery Near End Of Life Is Common, Costly
Nearly 1 in 3 Medicare patients undergo an operation in their final year of life.
By Liz Szabo -
At Some California Hospitals, Fewer Than Half Of Workers Get The Flu Shot
Vaccinations rates have climbed significantly among hospital workers in recent years, to 83 percent. But that rate masks wide variation among facilities and types of workers. Nationally, the rules are far from uniform or ironclad.
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Couple Makes Millions Off Medicaid Managed Care As Oversight Lags
How a California health plan’s CEO and her husband, an executive consultant, got rich off the taxpayer-funded program for the poor. Critics see a conflict of interest, the plan doesn’t, and the state has no rules either way.
By Chad Terhune -
Bad Bedside Manna: Bank Loans Signed In The Hospital Leave Patients Vulnerable
Hospitals increasingly team up with lending institutions to offer low- or no-interest loans to patients to make sure their bills get paid. But critics say the complexity of hospital pricing means consumers should be cautious.
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Listen: Got A Sky-High Bill? Don’t Write The Check.
Have you gotten a medical bill that sounds way too expensive or is just downright confusing? Send it to us. KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal talks with NPR Morning Edition Host Steve Inskeep about the launch of “Bill Of The Month,” KHN and NPR's new crowdsourced investigation.
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Bill Of The Month: A College Student’s $17,850 Drug Test
Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with NPR, kicks off a series that will examine and decode your perplexing medical bills.
By Fred Schulte -
Pain Hits After Surgery When A Doctor’s Daughter Is Stunned By $17,850 Urine Test
Elizabeth Moreno got hit with a $17,850 bill from a Texas lab after leaving a urine sample at her doctor’s office.
By Fred Schulte -
FDA Head Vows To Tackle High Drug Prices And Drugmakers ‘Gaming The System’
In an exclusive interview, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb describes what he’s doing to spur competition and bring down drug prices.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Liz Szabo -
The Training Of Dr. Robot: Data Wave Hits Medical Care
Algorithms and other technologies are moving from research labs to hospitals and clinics to predict and combat disease.
By John McQuaid -
Trump’s Budget Proposal Swings At Drug Prices With A Glancing Blow
The Trump administration rolled out a list of actions to attack drug prices, but most dance around the edges.
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Doctors Learn How To Talk To Patients About Dying
Clinicians can be so focused on fixing problems and saving lives that they often avoid talking to patients about their prognosis.
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Letters to the Editor
Readers And Tweeters Add Two Cents On Amazon Venture To Repackage Health Care
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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Community Health Centers Caught In ‘Washington’s Political Dysfunction’
The centers, which serve 27 million people, get about 20 percent of their funding from the federal government. But that revenue is slated to end on March 31.
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As States Target High Drug Prices, Pharma Targets State Lawmakers
In Louisiana, the wining and dining of lawmakers by scores of pharma lobbyists proves a valuable lesson on how to win statehouse votes and influence profits.
By Jay Hancock and Shefali Luthra