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Ballad Health, the only hospital system across a large swath of Tennessee and Virginia, has fallen short of quality-of-care and charity care obligations — even as it’s sued thousands of patients for unpaid bills.
Increasingly, hospitals are merging across separate markets within states. It’s a move that health economists and the Federal Trade Commission have been closely watching, as evidence shows such mergers raise prices for patients with no improvement in care.
As more seniors opt for Medicare Advantage, a few small insurers have begun offering plans that provide culturally targeted benefits for cohorts including Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+ people. The approach, policy researchers say, has potential and perils.
At least 30 states are reinstating coverage for children wrongly removed from the rolls under Medicaid redetermination, the federal government reported. It’s just the latest hiccup in the massive effort to review the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries now that the program’s pandemic-era expansion has expired. And federal oversight of the so-called unwinding would be further complicated by an impending government shutdown. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a hospital bill that followed a deceased patient’s family for more than a year.
“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.
A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services raises troubling questions about the use of powerful medications within Florida’s child welfare system and the risk of overdoses or dangerous side effects if children are given the wrong combination of drugs.
Both sides, still at loggerheads over pay and staffing, agreed to keep bargaining after unions announced a possible strike Oct. 4-7. If no deal is reached, a walkout by about 75,000 KP workers in five states could disrupt care.
The White House said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will develop new regulations that would prevent unpaid medical bills from being counted on credit reports.
Congress appears to be careening toward a government shutdown, as a small band of House conservatives vow to block any funding for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 unless they win deeper cuts to health and other domestic programs. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump continues to roil the GOP presidential primary field, this time with comments about abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Tami Luhby of CNN join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Before covid-19, hepatitis C held the distinction of claiming more American lives each year than any other infectious disease — that’s despite the marketing of several relatively affordable, highly effective treatments.
Thousands of patients with autoimmune diseases who rely on Humira, with a list price of $6,600 a month, could get financial relief from new low-cost rivals. So far, the pharmacy benefit managers that control drug prices in America have not delivered on those savings.
LaFayette and other rural areas of the country tend to have high rates of health problems but not enough doctors. Many are adapting by investing in nontraditional prevention and treatment options.
Clinicians, researchers, and workplace safety officers worry new guidelines on face masks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might reduce protection against the coronavirus and other airborne pathogens in hospitals.
A sweeping agreement approved by state lawmakers would gradually raise the minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of health workers to a nation-leading $25 an hour. The pact would also end labor’s years-long battle with dialysis clinics.
The Biden administration says a recently proposed minimum staffing standard would help ensure quality care, but nursing home leaders predict many rural facilities would struggle to meet it.
Doctors say billing for email consultations reduces message volume and gives them more free time. The increasingly prevalent practice has also raised fears about negative impacts to patient care.
As covid-19 hospitalizations tick upward with fall approaching, the CDC says it’s time for new boosters — and not only for those at highest risk of serious disease. Here are seven things you need to know.
Residential addiction treatment programs that allow parents to bring their children along have been recognized for their success. But a mix of logistical challenges and low reimbursement rates mean they struggle to stay afloat.
With the rise of generative AI, people who once turned to “Dr. Google” to check on medical symptoms are now turning to chatbots. Researchers say the bots are often more accurate, but urge caution in the absence of any regulations.
The declining share of U.S. doctors in adult primary care is about 25% — a point beyond which many Americans won’t be able to find a family doctor at all.
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