‘An Arm and a Leg’: She Tangled With Health Insurers for 25 Years — And Loved It
When people had a health insurance headache, these two words were a relief: “Call Barbara.” No problem was too big, or too small, she’d fix it.
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When people had a health insurance headache, these two words were a relief: “Call Barbara.” No problem was too big, or too small, she’d fix it.
The proposal details a wide-ranging agenda to remedy the gaps in health care and myriad challenges in rural America. In addition to more telehealth options, it includes shifts in hospital payments and expanded funding for school-based mental health programs.
The FDA, under pressure from the Trump administration, has authorized broader use of convalescent plasma for emergency treatment in COVID patients. But several major hospitals are resisting, saying they’ll opt instead to use the scarce resource to complete a clinical trial.
The nation’s top infectious disease official is confident that an independent panel will base vaccine approval on science, not politics.
The measure caps one of the most contentious health policy debates in recent memory, potentially altering how Californians get their medical care. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto it.
California could become the first state to develop its own line of generic drugs under a bill approved Monday by the legislature. The measure heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration.
The pandemic has led medical schools to cancel many of the rotations in hospitals and clinics that students perform to see a broad mix of patients with a diverse mix of problems.
Donald Trump accepted his party's nomination to seek reelection for a second term as president in front of a partisan audience that appeared to largely lack masks and opt against social distancing.
During his Monday speech at the Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump pointed to his two of his recent executive orders as likely to lead to big reductions in prescription drug costs.
Rural hospitals were already struggling before the coronavirus emerged. Now, the loss of revenue from patients who are afraid to come to the emergency room, postponing doctor’s appointments and delaying elective surgeries is adding to the pressure.
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center serves patients who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus: They are essential workers, have chronic diseases and are members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. When the safety-net hospital kicks off enrollment for its COVID-19 vaccine trial Wednesday, it will look to those patients to participate.
When a colleague brings a medical billing problem to human resources director Steve Benasso — he goes to battle. “I am a bulldog on this stuff,” he said. In this episode, Benasso tells how he does it.
Inspired to help during the COVID pandemic, a volunteer SWAT team of engineering and medical talent combines old-fashioned problem-solving and advanced 3D printing — but will it actually help?
State officials said they urgently needed millions more masks and gowns, internal emails show. At least 80 Georgia health workers have died from COVID-19, including after the state reopened its economy.
A 15-year-old high school student in New Jersey is memorializing doctors, nurses and others who died after tending to coronavirus patients.
A small allergy clinic in Medford, Oregon, might seem an unlikely place to recruit hundreds of volunteers to test the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19. But its steward has a record of leading hundreds of clinical trials.
The rolling shortages of personal protective gear continue even in hospitals, as buyers look directly for manufacturers — often through a maze of companies that have sprung up overnight.
Poor information-sharing between hospitals and public health agencies has hurt the response to the pandemic. Some health care systems and IT companies are making inroads, but an overhaul would cost billions.
The Democratic presidential ticket is complete, with Joe Biden’s selection of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Health has not been a major issue for Harris, whose career priority has been the criminal justice system. But expect Republicans to pounce on her on-again, off-again support for “Medicare for All.” Meanwhile, with Congress still in a stalemate over another round of COVID-19 relief, President Donald Trump is trying to use his executive power to do what lawmakers have not — with mixed success. Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too.
A database of deaths compiled by KHN and The Guardian includes a significant minority under 30, leaving shattered dreams and devastated families.
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