After A Rural Hospital Closes, Delays In Emergency Care Cost Patients Dearly
The loss of the longtime hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., forces trauma patients to deal with changing services and expectations.
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The loss of the longtime hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., forces trauma patients to deal with changing services and expectations.
Politicians are throwing around a lot of terms when they talk about their health care plans: universal care, “Medicare for All,” “Medicare Buy-In.” KHN helps explain what they are talking about.
Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren tried to tell the story of Ady Barkan in the latest Democratic debate. He’s one of the most prominent advocates for “Medicare for All” and is spending his remaining time alive doing everything he can to make the case that all Americans need affordable health coverage.
Critics worry the delays come at a steep cost: Medicare paying for millions of unnecessary exams and patients subject to radiation for no medical benefit.
Medicare beneficiaries under observation care in the hospital can face higher costs for treatment and are not covered for nursing home care when discharged. A federal trial in Hartford, Conn., will determine whether the government’s ban on appeals involving observation care coverage is fair.
The patient is from Mississippi. The surgeon is from Wisconsin. They meet in a Mexican resort for knee replacement surgery. Because the care costs so much less than in the U.S, the patient’s health plan pays her $5,000.
Residents in Colorado ski resort country found relief from high insurance premiums and high hospital costs by joining forces and negotiating prices directly with the local hospital.
The recent tragic mass shootings have refocused efforts to treat gun violence as a public health issue rather than strictly a law enforcement problem. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus the health implications of the budget deal passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump, as well as reaction from Canada to a proposal to allow broader imports of its prescription drugs. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.
The drug CroFab, which has been on the market since 2000, now faces competition from a drug called Anavip. But both are expensive.
A federal advisory panel says people between ages 27 and 45 may benefit from the vaccine to fight the human papillomavirus. But some public health advocates worry that the advice doesn’t provide doctors and patients clear guidance about who in this large age group are good candidates for the vaccine.
A case of questionable logic.
After journalists investigate, Fresenius, one of the largest dialysis providers in the U.S., has agreed to waive a half-million-dollar bill. Sovereign Valentine, from Plains, Mont., said it’s a “huge relief.”
Known as “authorized generics,” in-house spinoffs of brand-name drugs quietly undermine the competition.
Treatments for baseball pitcher Max Scherzer and other pros may mislead fans about costly, controversial, unapproved stem cell shots.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
When it comes to physician-administered infusion drugs, doctors sometimes have a financial reason for their choice and patients often aren’t aware of cheaper options.
Health care was a major topic at the Democratic presidential candidate debates in Detroit on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the focus on plan minutiae may have left viewers more confused than edified. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Caitlin Owens of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the points made by the candidates plus a series of Trump administration health initiatives on drug prices and hospital shopping.
As California Attorney General Xavier Becerra cracks down on pharmaceutical companies he said paid competitors to delay generic versions of their drugs, he’s also pushing for legislation that would give his department tools to catch more of them. It’s the first of its kind in the nation.
HHS secretary announces a preliminary plan Wednesday to allow Americans to import certain lower-cost drugs from Canada. Manufacturers were quick to criticize the plan, saying it does not guarantee the safety of drugs coming into the country.
The proposed rules would require hospitals to provide far more detail about the actual prices they charge insurers for patients’ care.
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