Latest Morning Briefing Stories
The Biggest, Buzziest Conference for Health Care Investors Convenes Amid Fears the Bubble Will Burst
This year’s JPMorgan confab, the first since covid’s chilling effect on such gatherings, was full of energy and enthusiasm. But it was also marked by questions about the future of health care investment.
¿Será tu celular tu próximo consultorio médico?
La yema del dedo presionada contra la lente de la cámara de un celular puede medir la frecuencia cardíaca. El micrófono, colocado junto a la cama, puede detectar apnea del sueño. Incluso el altavoz está siendo modificado para monitorear la respiración usando tecnología de sondas.
Will Your Smartphone Be the Next Doctor’s Office?
Entrepreneurs see smartphones as an opportunity to meet patients where they are. But many app-based diagnostic tools still need clinical validation to get buy-in from health care providers.
Despite Doctors’ Concerns, University of California Renews Ties With Religious Affiliates
The public university’s health system is renewing contracts with outside hospitals and clinics even as some doctors and faculty say clearer language is needed to protect physicians performing abortions and gender-affirming treatments.
Listen: Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths in Your Community — And Why It Matters
KHN senior correspondent Samantha Young appeared on the “Apple News Today” podcast and KOA, a public radio station in Denver, to discuss the difference between coroners and medical examiners and why it matters.
Hospitals’ Use of Volunteer Staff Runs Risk of Skirting Labor Laws, Experts Say
Hospitals using volunteers is commonplace. But some labor experts argue that deploying unpaid workers to do work that benefits the organization’s bottom line lets for-profit hospitals skirt federal labor laws, deprives employees of work, and potentially exploits the volunteers.
Behavioral Telehealth Loses Momentum Without a Regulatory Boost
As flexible treatment options spurred by the covid pandemic wane, patients relying on medications classified as controlled substances worry that without action to extend the loosened rules, it’ll be harder to get their meds.
California Senate’s New Health Chair to Prioritize Mental Health and Homelessness
California state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has been appointed chair of the Senate’s influential health committee. A licensed social worker, Eggman said she will make mental health care and homelessness front-burner issues.
More Orthopedic Physicians Sell Out to Private Equity Firms, Raising Alarms About Costs and Quality
While some doctors seem eager for a huge payoff, others are warily watching what happens when private equity firms take charge of orthopedic practices.
In North Carolina, More People Are Training to Support Patients Through an Abortion
In the months since Roe v. Wade was overturned, training groups in North Carolina have seen an uptick in interest from people wanting to become abortion doulas.
KHN-NPR’s ‘Bill of the Month’ at 5: A Treasury of Solutions for Confounding Medical Bills
Readers and listeners shared more than 1,000 personal stories of medical billing problems with KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” investigative series this year, helping us illuminate the financial decisions patients are pressed to make in their most vulnerable moments.
ER Doctors Call Private Equity Staffing Practices Illegal and Seek to Ban Them
Doctors, consumer advocates, and some lawmakers are looking forward to a California lawsuit against private equity-backed Envision Healthcare. The case is part of a multistate effort to enforce rules banning corporate ownership of physician practices.
Centene, Under Siege in America, Moved Into Britain’s National Health Service
A nine-minute public hearing gave the U.S. insurance giant a foothold in Britain’s prized National Health Service. One doctor called it “privatization of NHS by stealth.” And critics worry that business efficiencies will degrade the quality of care.
An Air Force Career Held up Because of Debt Owed for Medical Bills
Emergency room care left Samaria Bradford with $5,000 in medical bills. Now she has to track down and pay that debt before she can hope to enlist in the military.
From Her View in Knoxville, the Health System Is ‘Not Designed for Poor People’
Monica Reed was the first in her family to own a home and has lived “a frugal kind of life.” Cancer treatment left her with almost $10,000 in debt, pushing her to the edge financially.
A Montana Addiction Clinic Wants to Motivate People With Rewards. Then Came a Medicaid Fraud Probe.
A complaint was filed with the state against an addiction treatment provider that wants to use rewards — an effective but largely unregulated tool — to help people stay in recovery.
Abrumados por los costos, hospitales crean sus propias agencias de enfermería
Cada vez más sistemas hospitalarios están creando equipos internos de personal para hacer frente a la escasez de enfermeras provocada por la pandemia, y para tratar de vencer a las agencias privadas de personal temporal con sus propias armas.
Squeezed by Temp Nurse Costs, Hospital Systems Create Their Own Staffing Agencies
Hospitals have depended on travel nurses to fill shifts, especially during covid surges. Now some larger systems, reeling from high contract labor costs, have created staffing units, aiming to lure nurses who want more work flexibility and better pay than staff RNs get.
What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt
Coal mining ended in Germany’s Saarland a decade ago, but the transition away from coal has been smoother than in West Virginia, which has more medical debt than any state in America.
KHN Investigation: The System Feds Rely On to Stop Repeat Health Fraud Is Broken
A months-long KHN examination of the system meant to bar fraudsters from Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health programs found gaping holes and expansive gray areas through which banned individuals slip to repeatedly bilk taxpayer-funded programs.
