Private Equity Sees the Billions in Eye Care as Firms Target High-Profit Procedures
As private equity groups are swarming into aging America鈥檚 eye care, the consolidation is costing the U.S. health care system and patients more money.
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121 - 140 of 175 Results
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Hospitals Divert Primary Care Patients to Health Center 鈥楲ook-Alikes鈥 to Boost Finances
Medicare and Medicaid pay 鈥渓ook-alike鈥 health centers significantly more than hospitals for treating patients, and converting or creating clinics can help hospitals reduce their expenses.
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Organ Transplants Are Up, but the Agency in Charge Is Under Fire
A two-year congressional investigation has identified troubling lapses in the nation鈥檚 organ transplant system. Blood types mismatched, diseased organs transplanted anyway, and 鈥 most often 鈥 organs lost or damaged before they can save a life.
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Music Festivals Embrace Overdose Reversal Drugs, but Fentanyl Testing Kits Remain Taboo
Music festival promoters are allowing distribution of overdose reversal medication as fentanyl deaths continue to surge. But nonprofits and volunteers are often left to do the work, and more controversial forms of harm reduction aren鈥檛 openly allowed.
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Nursing Homes Are Suing the Friends and Family of Residents to Collect Debts
Debt lawsuits 鈥 long a byproduct of America鈥檚 medical debt crisis 鈥 can ensnare not only patients but also those who help sick and older people be admitted to nursing homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
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Children鈥檚 Vision Problems Often Go Undetected, Despite Calls for Regular Screening
Eye exams for children are required under federal law to be covered by most private health plans and Medicaid, and many states mandate school vision screenings. But a federal survey finds that a quarter of children and teens are still not getting the recommended tests.
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Patients Seek Mental Health Care From Their Doctor but Find Health Plans Standing in the Way
Despite a consensus that patients should be able to get mental health care from primary care doctors, insurance policies and financial incentives may not support that.
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This Rural, Red Southern County Was a Vaccine Success Story. Not Anymore.
Meigs County in Tennessee reported one of the highest covid-19 vaccination rates in the South for much of the past year. But those reports were wrong because of a data error that has surfaced in other states, such as West Virginia and Montana, as well.
By Brett Kelman -
National Addiction Treatment Locator Has Outdated Data and Other Critical Flaws
Three years after a government site launched to connect Americans to treatment, finding addiction care is still a struggle.
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As Overdoses Soar, More States Decriminalize Fentanyl Testing Strips
Georgia may soon join a growing list of states decriminalizing the use of fentanyl testing strips. Bans of the strips 鈥 on the books in about half of states, experts say 鈥 stem from laws criminalizing drug paraphernalia adopted decades ago. But the testing devices are now recommended to help prevent overdose deaths.
By Andy Miller -
Desperate for Cash: Programs for People With Disabilities Still Not Seeing Federal Funds
Almost a year after the American Rescue Plan Act allocated what could amount to $25 billion to home and community-based services run by Medicaid, many states have yet to access much of the money due to delays and red tape.
By Lauren Weber and Andy Miller -
From Alabama to Utah, Efforts to Vaccinate Medicaid Enrollees Against Covid Run Into Obstacles
Inoculation rates remain low despite massive outreach efforts and incentives from federal and state programs and Medicaid plan operators, leaving many low-income people vulnerable to the virus.
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Demand for Service Dogs Unleashes a 鈥榃ild West鈥 Market
Service dogs can help people with ailments from autism to epilepsy, but a trained dog can cost up to $40,000 鈥 and insurance won鈥檛 cover it.
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Patient, Beware: Some States Still Pushing Ineffective Covid Antibody Treatments
The top 12 states using antibody therapies produced by Regeneron and Lilly 鈥 which research shows don鈥檛 work against the omicron variant 鈥 include several Southern states with some of the nation鈥檚 lowest vaccination rates, but also California, which ranks among the top 20 for fully vaccinated residents.
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How Rural Communities Are Losing Their Pharmacies
More than 1,000 independent rural pharmacies have closed since 2003, leaving 630 communities with no retail drugstore. As 41 million people stuck in pharmacy deserts make do, the remaining drugstores struggle to survive.
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鈥楧rinking Through a Lead Straw鈥 鈥 $15B Approved to Fix Dangerous Water Pipes
The infrastructure bill passed Friday funnels $15 billion into lead pipe remediation. Water quality experts say the cost of getting rid of all lead pipes could ultimately cost $60 billion. Still, some health advocates say the new funding will be transformative in allowing communities such as Houston鈥檚 Fifth Ward to fix its pipes.
By Sandy West -
Worn-Out Nurses Hit the Road for Better Pay, Stressing Hospital Budgets 鈥 And Morale
Managers are trapped in a pricey hiring cycle, competing for critical care nurses who can monitor covid patients on life support. Some hospitals are looking abroad to replace staffers who quit to become travel nurses or leave the profession.
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Over Half of States Have Rolled Back Public Health Powers in Pandemic
At least 26 states have passed laws to permanently limit public health powers, a KHN investigation has found, weakening the country鈥檚 ability to fight not only the current resurgence of the pandemic but other health crises to come.
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Your Covid Game Plan: Are Stadiums Safe?
Fall and football go hand in hand. But with covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths soaring from the delta variant, is it safe to go to the stadium? KHN asks the experts.
By Phil Galewitz and Andy Miller -
Medicaid Vaccination Rates Founder as States Struggle to Immunize Their Poorest Residents
Efforts by states and the private health plans that many states pay to cover low-income Americans has been scattershot and hampered by a lack of data.