The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Some residents of remote Surprise Valley in Northern California fear their hospital will close like so many others around the country, as hope wanes for financial support from a Denver entrepreneur. The businessman, Beau Gertz, had planned to raise money through lab billing for faraway patients.
In this episode of KHN鈥檚 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner talk about the new push on health legislation by Republicans in the House, as well as developments on Medicaid work requirements, drug prices and the fate of children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexican border. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health stories of the week.
Dramatic policy swings, from an unprecedented expansion of transgender rights under the Obama administration to the unpredictable reduction of trans rights under President Donald Trump, have left many trans Americans feeling the whiplash.
After being promised a significant discount for paying cash upfront and forgoing insurance, a Wisconsin patient gets caught in the middle between hospital and insurer 鈥 and feels snookered by a last-minute surprise and billing snafu.
After a San Francisco speech focused mostly on Medicare, Seema Verma fielded questions that underscored the administration鈥檚 differences with California on other key health care issues.
Only about half of people with Alzheimer’s symptoms get a diagnosis, partly out of fear of an incurable decline, doctors suspect. But Jose Belardo says facing the future allows him to plan for it.
Seniors often don鈥檛 realize that private insurers are required to offer Medigap policies, or supplemental insurance, only when people first sign up for Medicare.
The Red Cross and some other organizations suggest that first aid for choking begin with five slaps on the back. The family of Dr. Henry Heimlich, who developed the abdominal thrusts to dislodge objects that prevent breathing, is launching a campaign to demand proof of why back slaps should come first.
Several major drugmakers vow to contain drug prices, but similar pledges since the 1990s have not had much impact.
Millions of Americans undergo procedures each year requiring medical scopes, but there鈥檚 growing concern about the risk of infection from dirty devices. Be prepared to ask questions 鈥 and bail if you鈥檙e not satisfied with the answers.
Did OxyContin maker admit opioids can be dangerous even when patients take them as prescribed 鈥 then walk it back?
Many people forced into labor or the sex trade seek medical help at some point, and health care workers are being trained to identify them to offer assistance.
Consumers, beware: Data brokers compile health and frailty profiles that have wide-ranging applications for drug companies, advertisers, insurers and other buyers.
After 130 years as a nonprofit with deep roots in western North Carolina, Mission Health announced in March that it was seeking to be bought by HCA Healthcare, the nation鈥檚 largest for-profit hospital chain.
KHN鈥檚 newsletter editor, Brianna Labuskes, wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don鈥檛 have to.
KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney reports on how the island鈥檚 mounting physician shortage is making it even more difficult to get care.
The average increase in California is smaller than the double-digit hikes expected around the nation, due largely to a healthier mix of enrollees and more competition in its marketplace. Still, health insurance prices keep growing faster than wages and general inflation.
In this episode of KHN鈥檚 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico, and Erin Mershon of Stat News discuss a series of health policy court decisions on everything from prescription drug discounts to soda taxes. Plus, Rovner, interviews health care futurist and consultant Jeff Goldsmith.
Some California children with serious health care problems wait more than a year for wheelchairs, bath benches, commodes, specialized crutches and other crucial medical equipment. Critics blame the delays on a confusing bureaucratic maze of private insurers and public programs.
At least 70 infants have been ordered to appear in immigration court. Experts believe some were separated from their parents.
