Health Care Costs Archives - Page 36 of 93 - �鶹Ů�� Health News

Slow Your Disenroll

Episode 302

June 15, 2023

More than a million Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections ended. The Biden administration is asking states to slow disenrollment, but that does not mean states must listen. Meanwhile, a Supreme Court decision gives Medicaid beneficiaries the right to sue over their care, and a new deal preserves coverage of preventive services nationwide as a Texas court case continues. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join �鶹Ů�� Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, �鶹Ů�� Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health, a new unit of JPMorgan Chase, about employers’ role in insurance coverage.

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A photo of the exterior of a hospital building marked with a large, blue and white H.

Diagnosis: Debt

International Rights Group Calls Out US for Allowing Hospitals to Push Millions Into Debt

In a new report, Human Rights Watch urges stronger federal and state action to hold hospitals to account for a medical debt crisis that now burdens more than 100 million Americans.

By Noam N. Levey

June 15, 2023

A cropped shot of a woman handling paper medical bills while working on a laptop at home.

At Least 1.7M Americans Use Health Sharing Arrangements, Despite Lack of Protections

A new report boosts the estimated number of people enrolled in plans whose members — usually brought together by shared religious beliefs — pay one another’s health costs.

By Markian Hawryluk

June 14, 2023

What the Health? From �鶹Ů�� Health News

Debt Deal Leaves Health Programs (Mostly) Intact

Episode 301

June 7, 2023

The bipartisan deal to extend the U.S. government’s borrowing authority includes future cuts to federal health agencies, but they are smaller than many expected and do not touch Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. becomes the first drugmaker to sue Medicare officials over the federal health insurance program’s new authority to negotiate drug prices. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join �鶹Ů�� Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews �鶹Ů�� Health News senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble, who reported the latest �鶹Ů�� Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about the perils of visiting the U.S. with European health insurance.

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A photo of cars and a train driving by on a Los Angeles street.

Personal Medical Debt in Los Angeles County Tops $2.6 Billion, Report Finds

Medical debt is a leading public health problem, researchers say. Despite the county’s ongoing expansion of health coverage, the prevalence of medical debt remained unchanged from 2017 to 2021.

By Molly Castle Work

June 7, 2023

An Arm and a Leg

A ‘Payday Loan’ From a Health Care Behemoth

Season 9, Episode 7

June 6, 2023

UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurer in the United States. And it keeps growing. This has led some health care experts to call for antitrust regulation of this “behemoth” company.

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What the Health? From �鶹Ů�� Health News

Our 300th Episode!

Episode 300

June 1, 2023

When �鶹Ů�� Health News’ “What the Health?” podcast launched in 2017, Republicans in Washington were engaged in an (ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. The next six years would see a pandemic, increasingly unaffordable care, and a health care workforce experiencing unprecedented burnout. In the podcast’s 300th episode, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explores the past and possible future of the U.S. health care system with three prominent “big thinkers” in health policy: Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania, Jeff Goldsmith of Health Futures, and Farzad Mostashari of Aledade.

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A still from a video of medical workers in surgical gowns and masks. Text on the screen reads, "Breast cancer surgery battle. CBS / �鶹Ů�� Health News investigation into reconstruction costs.

How a Medical Recoding May Limit Cancer Patients’ Options for Breast Reconstruction

The federal government’s arcane process for medical coding is influencing which reconstructive surgery options are available, creating anxiety for breast cancer patients.

By Rachana Pradhan, Anna Werner, CBS News, and Leigh Ann Winick, CBS News

May 31, 2023

A woman in a red blouse with short sleeves stands in a doorway with her hand on one side of the frame and looks at the camera.

Diagnosis: Debt

Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt

The “Diabetes Belt,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprises 644 mostly Southern counties where diabetes rates are high. Of those counties, �鶹Ů�� Health News and NPR found, more than half also have high levels of medical debt.

By Robert Benincasa, NPR and Nick McMillan, NPR

May 30, 2023

What the Health? From �鶹Ů�� Health News

When an Anti-Vaccine Activist Runs for President

Episode 299

May 25, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s official entry into the presidential race poses a thorny challenge for journalists: how to cover a candidate who’s opposed to vaccines without amplifying misinformation. And South Carolina becomes the latest state in the South to ban abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join �鶹Ů�� Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews �鶹Ů�� Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani about her project to track the billions of dollars coming from opioid makers to settle lawsuits.

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An illustration of three pill capsules filled with dollar bills.

This Panel Will Decide Whose Medicine to Make Affordable. Its Choice Will Be Tricky.

Colorado’s new Prescription Drug Affordability Board could cap what health plans and consumers pay for certain medications starting next year. The process will pit patient groups against one another.

By Markian Hawryluk

May 25, 2023

A photo of Jay Comfort sitting by the water outside.

Bill Of The Month

He Returned to the US for His Daughter’s Wedding. He Left With a $42,000 Hospital Bill.

After emergency surgery, an American expatriate with Swiss insurance now carries the baggage of a five-figure bill. Costs for medical care in the U.S. can be two to three times the rates in other developed countries, so foreigners and expats with good insurance in their home countries need travel insurance to protect themselves from “crazy prices.”

By Sarah Jane Tribble

May 23, 2023

�鶹Ů�� Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Are US Prescription Drug Prices 10 Times Those of Other Nations? Only Sometimes

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ broad statement that some U.S. drug prices are 10 times those of other nations doesn’t paint the full picture. Studies we examined generally found that U.S. prices were two to four times those in other countries, not 10.

By Michelle Andrews

May 19, 2023

Lawyer Fees Draw Scrutiny as Camp Lejeune Claims Stack Up

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which became law last year, created a pathway for veterans and their families to pursue damage claims against the government for toxic exposure at the military base. Now, advocates and lawmakers worry high lawyer fees could shortchange those injured.

By Michelle Andrews

May 17, 2023

‘A System in Crisis’: Dysfunctional Federal Disability Programs Force the Poor to Pass Up Money

With little or no income, disability applicants are seeking Social Security early retirement benefits even though it could cost them tens of thousands of dollars in future income, lawyers say.

By Fred Clasen-Kelly

May 12, 2023

A photo of a line of health industry executives sitting next to each other during a Senate HELP Committee hearing.

PBMs, the Brokers Who Control Drug Prices, Finally Get Washington’s Attention

Drugmakers, pharmacies, and physicians blame pharmacy benefit managers for high drug prices. Congress is finally on board, too, but will it matter?

By Arthur Allen

May 11, 2023

An Arm and a Leg

Mental Health ‘Ghost Networks’ — And a Ghostbuster

Season 9, Episode 6

May 11, 2023

What should you do when your search for an in-network mental health care provider comes up empty? Abigail Burman has some expertise to share.

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A photo of the exterior of Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center.

Diagnosis: Debt

Biden Administration Issues New Warning About Medical Credit Cards

Americans paid an estimated $1 billion in deferred interest on medical debt in just three years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reports. The agency warns against medical credit cards, which are often pitched right in doctors’ offices.

By Noam N. Levey

May 4, 2023

A photo of a woman sitting for a portrait on a bench indoors.

Montana Considers Requiring Insurance to Cover Fertility Preservation for Cancer Patients

Young cancer patients must act quickly to preserve their sperm and eggs once they get their diagnosis, and many can’t afford the cost.

By Keely Larson

April 28, 2023

A photo of an American flag patch on camoflage.

Some Private Companies Charge Hefty Fees to Help Veterans With Disability Claims

Unaccredited companies promise to help veterans file for disability benefits. But unlike the thousands of service representatives who have been vetted and approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide aid, these “medical consultants” or “coaches” operate with no restrictions on how much they can charge.

By Michelle Andrews

April 28, 2023

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