Journalists Tackle Delta Variant, Hospital Prices and Public Health Spending
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
Health Care Costs
1,101 - 1,120 of 1,846 Results
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Effort to Decipher Hospital Prices Yields Key Finding: Don鈥檛 Try It at Home
Your dutiful columnist tried to make use of a federal 鈥渢ransparency鈥 rule to compare the prices of common medical procedures in two California health care systems. It was a futile exercise.
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Drugmakers鈥 Spending on Stock, Dividends and Executive Pay Exceeds Research, Democrats Say
The pharmaceutical industry argues that large profits are needed to fund extensive research and innovation. But Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, seeking to bolster their effort to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, say major drug companies plow more of their billions in earnings back into propping up their stock and enriching executives and shareholders.
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Rural Ambulance Services Are in Jeopardy as Volunteers Age and Expenses Mount
Experts say rural communities must find new models to keep emergency services afloat as more 911 calls go unanswered.
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鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: Tips for Fighting Medical Bills from ProPublica鈥檚 Marshall Allen
Veteran health journalist Marshall Allen has been exposing health care grifters for years. Now he鈥檚 written a book about how to fight them. Host Dan Weissmann spoke with Allen about some of the best tips from 鈥淣ever Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.鈥
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Hospital Prices Must Now Be Transparent. For Many Consumers, They’re Still Anyone鈥檚 Guess.
A Trump administration rule mandating that hospitals disclose true prices on their websites took effect this year. But compliance is spotty and even when the data is public, it鈥檚 hard to find and understand.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Un-Trumping the ACA
The Biden administration is moving to undo many of the changes the Trump administration made to the enrollment process for the Affordable Care Act to encourage more people to sign up for health insurance. Meanwhile, Congress is opening investigations into the controversial approval by the Food and Drug Administration of an expensive drug that might (or might not) slow the progression of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Insider and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Marshall Allen of ProPublica about his new book, 鈥淣ever Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.鈥
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States Step Up Push to Regulate Pharmacy Drug Brokers
In an ongoing effort to control prescription drug costs, states are targeting the companies that mediate deals among drug manufacturers, health insurers and pharmacies. The pharmacy benefit managers say they negotiate lower prices for patients, yet the nitty-gritty occurs largely behind a curtain that lawmakers are trying to pull back.
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A Hospital Charged $722.50 to Push Medicine Through an IV. Twice.
A college student never got an answer for what caused her intense pain, but she did get a bill that totaled $18,736 for an ER visit. She and her mom, a nurse practitioner, fought to understand all the charges.
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No Vacancy: How a Shortage of Mental Health Beds Keeps Kids Trapped Inside ERs
What's known as emergency room boarding of psychiatric patients has risen between 200% and 400% monthly in Massachusetts during the pandemic 鈥 and the problem is widespread. The CDC says emergency room visits after suicide attempts among teen girls were up 51% earlier this year as compared with 2019.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: How to Expand Health Coverage
Democrats in Congress and the states are devising strategies to expand health coverage 鈥 through the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid and a 鈥減ublic option.鈥 But progress remains halting, at best. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington may have to agree on how to control prescription drug prices if they wish to finance their coverage initiatives. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote last month鈥檚 KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a very expensive sleep study.
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Device Makers Have Funneled Billions to Orthopedic Surgeons Who Use Their Products
Federal officials say that some of the money changing hands has corrupted doctors and endangered patients.
By Fred Schulte and Elizabeth Lucas -
In Alleged Health Care 鈥楳oney Grab,鈥 Nation鈥檚 Largest Hospital Chain Cashes In on Trauma Centers
HCA charges patients an 鈥渁ctivation fee鈥 of up to $50,000 for trauma teams at centers located in half its 179 hospitals 鈥 and they often don鈥檛 need trauma care, an analysis of insurance claims data shows.
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鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: When Your Insurance Company Says No, How to Ask for a Yes
Health care insiders get surprise medical bills, too. One of them shares tips for writing an insurance appeal.
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Doctor on Call? Lawmakers Debate How Much to Pay for Phone Appointments
Phone visits became an option for many Medicare and Medicaid patients during the pandemic. Now policymakers are deciding whether they鈥檙e worth the money.
By Rachel Bluth -
Change to Gilead Assistance Program Threatens PrEP Access, HIV Advocates Say
Safety-net clinics especially are bracing for how the drugmaker鈥檚 policy shift could reduce their budgets and hamstring their ability to provide care to an at-risk population.
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New Montana Laws Enshrine Health Care Alternatives, for Better or Worse
Direct primary care and health care sharing ministries can offer people more accessible or cheaper health care options, but they lack the benefits of traditional insurance and aren鈥檛 regulated.
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With Restrictions Tightening Elsewhere, California Moves to Make Abortion Cheaper
California lawmakers are debating a bill that would eliminate out-of-pocket costs that often prevent people from obtaining abortions, proponents say.
By Rachel Bluth -
KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: The Drug Price Dilemma
Republicans, Democrats and the public at large agree that prices for prescription drugs are too high. But no one seems to know how to fix it. Vanderbilt University drug price researcher Stacie Dusetzina explains the basics of why drugs cost so much and why it鈥檚 hard to do something about it. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss the prospects for policy changes.
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Biden Administration Signals It鈥檚 in No Rush to Allow Canadian Drug Imports
Federal officials asked a court to dismiss a suit by drugmakers over the policy enacted by the Trump administration that would allow states to bring in cheaper prescription medications from Canada. The filing said the lawsuit was moot because it鈥檚 unclear when or if the FDA would approve any state鈥檚 importation plan.