For COVID Tests, the Question of Who Pays Comes Down to Interpretation
Additional guidance issued late last month by the Trump administration added to the confusion. Some consumers may find themselves unexpectedly on the hook for the cost of a test.
Health Care Costs
1,241 - 1,260 of 1,846 Results
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Listen: Colorado Cuts Back Health Care Programs Amid Dual Crises
KHN senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined KUNC鈥檚 Erin O鈥橳oole on 鈥淐olorado Edition鈥 to discuss his recent story on health care cuts that many states, including Colorado, are having to take amid the pandemic.
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Azar Says Federal Law Had Preexisting Conditions Covered Before ACA. Not So Much.
This appears to be an overstatement.
By Julie Rovner -
KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat The Health?鈥: 鈥極pen The Schools, Close The Bars鈥
While COVID-19 cases continue to surge in more than half the country, the Trump administration has decided its top priority is for schools to open for in-person learning this fall. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hands Trump a victory in a case to limit the reach of the birth control benefit under the Affordable Care Act. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Sarah Varney about the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month.鈥
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Could Trump鈥檚 Push To Undo The ACA Cause Problems For COVID Survivors? Biden Thinks So.
The speech by the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee was delivered the same day the Trump administration reaffirmed its support of a lawsuit that would invalidate all of the Affordable Care Act, including the law's preexisting condition protections.
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Analysis: How A COVID-19 Vaccine Could Cost Americans Dearly
The United States is the only developed nation unable to balance cost, efficacy and social good in setting prices.
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Bill Of The Month
COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn鈥檛 Test For Virus
Americans who had coronavirus symptoms in March and April are getting big hospital bills 鈥 because they were not sick enough to get then-scarce COVID tests. Some insurers say they are trying to correct these bills, but patients may have to put up a fight.
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2021 Health Plans Granted Leeway To Limit Consumers鈥 Benefit From Drug Coupons
A rule finalized this spring by the Trump administration permits employers and insurers not to apply drug company copayment assistance toward enrollees鈥 deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for any drug.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat The Health?鈥: The Pandemic Shifts; The Politics, Not So Much
While federal and state officials continue to wrangle over coronavirus testing, the population testing positive is skewing younger. Meanwhile, the Trump administration wins a round in court over its requirements for hospitals to publicly reveal their prices, and the fight over the fate of the Affordable Care Act heats up once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews former Obama administration health aide Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who has written a new book comparing international health systems.
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Ghost Bill: UVA Siphons Couple鈥檚 Tax Refund To Pay 20-Year-Old Medical Debt
Jane Collins and Anthony Blow were stunned to learn last fall that their state tax refund was being reduced by $110 because the Charlottesville medical center said they owed money for care their son received in 2001 and 2002.
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California Lawmakers Block Health Care Cuts
State legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom have hammered out an agreement on a budget that rejects Newsom鈥檚 proposed cuts to health care services for older and low-income people.
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Citing COVID, Sutter Pushes To Revisit Landmark Antitrust Settlement
Six months after agreeing to a $575 million settlement in a landmark antitrust case, Sutter Health has yet to pay a single dollar and now says the terms may be untenable, given the strain caused by the pandemic.
By Jenny Gold -
Wealthy Hospital Taps Craft Breweries For Aid To Buy Masks, Gloves
Although the federal government has poured billions of dollars into hospitals to defray their losses from the coronavirus outbreak, new streams of fundraising have emerged 鈥 including health worker-themed beer that adds 鈥渁 drop in the bucket.鈥
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If You鈥檝e Lost Your Health Plan In The COVID Crisis, You鈥檝e Got Options
But some of those options, like special enrollment periods, are time-sensitive.
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Social Media Fears About Lack Of Coverage For Protest Injuries Are Overblown
After some protests over the death of George Floyd resulted in violence, online discussions raised concerns that health plans might deny medical coverage. Although plans do sometimes make exclusions for 鈥渋llegal acts鈥 or riots, experts say concerns by people who are protesting Floyd鈥檚 death may be overstated.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat The Health?鈥: Protests And The Pandemic
The outrage over the death of an African American man, George Floyd, after he was restrained and knelt on by Minneapolis police officers has sparked national protests, including in places where the coronavirus is still spreading. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump鈥檚 attempt to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization could have ramifications for Americans. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Mary Agnes Carey of KHN and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews Jonathan Oberlander, a University of North Carolina health policy professor and the editor of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, about articles examining the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of health inequity and structural racism.
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Open (Your Wallet) Wide: Dentists Charge Extra For Infection Control
A growing number of dental offices across the country are now charging patients an 鈥渋nfection control fee鈥 of $10 to $20 to pay for masks, face shields, gowns and air purifiers to help keep the offices free of the coronavirus.
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鈥楢n Arm And A Leg鈥: The $7,000 COVID Test And Other Lessons From SEASON-19
鈥淎n Arm and a Leg鈥 wraps an all-COVID podcast season with three different perspectives on what the pandemic is costing us 鈥 and what might come next.
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Must-Reads Of The Week
KHN executive editor Damon Darlin wades through mounds of health care policy stories 鈥 so you don鈥檛 have to.
By Damon Darlin -
KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat The Health?鈥: Still Seeking A Federal Coronavirus Strategy
Democrats were not impressed with the Trump administration鈥檚 COVID-19 national testing strategy document submitted to Congress this week. They say the pandemic requires more direction from the federal government, while the administration wants to give nearly all the responsibility to the states. Meanwhile, in an effort to shore up his base of senior voters, President Donald Trump has unveiled a plan to limit what those on Medicare must pay out-of-pocket for insulin. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Erin Mershon of STAT News and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Phil Galewitz, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 installment about a patient who thought he might have COVID-19, did everything right and got a big bill, anyway.