Her First Colonoscopy Cost Her $0. Her Second Cost $2,185. Why?
Preventive care, like screening colonoscopies, is supposed to be free of charge to patients under the Affordable Care Act. But some hospitals haven鈥檛 gotten the memo.
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Preventive care, like screening colonoscopies, is supposed to be free of charge to patients under the Affordable Care Act. But some hospitals haven鈥檛 gotten the memo.
An aging population in need of regular cancer screenings has driven private equity companies, seeking profits, to invest in many gastroenterology practices and set up aggressive billing practices. Steep prices on routine tests are one consequence for patients.
A building slated to become the site of Wyoming鈥檚 sole provider of procedural abortions caught fire early Wednesday. Investigators suspect arson at the site that has been the focus of weekly rallies.
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.
After a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion was published May 2 suggesting that Roe v. Wade would soon be overturned, social media users started worrying that their use of period-tracking apps could lead to trouble if they sought an abortion and lived in a state with strict limits or bans on the procedure.
Covid cases are again climbing, but you wouldn鈥檛 know it from the behavior of public health and elected officials, much less the general public, all of whom seem to want to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror. Meanwhile, the fallout over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion continues even as the Senate fails 鈥 again 鈥 to muster the votes to write abortion rights into law. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
In Texas, where anyone can face a hefty fine of at least $10,000 if they abet an abortion, medical professionals on the front lines face tough quandaries when treating patients who have a miscarriage, a scenario that could soon play out around the country if abortion restrictions tighten.
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.
Dictionaries, public comments, and even an old court case that involved underwear pricing could play a role as the government appeals a ruling that sharply limits federal authority during pandemics.
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.
Only 15 states require insurance to cover in vitro fertilization, a common path to parenthood for people who have trouble getting pregnant. And even for those whose insurance covers IVF, the expensive procedures and required drugs can lead to unexpected bills.
Congress is back in session, but covid diagnoses for Vice President Kamala Harris and two Democratic senators have temporarily left the Senate without a working majority to approve continued covid funding. Meanwhile, opponents of the Affordable Care Act have filed yet another lawsuit challenging a portion of the law, and we say goodbye to the late Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who left a long legacy of health laws. Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
A diabetes diagnosis is not always related to a person鈥檚 weight or overall health, especially for those with Type 1 diabetes, who are dependent on insulin treatment for life.
Amid covid-19, the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade, and a war in Europe, the Affordable Care Act has been flying under the radar in 2022. But this will be a pivotal year for the federal health law. Unless Congress acts, millions of Americans could see their costs for coverage rise dramatically as expanded subsidies expire. At the same time, the end of the public health emergency could boost the uninsured rate as states disenroll people from Medicaid. Peter Lee, who recently stepped down as the first executive director of the largest state-run ACA insurance marketplace, Covered California, has thought long and hard about how the ACA came to be, how it鈥檚 been implemented, and what should happen to it now. He joins host and KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the ACA.
The company awarded the state鈥檚 Medi-Cal Rx contract was taken over by another company, Centene. That left the state with a contractor it didn鈥檛 pick 鈥 one that has been accused of overbilling nine other state Medicaid programs and is now under investigation by California.
President Joe Biden welcomed former President Barack Obama back to the White House this week to announce a new policy for the Affordable Care Act that would make subsidies available to more families with unaffordable employer coverage. Meanwhile, Congress struggled to find a compromise for continued federal funding of covid-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
As overdoses surge and opioid settlement dollars flow, funding to North Carolina rehab foreshadows national discussion about the best approaches to treatment.
Although its fate was in doubt more than a few times, the Affordable Care Act turned 12 this week. Year 13 could be pivotal in determining how many Americans receive ACA health insurance, and at what price. Meanwhile, three leading credit bureaus agreed to stop using most medical debt to measure U.S. consumers鈥 creditworthiness. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and KHN鈥檚 Mary Agnes Carey join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
California was supposed to start paying doulas this year to help Medicaid enrollees have healthy pregnancies. But the benefit has been delayed because doulas feel lowballed by the state鈥檚 proposed reimbursement rate, which is below what most other states pay.
CMS chief Chiquita Brooks-LaSure says the agency reserves its power to quickly institute new regulations for 鈥渁bsolute emergencies.鈥 On staffing, nursing home residents might need to wait years to see any real change.
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