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Surprise bills are just the latest weapons in a decades-long war among health care industry players over who gets to keep聽the fortunes generated each year from patient illness: $3.6 trillion聽in 2018. The practice is an outrage, yet no one in the health care sector wants to unilaterally make the type of big concessions that would change things.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.
The Affordable Care Act requires that insurers cover birth control with no out-of-pocket costs, but the enforcement mechanism is weak and a pending court case could add further complications.
Federal officials unveiled guidance for states that want to opt out of some of the current funding program and instead seek a fixed payment to gain more flexibility.
KHN senior correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined Colorado Public Radio鈥檚 Avery Lill on 鈥淐olorado Matters鈥 to discuss his recent story on how high-deductible health plans are especially hurting the financial health of patients and hospitals in rural America.
A new state law limits what consumers owe if they鈥檙e transported by an air ambulance that鈥檚 not part of their insurance network to the amount that they鈥檇 be charged if they used an in-network provider. But the law won鈥檛 protect millions of consumers whose health plans aren鈥檛 regulated by the state.
In our ongoing, crowdsourced investigation with NPR and CBS, we鈥檝e armed future health system pilgrims with the tools they need to avoid exorbitant medical bills and fight back against unfair charges. Here鈥檚 a look back at 2019鈥檚 stories.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don鈥檛 have to.
The Texas Medical Board bowed out of the rule-making process for a new law protecting consumers from surprise medical bills. Advocates hailed the new rules written by the state insurance regulators.
After my husband had a bike accident, we were subjected to medical bills that no one would accept if they had been delivered by a contractor, or a lawyer or an auto mechanic. Such charges are sanctioned by insurers, which generally pay because they have no way to know whether you received a particular item or service 鈥 and it鈥檚 not worth their time to investigate the millions of medical interactions they write checks for each day.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.
It鈥檚 open enrollment season for health insurance. And choosing the best plan is tricky whether you have to buy insurance on your own or just figure out which plan to sign up for at work. Here鈥檚 what you need to know.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don鈥檛 have to.
Although many consumers pay nothing out of pocket for flu shots, insurers foot the bill. And those prices vary dramatically.
The final directive drew swift responses from the hospital and insurance industries. The Trump administration also released a proposed rule that would require health insurers to spell out for all services beforehand just how much patients may owe for their out-of-pocket costs.
Big picture remains hazy, but these numbers add up.
Firms are offering more traditional plans alongside or instead of the plans with sky-high deductibles that may have been the only option in the past. The change comes as employers are finding that workers like the predictability of a traditional plan and that providing more generous plans can help with recruiting in a tight labor market.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don鈥檛 have to.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don鈥檛 have to.
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