鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: She Fights Health Insurers for Fun 鈥 And Wins
Law professor Jackie Fox looks at health insurance policies like any other contract, and she has spent 30 years making sound legal arguments to help patients get the care they need.
Healthcare Costs
1,081 - 1,100 of 1,914 Results
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Suit by Doctors, Hospitals Seeks Change in How Arbitrators Settle Surprise Billing Cases
The American Medical Association and American Hospital Association are not arguing to halt the law that protects patients from unexpected bills from providers they didn鈥檛 know were outside their insurance network. Instead, they want to change the rules for the mediators who will settle the dispute between insurers and providers.
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Some Montana Nonprofit Hospitals Fall Short of Peers in Required Charitable Giving
Montana nonprofit hospitals receive millions of dollars in tax exemptions as charities each year in exchange for giving back to their communities. A KHN review found that some of Montana鈥檚 richest medical centers are falling behind most state and national hospitals.
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Post-Pandemic, What鈥檚 a Phone Call From Your Physician Worth?
Medicare billing codes for audio-only follow-up check-ins lead to new reimbursement battles.
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From ‘Physician Assistant’ to Medicare, Readers and Tweeters Mince No Words
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: How to Avoid the Worst Health Insurance
Listen to a journalist's first-person horror story on shopping for health insurance 鈥 and learn how to avoid the pitfalls.
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Becerra Says Surprise Billing Rules Force Doctors Who Overcharge to Accept Fair Prices
The Health and Human Services secretary says the administration has heard complaints from doctors and hospitals about the rules it unveiled for implementing the law to end surprise medical bills. But he says providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost 鈥 or close.
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Why You Can鈥檛 Find Cheap At-Home Covid Tests
You probably won鈥檛 be testing everyone at your Thanksgiving table for covid because the tests are expensive and hard to find. Why? The federal government is partly to blame.
By Rachana Pradhan and Hannah Norman -
鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: The Insurance Warrior’s Battle Plan
Health care 鈥 and how much it costs 鈥 is scary. But knowledge is power. Take a master class in winning insurance appeals. In the case of Matthew Lientz, taking on his insurance also meant going up against his employer.
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The ER Charged Him $6,500 for Six Stitches. No Wonder His Critically Ill Wife Avoided the ER.
With few options for health care in their rural community, a Tennessee couple鈥檚 experience with one outrageous bill could have led to a deadly decision the next time they needed help.
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Vaccine-or-Test Requirements Increase Work and Costs for Governments
But state and local officials embrace the requirement because it creates a safer workplace while allowing employees to continue working.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Boosting Confusion
Federal health officials appear poised to extend a recommendation for covid boosters to all adults, following moves by some governors and mayors to broaden the eligible booster pool as caseloads rise. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration finally has a nominee to head the agency: former FDA chief Robert Califf. And Medicare premiums for consumers will likely rise substantially in 2022, partly due to the approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann, host of the 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg鈥 podcast.
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Perspective
Public Opinion Is Unified on Lowering Drug Prices. Why Are Leaders Settling for Less?
Politicians and many health experts have done their best to see the glass half-full in the plan put forward by congressional Democrats and the president. But it鈥檚 鈥渁 far cry鈥 from what other nations do to rein in drug prices, and polls show most voters demand more protection.
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Stranded by the Pandemic, He Had Only Travel Insurance. It Left Him With a $38,000 Bill.
Although it鈥檚 possible to buy travel insurance that provides some health coverage, the devil is in the fine print. Obama-era laws that prevent refusal of payment for preexisting conditions don鈥檛 apply to travel insurance.
By Arthur Allen -
Congressional Doctors Lead Bipartisan Revolt Over Policy on Surprise Medical Bills
Congress last year shielded consumers from unexpected out-of-network charges, but hospitals and doctors have decried the arbitration plan put forward by the Biden administration for negotiating these bills as favoring insurers. More than 150 members of the House agree.
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Patients Get Stranded Out of Network as Insurer-Hospital Contract Talks Fall Apart
As hospital systems and insurers adjust to the pandemic, their contract negotiations grow increasingly fraught. Contracts for in-network care are ending without a new deal, leaving patients suddenly with out-of-network bills or scrambling to find new in-network providers.
By Andy Miller -
As Big Pharma and Hospitals Battle Over Drug Discounts, Patients Miss Out on Millions in Benefits
The number of pharmacies dispensing 340B discounted drugs soared to more than 31,000 this year. Drugmakers struck back by halting some discounts. Hospitals say they are losing millions of dollars 鈥 and cutting back services to patients 鈥 as a result.
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Your Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs Need Not Be a Mystery
A new California law requires health insurance companies to notify consumers how much remains on their deductibles and how close they are to their annual out-of-pocket spending limits.
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How Rural Communities Are Losing Their Pharmacies
More than 1,000 independent rural pharmacies have closed since 2003, leaving 630 communities with no retail drugstore. As 41 million people stuck in pharmacy deserts make do, the remaining drugstores struggle to survive.
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How Low Can They Go? Rural Hospitals Weigh Keeping Obstetric Units When Births Decline
Many small hospitals have shuttered their labor and delivery units as births decline. For those who resist the trend, some studies suggest that hospitals with low deliveries are more likely to see complications for patients. Doctors and public health experts say there is no magic number to determine when it is best to close an obstetrics unit.