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Consumers are admonished to be “smart shoppers,” but that’s difficult if health care prices are clear as mud. When Sarah Macsalka’s son needed stitches, she did her best to avoid the ER and still ended up with a $3,000 bill.
A 3-year-old girl put matching doll shoes up her nose. One came out easily. The second required an emergency department visit ― and generated a bill that is not child’s play.
Hospital emergency rooms throughout California are reporting a sharp increase in adolescents and young adults seeking care for a mental health crisis.
A few hundred hospitals have banded together to sue drugmakers in state courts, but far more are staying on the sidelines to avoid 'unflattering attention' about their role in the opioid crisis.
Passengers on massive cruise ships could be struck by norovirus or accidents ranging from falls to broken bones. Then what?
One groom’s bachelor party hangover illustrates how emergency room bills have become major headaches for many Americans.
State regulators and even one medevac company have raised doubts about prepaid subscriptions and promised benefits offered by air ambulance companies.
An encounter with a cat led to rabies shots and provided yet another illustration of how confusing, contrary and expensive the American health care system is.
The loss of the longtime hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., forces trauma patients to deal with changing services and expectations.
Residents in Colorado ski resort country found relief from high insurance premiums and high hospital costs by joining forces and negotiating prices directly with the local hospital.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.
California lawmakers on Wednesday pulled legislation that would have protected some patients from surprise medical bills for emergency care, citing opposition from hospitals. They vowed to resurrect the bill next year.
A new state law says hospitals and insurers will have to work it out among themselves when they can’t agree on a price -- instead of sending huge bills to patients. “Bill of the Month” patient Drew Calver galvanized attention on the issue after he told his story to KHN, NPR and "CBS This Morning."
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Millions of Californians are vulnerable to hefty surprise medical bills from their trips to the emergency room. Now, state lawmakers are considering a measure to cap how much out-of-network hospitals can charge privately insured patients for emergency care, which could serve as a model for other states.
Incidents of serious workplace violence are four times more common in health care than in private industry, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Crowded emergency rooms are likely to blame. In 2017, the median ER wait time for patients before admission as inpatients to California hospitals was 336 minutes — or more than 5½ hours.
President Donald Trump called for an end to the "unpleasant surprise" of certain medical bills on Thursday. NPR reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin covered the White House announcement, which featured two patients from the KHN-NPR "Bill of the Month" series.
With mental health beds in short supply, emergency rooms increasingly have become the care of first and last resort for people in the grips of a psychiatric episode. Now, hospitals around the country are opening emergency units that calmly cater to patients with mental health needs.
A proposed state law with bipartisan, bicameral support is on the move in Texas. It would force hospitals and insurers to settle surprise bills — instead of relying on patients to start the mediation process. The KHN/NPR "Bill of the Month" series is a catalyst for the effort.
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