Senators Unveil Legislation To Protect Patients Against Surprise Medical Bills
The measure is designed to help people getting emergency care from hospitals or doctors that are not part of their insurance network.
Emergency Medicine
221 - 240 of 280 Results
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A Jolt To The Jugular! You鈥檙e Insured But Still Owe $109K For Your Heart Attack
A Texas teacher, 44, faces a 鈥渂alance bill鈥 of almost twice his annual salary for a heart attack he never expected to have.
By Chad Terhune -
Voters To Settle Dispute Over Ambulance Employee Break Times
Unlike most other workers, private-ambulance employees are frequently called away from their meals and rest breaks to respond to emergency calls, but there鈥檚 no law explicitly allowing that practice. Proposition 11 would change that, but some say its real purpose is to get California's largest ambulance company out of costly litigation.
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Doctors Reckon With High Rate Of Suicide In Their Ranks
The devastating loss of a promising young doctor prompts soul-searching and action at one of the nation鈥檚 largest emergency room staffing companies.
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Simple Surgeries, Tragic Results
Medicare Reconsiders Paying For Seniors’ Spine Operations At Surgery Centers
After a USA Today Network-Kaiser Health News investigation, Medicare announced last week that it is re-evaluating whether these procedures 鈥減ose a significant safety risk鈥 to patients.
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How To Save A Choking Senator: Heimlich Heirs, Red Cross Disagree On Technique
The Red Cross and some other organizations suggest that first aid for choking begin with five slaps on the back. The family of Dr. Henry Heimlich, who developed the abdominal thrusts to dislodge objects that prevent breathing, is launching a campaign to demand proof of why back slaps should come first.
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Hospitals Gear Up For New Diagnosis: Human Trafficking
Many people forced into labor or the sex trade seek medical help at some point, and health care workers are being trained to identify them to offer assistance.
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Podcast: KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat The Health?鈥 Drug Prices And Unicorns
In this episode of KHN鈥檚 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico, and Erin Mershon of Stat News discuss a series of health policy court decisions on everything from prescription drug discounts to soda taxes. Plus, Rovner, interviews health care futurist and consultant Jeff Goldsmith.
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The Other Victims: First Responders To Horrific Disasters Often Suffer In Solitude
Some firefighters, emergency medical providers and law enforcement officers say recent mass shootings and other calamities 鈥 disturbing enough in themselves 鈥 have brought to the surface trauma buried over years on the job. Many are reluctant to seek help, though some employers are trying to change that.
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A Baby Was Treated With A Nap And A Bottle Of Formula. The Bill Was $18,000.
An ER patient can be charged thousands of dollars in 鈥渢rauma fees鈥 鈥 even if they weren鈥檛 treated for trauma.
By Jenny Gold and Sarah Kliff, Vox -
That 鈥楲iving Will鈥 You Signed? At The ER, It Could Be Open To Interpretation.
End-of-life documents express your preferences for care but may not be binding medical orders. Here鈥檚 how to better prepare for the unexpected 鈥 that your last wishes won鈥檛 be carried out.
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A Hospital ER Charges An 鈥楢fter-Hours鈥 Fee. Who Has To Pay It?
Tacking on an after-hours surcharge to an emergency department bill strikes some consumers as unfair, since the facilities are open 24 hours a day.
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Congress Urged To Cut Medicare Payments To Many Stand-Alone ERs
As free-standing emergency departments multiply, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommends a 30 percent reduction in some federal reimbursements for those within 6 miles of a hospital.
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From The ER To Inpatient Care 鈥 At Home
Some health systems are encouraging selected ill emergency department patients who are stable and don鈥檛 need intensive, round-the-clock care to opt for hospital-level care at home.
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Simple surgeries. Tragic results.
As Surgery Centers Boom, Patients Are Paying With Their Lives
An investigation by Kaiser Health News and the USA TODAY Network discovers that more than 260 patients have died since 2013 after in-and-out procedures at surgery centers across the country. More than a dozen 鈥 some as young as 2 鈥 have perished after routine operations, such as colonoscopies and tonsillectomies.
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Ten ERs In Colorado Tried To Curtail Opioids And Did Better Than Expected
The collaboration known as ALTO, Alternatives to Opioids, set out to reduce opioid doses in the emergency room by 15 percent. It managed a 36 percent reduction instead.
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Bad Bedside Manna: Bank Loans Signed In The Hospital Leave Patients Vulnerable
Hospitals increasingly team up with lending institutions to offer low- or no-interest loans to patients to make sure their bills get paid. But critics say the complexity of hospital pricing means consumers should be cautious.
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Hospitals鈥 Best-Laid Plans Upended By Disaster
An onslaught of fires, shootings and storms across the country last year tested hospital readiness. Now, leaders are using their experiences to address shortcomings that surfaced amid the chaos.
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For Elder Health, Trips To The ER Are Often A Tipping Point
Experts provide tips for older patients and their caregivers to cope with the physical and mental declines associated with emergency room visits.
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Wrecked And Retching: Obscure Vomiting Illness Linked To Long-Term Pot Use
Emergency room doctors are seeing a growing number of marijuana users with a mysterious condition that causes extreme vomiting and abdominal pain.