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Federal law says Medicaid must cover out-of-state emergency care. But a Florida man got a five-figure bill after a South Dakota hospital declined to charge his state鈥檚 Medicaid program.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade 鈥 as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51视频 Health News鈥 Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
Carmen Aiken of Chicago thought their medical appointment would be covered because the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to pay for a long list of preventive services. But after the appointment, Aiken received a bill for more than $1,400.
Emotionally overwhelmed, an Indiana woman dialed a mental health hotline. She didn鈥檛 find the help she was looking for and hung up. Ultimately, she was handcuffed and hospitalized overnight. Now, amid federal cuts, she and others fear the U.S. response to similar crises will revert to more responses like that.
The governor鈥檚 fiscal year 2026 budget revises a law designed to limit unexpected bills that can put people at risk for unfair medical billing practices and reduce medical debt. Consumer groups say it doesn鈥檛 go far enough.
The Trump administration鈥檚 first round of sweeping staff cuts to federal agencies eliminated dozens of positions at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, which is tasked with implementing the No Surprises Act.
A San Francisco man had friends drive him to the hospital after he was hit by a car. Doctors checked him out, then sent him by ambulance to a trauma center 鈥 which released him with no further treatment. The ambulance bill? Almost $13,000.
Federal law says Native Americans aren鈥檛 liable for medical bills the Indian Health Service promises to pay. Some are billed anyway as a result of backlogs or mistakes from the agency, financial middlemen, or health systems.
Minor interventions are increasingly being rebranded and billed as surgery, for profit. This means a neurologist spending 40 minutes with a patient to tease out a diagnosis can be paid less for that time than a dermatologist spending a few seconds squirting a dollop of liquid nitrogen onto the skin.
For snakebite victims, antivenom is critical 鈥 and costly. It took more than $200,000 worth of antivenom to save one toddler鈥檚 life after he was bitten by a rattlesnake.
In this episode of 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg,鈥 host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 series, produced in partnership with NPR.
As Democrats convene in Chicago to make official their presidential and vice presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz together are raising the prominence of health care as a 2024 election issue.
51视频 Health News and California Healthline staffers made the rounds on national and local media in the last couple of weeks to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
鈥淎n Arm and a Leg鈥 is looking for listener stories about facility fees for a new project.
The Supreme Court this week heard its first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, about an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. But while it seems likely that this case could be dismissed on a technicality, abortion opponents have more challenges in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health issues are heating up on the campaign trail, as Republicans continue to take aim at Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act 鈥 all things Democrats are delighted to defend. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 51视频 Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51视频 Health News鈥 Tony Leys, who wrote a 51视频 Health News-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about Medicare and a very expensive air-ambulance ride. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Drugmakers offer copay assistance programs to patients, but insurers are tapping into those funds, not counting the amounts toward patient deductibles. That leads to unexpected charges. But the practice is under growing scrutiny.
In the sixth year of the 51视频 Health News-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 series, patients shared more than 750 tales of medical billing problems, and reporters analyzed more than $730,000 in charges 鈥 including more than $215,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.
For the patient, it was a quick and inexpensive virtual appointment. Why it cost 10 times what she expected became a mystery.
The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, prohibits out-of-network ground ambulance operators from billing patients more than they would pay for in-network rides. It also caps how much the uninsured must pay.
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