Readers and Tweeters Take Positions on Sleep Apnea Treatment
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Healthcare Costs
941-960 of 1,944 results
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Employers Are Concerned About Covering Workers鈥 Mental Health Needs, Survey Finds
Nearly half of large employers report that increasing numbers of their workers were using mental health services, according to a 51视频 annual employer survey. Yet almost a third of those employers said their health plan鈥檚 network didn鈥檛 have enough behavioral health care providers for employees to have timely access to the care they need.
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Montana Backs Away From Innovative Hospital Payment Model. Other States Are Watching.
Montana has been a national model for how employers could gain control and transparency over medical bills. Upcoming changes to its model have health care price experts wondering whether the state is making improvements or losing focus.
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How Private Equity Is Investing in Health Care: A Video Primer
Investors are putting money into everything from emergency room obstetrics units and dermatology practices to nursing homes and hospice care 鈥 from cradle to grave.
By Hannah Norman and Oona Zenda -
$38,398 for a Single Shot of a Very Old Cancer Drug
Lupron, a drug patented half a century ago, treats advanced prostate cancer. It鈥檚 sold to physicians for $260 in the U.K. and administered at no charge. Why are U.S. hospitals 鈥 which may pay nearly as little for the drug 鈥 charging so much more to administer it?
By Arthur Allen -
A Billing Expert Saved Big After Finding an Incorrect Charge in Her Husband鈥檚 ER Bill
A medical billing specialist investigated her husband鈥檚 ER bill. Her sleuthing took over a year but knocked thousands of dollars off the hospital鈥檚 charges 鈥 and provides a playbook for other consumers.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Biden Hits the Road to Sell Democrats鈥 Record
With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, President Joe Biden has taken to the road to convince voters that he and congressional Democrats have delivered for them during two years in power. Among the health issues highlighted by the administration this week are pandemic preparedness and the availability of over-the-counter hearing aids. The president also promised to sign a bill codifying the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade if Democrats maintain control of the House and Senate 鈥 even though it鈥檚 a long shot that there will be enough votes for that. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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Kids鈥 Mental Health Care Leaves Parents in Debt and in the Shadows
A youth mental health crisis and a shortage of therapists and other care providers who take insurance are pushing many families into financial ruin. But it's rarely acknowledged as medical debt.
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After Congress Fails to Add Dental Coverage, Medicare Weighs Limited Benefit Expansion
Medicare can pay for some dental care if it is medically necessary to safely treat another covered medical condition, and federal officials have asked for suggestions on whether that list of conditions should be expanded.
By Susan Jaffe -
KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Finally Fixing the ‘Family Glitch’
The Biden administration has decided to try to fix the so-called 鈥渇amily glitch鈥 in the Affordable Care Act without an act of Congress. The provision has prevented workers鈥 families from getting subsidized coverage if an employer offer is unaffordable. Meanwhile, Medicare鈥檚 open enrollment period begins Oct. 15, and private Medicare Advantage plans are poised to cover more than half of Medicare鈥檚 65 million enrollees. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read.
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鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: Checking Up on California鈥檚 DIY Insulin Project
California put up $100 million to produce its own insulin. How did this plan come to be, and what might stand in the state鈥檚 way?
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Baby, That Bill Is High: Private Equity 鈥楪ambit鈥 Squeezes Excessive ER Charges From Routine Births
Hospitals, boosted by private equity-backed staffing companies, have embraced a new idea: the obstetrics emergency department. Often, it is just a triage room in the labor-and-delivery area, but it bills like the main emergency department.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Looking Ahead to the Lame-Duck Session
Congress won鈥檛 be back in Washington until after Election Day, but lawmakers have left themselves a long list of items to finish up in November and December, including unfinished health care policies. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call; Jessie Hellmann, also of CQ Roll Call; and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Sam Whitehead, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a family who tried to use urgent care to save money, but ended up with a big emergency room bill anyway.
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Medical Debt Sunk Her Credit. New Changes From the Credit Reporting Agencies Won鈥檛 Help.
New policies to prevent unpaid medical bills from harming people鈥檚 credit scores are on the way. But the concessions made by top credit reporting companies may fall short for those with the largest debt 鈥 especially Black Americans in the South.
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Listen: Medical Bills Upended Her Life and Her Credit Score
Penny Wingard, 58, of Charlotte, North Carolina, worries she won鈥檛 ever get out from under her medical debt despite new policies that are supposed to prevent medical debt from harming people鈥檚 credit scores.
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$80,000 and 5 ER Visits: An Ectopic Pregnancy Takes a Toll Despite NY鈥檚 Liberal Abortion Law
If an embryo has implanted in a fallopian tube, ending the pregnancy is imperative to protect the patient鈥檚 life. Women鈥檚 health advocates have raised concerns that the needed treatment may be hampered by restrictive abortion laws in some states. Yet women seeking treatment in states with more liberal abortion laws may still find the process expensive and harrowing.
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Severe Sleep Apnea Diagnosis Panics Reporter Until He Finds a Simple, No-Cost Solution
An industry has grown up around sleep apnea, stirring concerns about overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
By Jay Hancock -
Journalists Dig In on the Fiscal Health of the Nation and Hospital Closures in Rural Missouri
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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The Cruelest Bills
Listen: Grieving Families Face the Cruelest Bills
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber talks with NPR's "Consider This" podcast about her reporting on families confronted with medical bills while grieving the loss of a baby who received expensive hospital care.
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Watch: Their Baby Died. The Medical Bills Haunted Them.
Sterling Raspe lived just eight months. In this KHN video, her father shows the 2-inch stack of medical bills generated by Sterling鈥檚 care.