An Anesthesiology Practice鈥檚 Busy Day in Court Collecting on Surprise Bills
Legislative crackdowns on out-of-network bills haven鈥檛 kept specialists from hitting patients with unexpected charges running into thousands of dollars.
Insurance
901 - 920 of 3,735 Results
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Record Number of Americans Sign Up for ACA Health Insurance
Nearly 14 million Americans have enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace health plans for next year 鈥 a record since the health law鈥檚 coverage expansion took effect in 2014. A boost in subsidies marketing and assistance in navigating the process increased the rolls of the insured.
By Phil Galewitz and Andy Miller -
KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Manchin Blows Up Biden鈥檚 鈥楤uild Back Better鈥
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) dealt a blow to congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden鈥檚 domestic agenda bill, forcing Democrats to regroup starting in 2022. Meanwhile, the omicron covid variant spreads rapidly in the U.S., threatening the stability of the nation鈥檚 health care system. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more, plus a look back at the year in health policy. Also this week, Rovner interviews Ceci Connolly, president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans.
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New Parents Slapped With Surprise Bills for Treating Newborns
Regular use of a more advanced screening method turns a low-cost procedure into a pricier one.
By Jay Hancock -
Layers of Subcontracted Services Confuse and Frustrate Medi-Cal Patients
Many of the 14 million patients in Medi-Cal are in managed care health plans that outsource their care to subcontractors or sub-subcontractors. For patients with difficult health care needs, it can be hard to know where to turn.
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NICU Bill Installment Plan: That鈥檒l Be $45,843 a Month for 12 Months, Please
After baby Dorian Bennett arrived two months early and spent more than 50 days in the neonatal ICU, his parents received a bill of more than $550,000 鈥 despite having insurance. The Florida hospital had a not-so-helpful suggestion: monthly payments of more than $45,000 for a year.
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Covered California鈥檚 Insurance Deals Range From 鈥楴o-Brainer鈥 to Sticker Shock
Families of four with incomes of less than about $40,000 a year can pay no premiums and have low deductibles. For some others, health insurance in 2022 will cost more than in 2021 鈥 in some cases, significantly more.
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Crash Course: Injured Patients Who Sign 鈥楲etters of Protection鈥 May Face Huge Medical Bills and Risks
The letters function as liens that 鈥減rotect鈥 spine surgery clinics while patients could be left with inflated medical bills and unexpected health risks.
By Fred Schulte -
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.
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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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A Tale of Two Medicaid Expansions: Oklahoma Jumps In, While Missouri Lags
Voters in Missouri and Oklahoma approved Medicaid expansion to begin in 2021. But while Oklahoma has enrolled over 200,000 people so far, Missouri has enrolled fewer than 20,000. Why are two such similar states handling the public insurance rollout so differently?
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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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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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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 -
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 -
Missouri鈥檚 Thin Dental Safety Net Stretched Amid Medicaid Expansion
An estimated 275,000 Missouri adults can get dental insurance now as the state has expanded who is eligible for Medicaid. But with so few dentists participating in the program, the state鈥檚 already-backlogged dental clinics are facing a glut of new clients.
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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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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Why Health Care Is So Expensive, Chapter $22K
Congress is making slow progress toward completing its ambitious social spending bill, although its Thanksgiving deadline looks optimistic. Meanwhile, a new survey finds the average cost of an employer-provided family plan has risen to more than $22,000. That鈥檚 about the cost of a new Toyota Corolla. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Rebecca Love, a nurse academic and entrepreneur, about the impending crisis in nursing.
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Medicare鈥檚 Open Enrollment Is Open Season for Scammers
Medicare officials say complaints are rising from seniors lured into private plans with misleading information or enrolled without their consent. In response, officials have threatened to penalize the private companies selling Medicare Advantage and drug plans if they or agents working on their behalf mislead consumers.
By Susan Jaffe -
Researcher: Medicare Advantage Plans Costing Billions More Than They Should
Some insurers pocketed 鈥榚ye-popping鈥 overpayments, billing records show.
By Fred Schulte