Category: Cost and Quality

If Trump Wins, Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting for That ACA Replacement Plan

The administration seeks to have the Supreme Court overturn the federal health law but has not explained how it would ensure Americans’ health care coverage.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: Vetting TikTok Mom’s Advice for Dealing With Debt Collectors

We first learned about Shaunna Burns when her tips on medical bills went viral. In part two of our conversation with the so-called TikTok mom, we’re back for guidance about dealing with debt collectors. Then we fact-checked her advice with a legal expert, who said: Most of Burns’ advice totally checks out.

Job-Based Health Insurance Costs Are Up 4% This Year, 55% in Past Decade

A family plan costs, on average, more than $21,000 this year and workers pay nearly $5,600 toward that cost, the annual KFF survey of employers finds.

Refuge in the Storm? ACA’s Role as Safety Net Is Tested by COVID Recession

Relentlessly knocked around by politics and now headed again to the Supreme Court, the ACA is covering millions who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. But not everyone.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: TikTok Mom Takes On Medical Bills

Shaunna Burns went viral on TikTok, partly because of a series of videos dishing out real-talk advice on fighting outrageous medical bills.

Not Pandemic-Proof: Insulin Copay Caps Fall Short, Fueling Underground Exchanges

Although sharing prescription medicines is illegal, many people with diabetes are turning to underground donation networks when they cannot afford their insulin. Caps on insulin copays enacted in Colorado and 11 other states were designed to help. But the gaps between insulin costs and many patients’ financial realities are only widening amid the economic crisis of the COVID pandemic.

Heartbreaking Bills, Lawsuit and Bankruptcy — Even With Insurance

With health insurance that can leave him on the hook for more than a quarter of his salary every year, a Kentucky essential worker who has heart disease is one of millions of Americans who are functionally uninsured. At only 31, he has already been through bankruptcy and being sued by his hospital. This year, he faced a bill for more than $10,000.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: She Tangled With Health Insurers for 25 Years — And Loved It

When people had a health insurance headache, these two words were a relief: “Call Barbara.” No problem was too big, or too small, she’d fix it.

Prognosis for Rural Hospitals Worsens With Pandemic

Rural hospitals were already struggling before the coronavirus emerged. Now, the loss of revenue from patients who are afraid to come to the emergency room, postponing doctor’s appointments and delaying elective surgeries is adding to the pressure.

Rather Than Give Away Its COVID Vaccine, Oxford Makes a Deal With Drugmaker

Advocates of cheap and widely available vaccines thought the pandemic might change business as usual. They were wrong.