Category: Health Care Costs

Out for Blood? For Routine Lab Work, the Hospital Billed Her $2,400

Convenient as it may be, beware of getting your blood drawn at a hospital. The cost could be much higher than at an independent lab, and your insurance might not cover it all.

Lost in the Mix of Medicaid ‘Unwinding’: Kentucky Cut Off Her Health Care Over a Clerical Error

The state canceled Beverly Likens’ coverage — days before surgery — without considering other ways she qualified for Medicaid, which experts say violated federal regulations.

Extra Fees Drive Assisted Living Profits

The add-ons pile up: $93 for medications, $50 for cable TV. Prices soar as the industry leaves no service unbilled, out of reach for many families.

What to Know About Assisted Living

The facilities can look like luxury apartments or modest group homes and can vary in pricing structures. Here’s a guide.

New Social Security Report Shows Growing Overpayment Problem Tops $23B

Social Security has been overpaying recipients for years, then demanding the money back, leaving people with bills for up to tens of thousands of dollars or more.

Beyond Insulin: Medi-Cal Expands Patient Access to Diabetes Supplies

California’s Medicaid program is making it easier for people with diabetes to obtain the supplies and equipment they need to manage their blood sugar, partly by relaxing preauthorization requirements that can cause life-threatening delays.

What Long-Term Care Looks Like Around the World

Most countries spend more than the United States on care, but middle-class and affluent people still bear a substantial portion of the costs.

Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care

The United States has no coherent system of long-term care, leading many to struggle to stay independent or rely on a patchwork of solutions.

An Arm and a Leg: ‘Your Money or Your Life’: This Doctor Wrote the Book on Medical Debt

What happens when you can’t afford the health care you need? On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” hear from emergency medicine physician and historian Luke Messac about the history of medical debt collection in the United States.

A New RSV Shot Could Help Protect Babies This Winter — If They Can Get It in Time

Supply problems, a high price tag, and bureaucratic obstacles are slowing the distribution of a therapy that can protect infants from the respiratory syncytial virus. That will leave them unnecessarily at risk of hospitalization this winter, pediatricians fear.