Category: Health Care Costs

Our 300th Episode!

When KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” podcast launched in 2017, Republicans in Washington were engaged in an (ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. The next six years would see a pandemic, increasingly unaffordable care, and a health care workforce experiencing unprecedented burnout. In the podcast’s 300th episode, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explores the past and possible future of the U.S. health care system with three prominent “big thinkers” in health policy: Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania, Jeff Goldsmith of Health Futures, and Farzad Mostashari of Aledade.

How a Medical Recoding May Limit Cancer Patients’ Options for Breast Reconstruction

The federal government’s arcane process for medical coding is influencing which reconstructive surgery options are available, creating anxiety for breast cancer patients.

Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt

The “Diabetes Belt,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprises 644 mostly Southern counties where diabetes rates are high. Of those counties, KFF Health News and NPR found, more than half also have high levels of medical debt.

When an Anti-Vaccine Activist Runs for President

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s official entry into the presidential race poses a thorny challenge for journalists: how to cover a candidate who’s opposed to vaccines without amplifying misinformation. And South Carolina becomes the latest state in the South to ban abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani about her project to track the billions of dollars coming from opioid makers to settle lawsuits.

This Panel Will Decide Whose Medicine to Make Affordable. Its Choice Will Be Tricky.

Colorado’s new Prescription Drug Affordability Board could cap what health plans and consumers pay for certain medications starting next year. The process will pit patient groups against one another.

He Returned to the US for His Daughter’s Wedding. He Left With a $42,000 Hospital Bill.

After emergency surgery, an American expatriate with Swiss insurance now carries the baggage of a five-figure bill. Costs for medical care in the U.S. can be two to three times the rates in other developed countries, so foreigners and expats with good insurance in their home countries need travel insurance to protect themselves from “crazy prices.”

Are US Prescription Drug Prices 10 Times Those of Other Nations? Only Sometimes

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ broad statement that some U.S. drug prices are 10 times those of other nations doesn’t paint the full picture. Studies we examined generally found that U.S. prices were 2 to 4 times those in other countries, not 10.

Lawyer Fees Draw Scrutiny as Camp Lejeune Claims Stack Up

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which became law last year, created a pathway for veterans and their families to pursue damage claims against the government for toxic exposure at the military base. Now, advocates and lawmakers worry high lawyer fees could shortchange those injured.

‘A System in Crisis’: Dysfunctional Federal Disability Programs Force the Poor to Pass Up Money

With little or no income, disability applicants are seeking Social Security early retirement benefits even though it could cost them tens of thousands of dollars in future income, lawyers say.

Mental Health ‘Ghost Networks’ — And a Ghostbuster

What should you do when your search for an in-network mental health care provider comes up empty? Abigail Burman has some expertise to share.