Category: Health Care Costs

Your Money or Your Life: Patient on $50,000-a-Week Cancer Drug Fears Leaving Behind Huge Medical Debt

When Medicare stops paying for a pricey drug that prolongs life, an Ohio man considers giving up treatment to spare his family enormous debt.

Montana’s Tax-Exempt Hospitals Oppose Increased Oversight by State Officials

As Montana officials seek to make nonprofit hospitals prove the benefits they provide the community justify their tax exemptions, industry leaders propose their own changes — which state officials say would further limit the state’s authority.

Doctors Are Disappearing From Emergency Rooms as Hospitals Look to Cut Costs

As a money-saving strategy, emergency rooms are turning to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other staffers who earn far less than physicians.

Era of ‘Free’ Covid Vaccines, Test Kits, and Treatments Is Ending. Who Will Pay the Tab Now?

Insurers, employers, and taxpayers will all be affected as drug manufacturers move these products to the commercial market.

Community Resurrects Colorado Birth Center Closed by Private Equity Firm

A private equity firm bought a birth center and then shut it down. The community brought it back as a nonprofit.

Health Policies Were a Prominent Theme in Biden’s State of the Union Speech

Our partners at PolitiFact fact-checked a range of President Joe Biden’s statements, including key health-related comments.

‘We Ain’t Gonna Get It’: Why Bernie Sanders Says His ‘Medicare for All’ Dream Must Wait

As he takes the reins of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, the independent from Vermont and implacable champion of “Medicare for All” maps out his strategy for negotiating with Republicans — and Big Pharma.

Decisions by CVS and Optum Panicked Thousands of Their Sickest Patients

Pharmacy closures by two of the biggest home infusion companies point to grave shortages and dangers for patients who require IV nutrition to survive.

Nursing Home Owners Drained Cash During Pandemic While Residents Deteriorated

As the federal government debates whether to require higher staffing levels at nursing homes, financial records show owners routinely push profits to sister companies while residents are neglected. “A dog would get better care than he did,” one resident’s wife said.

Can They Freaking Do That?!? (2023 Update)

Can a medical provider you’ve never heard of send you an outrageous bill? Sure. Can you fight back and win? Yes, sometimes you can. Here’s how to do it.