Category: Health Care Costs

Turning 26 and Struggling To Find Health Insurance? Tell Us About It.

KFF Health News and The New York Times are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.

For Pharma, Trump vs. Harris Is a Showdown Between Two Industry Foes

Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as more aggressive than former President Donald Trump in taking on pharmaceutical companies, but Trump allies say he would also make lowering drug costs a top priority.

Patient Underwent One Surgery but Was Billed for Two. Even After Being Sued, She Refused To Pay.

A collection agency sought court authority to garnish a patient’s wages to pay a disputed surgery bill. But after the patient showed up in court to argue the bill was bogus, the judge declined to let the bill collector seize her money.

Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding,’ Many States Wind Up Expansions

The end of pandemic-era Medicaid coverage protections coincided with changes in more than a dozen states to expand coverage for lower-income people, including children, pregnant women, and the incarcerated.

New Lines of Attack Form Against the Affordable Care Act

While fighting potential fraud in government programs has long been a conservative rallying cry, recent criticisms of the Affordable Care Act represent a renewed line of attack on the program when repealing it is unlikely.

Watch: How Patients Get Charged Hospital Prices for Doctor’s Office Care

This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series digs into patients’ getting charged hospital prices for doctor’s office care. For five years, a patient got the same injection from the same office. Then it changed how it billed and she owed more than $1,100 for one treatment.

Watch: Where the Presidential and VP Candidates Stand on Health Policy

How do the top-of-the-ticket candidates compare on abortion, medical debt, and more? Here’s what you need to know.

Medi-Cal’s Dental Care Gap: Getting a Tooth Pulled Is Easy — Much Harder To Get an Implant

California is among a growing number of states that offer dental benefits to low-income residents, but some lawmakers want the state to go further by covering more cleanings and costlier implants. Dentists and health experts worry the approach doesn’t address the root of the problem: Many providers don’t accept Medicaid.

The Politics Holding Back Medicaid Expansion in Some Southern States

Ten states have not expanded Medicaid, leaving 1.5 million people ineligible for the state and federal insurance program and also unable to afford private insurance. Seven of those states are in the South, where expansion efforts may have momentum but where lawmakers say political polarization is holding them back.

How Little Denmark Got Homegrown Giant Novo Nordisk To Lower Ozempic Prices

As Congress pushes for Medicare to cover payment for anti-obesity drugs, Denmark — Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk’s home — has limited coverage of the drug after cost overruns “emptied all the money boxes in the entire public health system.”