Category: Health Care Costs

Azar Says Federal Law Had Preexisting Conditions Covered Before ACA. Not So Much.

This appears to be an overstatement.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: ‘Open The Schools, Close The Bars’

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. How to safely open the nation’s schools this fall has become the latest spat in attempting to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have decried the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as too […]

Could Trump’s Push To Undo The ACA Cause Problems For COVID Survivors? Biden Thinks So.

The speech by the presumtive Democrat presidential nominee was delivered the same day the Trump administration reaffirmed its support of a lawsuit that would invalidate all of the Affordable Care Act, including the law’s preexisting condition protections.

Analysis: How A COVID-19 Vaccine Could Cost Americans Dearly

The United States is the only developed nation unable to balance cost, efficacy and social good in setting prices.

COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn’t Test For Virus

Americans who had coronavirus symptoms in March and April are getting big hospital bills — because they were not sick enough to get then-scarce COVID tests. Some insurers say they are trying to correct these bills, but patients may have to put up a fight.

2021 Health Plans Granted Leeway To Limit Consumers’ Benefit From Drug Coupons

A rule finalized this spring by the Trump administration permits employers and insurers not to apply drug company copayment assistance toward enrollees’ deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for any drug.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Pandemic Shifts; The Politics, Not So Much

While federal and state officials continue to wrangle over coronavirus testing, the population testing positive is skewing younger. Meanwhile, the Trump administration wins a round in court over its requirements for hospitals to publicly reveal their prices, and the fight over the fate of the Affordable Care Act heats up once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews former Obama administration health aide Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who has written a new book comparing international health systems.

Ghost Bill: UVA Siphons Couple’s Tax Refund To Pay 20-Year-Old Medical Debt

Jane Collins and Anthony Blow were stunned to learn last fall that their state tax refund was being reduced by $110 because the Charlottesville medical center said they owed money for care their son received in 2001 and 2002.

California Lawmakers Block Health Care Cuts

State legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom have hammered out an agreement on a budget that rejects Newsom’s proposed cuts to health care services for older and low-income people.

Citing COVID, Sutter Pushes To Revisit Landmark Antitrust Settlement

Six months after agreeing to a $575 million settlement in a closely watched antitrust case filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Sutter Health has yet to pay a single dollar, and no operational changes have gone into effect. The nonprofit health care giant was accused of using its market dominance in Northern California to […]