Category: Health Industry

Private Equity Ownership of Nursing Homes Triggers Capitol Hill Questions — And a GAO Probe

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden decried these financial arrangements, which two members of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee had already asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate.

Profit Strategy: Psychiatric Facilities Prioritize Out-of-State Kids

Nearly all psychiatric residential treatment centers for children in South Carolina operate as for-profit businesses — some backed by private equity — and many prioritize out-of-state kids because it’s better for the bottom line. The scramble to secure treatment for children and teenagers has become so competitive that South Carolina will spend millions more each year as of April 1 to keep out-of-state patients from flooding the state’s treatment facilities.

California Handed Its Medicaid Drug Program to One Company. Then Came a Corporate Takeover.

The company awarded the state’s Medi-Cal Rx contract was taken over by another company, Centene. That left the state with a contractor it didn’t pick — one that has been accused of overbilling nine other state Medicaid programs and is now under investigation by California.

Never-Ending Costs: When Resolved Medical Bills Keep Popping Up

A bill one family considered paid wrongfully resurfaced, resurrecting painful memories. It’s a scenario that’s not uncommon but grievously unsettling.

Why Nurses Are Raging and Quitting After the RaDonda Vaught Verdict

The former Tennessee nurse faces prison time for a fatal error. Reaction from her peers was swift and fierce on social media and beyond ― and it isn’t over.

Tennessee Offers to Expand Dental Schools as Medicaid Coverage Stretches Need

As states expand Medicaid’s dental benefits, they’re running up against a shortage of dentists willing to work on those patients, especially in rural communities. So Tennessee is helping dental schools expand and offering to pay off student loans for those who work in high-need areas.

Reaction to the RaDonda Vaught Verdict: KHN Wants to Hear From Nurses

KHN is asking nurses and other medical professionals to weigh in on the conviction of RaDonda Vaught, a former Tennessee nurse who administered the wrong drug to a patient, killing her.

Big Pharma Is Betting on Bigger Political Ambitions From Sen. Tim Scott

The South Carolina senator led the congressional pack in pharma campaign contributions for the second half of 2021. There are clear reasons.

Nurse Convicted of Neglect and Negligent Homicide for Fatal Drug Error

RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, could spend years in prison after being convicted of two felonies in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The ACA Turns 12

Although its fate was in doubt more than a few times, the Affordable Care Act turned 12 this week. Year 13 could be pivotal in determining how many Americans receive ACA health insurance, and at what price. Meanwhile, three leading credit bureaus agreed to stop using most medical debt to measure U.S. consumers’ creditworthiness. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.