Category: Insurance

Fact-Check: Who’s Right On Protections For Preexisting Conditions? It’s Complicated

Consumers favor ACA’s safeguards on the promise that patients who have health problems can get insurance. In the heat of the midterm campaigns, politicians in both parties agree, but their arguments don’t always add up.

No More Secrets: Congress Bans Pharmacist ‘Gag Orders’ On Drug Prices

Congress approved two bills last month that prohibit provisions keeping pharmacists from telling patients when they can save money by paying the cash price instead of the price negotiated by their insurance plan.

Spurred By Convenience, Millennials Often Spurn The ‘Family Doctor’ Model

These young adults are looking for medical care that is convenient, fast and offers cost transparency. They frequently seek treatment at retail clinics, urgent care centers or other options.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Some Things Old, Some Things New

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner discuss final action on bills in Congress to address the opioid epidemic and fund federal health agencies. They also look at new efforts by the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on teen nicotine use.

Immigrants’ Health Premiums Far Exceed What Plans Pay For Their Care

Immigrants accounted for nearly 13 percent of premiums paid to private plans but only about 9 percent of insurers’ expenditures, according to a new study in Health Affairs. The cost of care for the group of native-born customers, however, exceeded their premiums.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.

‘Contraception Deserts’ Likely To Widen Under New Trump Administration Policy

Federal family planning funds, known as Title X, will soon fund for-profit women’s clinics that bar condoms, hormonal birth control and IUDs and offer only “natural family planning.”

Taken For A Ride: After ATV Crash, Doctor Gets $56,603 Bill For Air Ambulance Trip

After an accident in an all-terrain vehicle crushed a doctor’s left arm, he was whisked by air ambulance to the closest trauma center for specialized care. Soon he was fighting over the $56,603 bill.

‘Physicians Of The Mouth’? Dentists Absorb The Medical Billing Drill

Health insurance generally pays more than dental insurance, and newly minted experts say it’s legitimate to bill medical plans for services extending beyond tooth care. Medical insurers caution against inappropriate billing and fraud.