Category: Insurance

‘An Arm and a Leg’: Getting Insurance to Pay for Oral Surgery Is Like Pulling Teeth

A car crash left a woman in need of oral surgery, but her health insurance wouldn’t cover it. Her ongoing fight shows podcast host Dan Weissmann the weird way insurance treats teeth and reveals a big problem in the Obamacare marketplace.

After Tuition, Books, and Room and Board, Colleges’ Rising Health Fees Hit a Nerve

Many colleges require students to have health insurance coverage, and the college option can be costly. In addition, some schools mandate that students pay a fee to cover health services on campus.

Why Medicaid Expansion Ballots May Hit a Dead End After a Fleeting Victory in South Dakota

Since 2017, Medicaid expansion has been adopted in seven states where a question was placed directly on the ballot. But campaign leaders say that strategy may not work in Florida and Wyoming, where Republican opposition remains strong.

How Medicare Advantage Plans Dodged Auditors and Overcharged Taxpayers by Millions

Facing rare scrutiny from federal auditors, some Medicare Advantage health plans failed to produce any records to justify their payments, government records show. The audits revealed millions of dollars in overcharges to Medicare over three years.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: He Made a Video About Health Insurance Terminology That Went Viral

A video producer’s quest for health coverage led him to create a video about insurance terminology. That video now has over a million views. Here’s how he did it.

Colorado Option’s Big Test: Open Enrollment

Critics were ready to bury the state’s new health insurance plans, based on a public option, when 2023 rate hikes were announced, but officials are confident people will be drawn to the plans’ benefits.

Paxlovid Has Been Free So Far. Next Year, Sticker Shock Awaits.

The government soon will stop paying for the covid drug that has proved to be the most effective at keeping patients alive and out of the hospital.

Employers Use Patient Assistance Programs to Offset Their Own Costs

Some insurers and employers are tapping into assistance programs meant for individual patients. The concern: Some costly drugs could be harder for patients to access.

Employers Use Patient Assistance Programs to Offset Their Own Costs

Some insurers and employers are tapping into assistance programs meant for individual patients. The concern: Some costly drugs could be harder for patients to access.

The Disability Tax: Medical Bills Remain Inaccessible for Many Blind Americans

Health insurers and health care systems across the country are violating disability rights laws by sending medical bills that blind and visually impaired people cannot read, a KHN investigation has found. By hindering the ability of blind Americans to know what they owe, some bills get sent to debt collections.