Category: Kaiser Health News

KHN-NPR’s ‘Bill of the Month’ at 5: A Treasury of Solutions for Confounding Medical Bills

Readers and listeners shared more than 1,000 personal stories of medical billing problems with KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” investigative series this year, helping us illuminate the financial decisions patients are pressed to make in their most vulnerable moments.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Covid Response Coordinator Speaks

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Click here for a transcript of the episode. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House covid-19 response coordinator, is the guest for a wide-ranging interview on this week’s […]

Centene, Under Siege in America, Moved Into Britain’s National Health Service

A nine-minute public hearing gave the U.S. insurance giant a foothold in Britain’s prized National Health Service. One doctor called it “privatization of NHS by stealth.” And critics worry that business efficiencies will degrade the quality of care.

‘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.

ER Doctors Call Private Equity Staffing Practices Illegal and Seek to Ban Them

Doctors, consumer advocates, and some lawmakers are looking forward to a California lawsuit against private equity-backed Envision Healthcare. The case is part of a multistate effort to enforce rules banning corporate ownership of physician practices.

‘Caged … For No Fault of Your Own’: Detainees Dread Covid While Awaiting Immigration Hearings

Covid remains a threat for the roughly 30,000 people in the country’s network of immigration facilities. But ICE continues to flout its own pandemic protocols, an extension of the facilities’ poor history of medical care.

Survivors of Gangs and Gun Violence, These Women Now Help Others Navigate Grief

As teens, these three women lived amid street gangs around East St Louis, Illinois. Now, as adults, they support the families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. And because of their past, some residents trust them more than they do the police.

Hundreds of US Hospitals Sue Patients or Threaten Their Credit, a KHN Investigation Finds

An examination of billing policies and practices at more than 500 hospitals across the country shows widespread reliance on aggressive collection tactics.

From Her View in Knoxville, the Health System Is ‘Not Designed for Poor People’

Monica Reed was the first in her family to own a home and has lived “a frugal kind of life.” Cancer treatment left her with almost $10,000 in debt, pushing her to the edge financially.

A Medical Cost-Sharing Plan Left Pastor With Most Of The Cost

Jeff and Kareen King joined a medical cost-sharing plan advertised as a “refreshing non-insurance approach” to paying for health care. It had a big proviso: Preexisting conditions like Jeff’s heart condition were not fully covered for the first two years. He needed heart surgery after just 16 months.