Only severely injured patients are supposed to be billed for “trauma team alert” fees that can exceed $50,000.
Category: Kaiser Health News
Fútbol, Flags and Fun: Getting Creative to Reach Unvaccinated Latinos in Colorado
A vaccine clinic came to an international soccer tournament in Denver recently. It was an attempt to reach Latino Coloradans, whose vaccination rates trail those of non-Hispanic whites.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Here Comes Reconciliation
Democrats in Congress reached a tentative agreement to press ahead on a partisan bill that would dramatically expand health benefits for people on Medicare, those who buy their own insurance and individuals who have been shut out of coverage in states that didn’t expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, controversy continues to rage over whether vaccinated Americans will need a booster to protect against covid-19 variants, and who will pay for a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.
Senate Democrats’ Plan Boosts Spending on Medicare, ACA Subsidies, Long-Term Care
The plan from high-wire negotiations would affect five key areas of health, but there will be further tense negotiations among Democratic lawmakers about specifics of the $3.5 trillion in funding. And all Senate Democrats will need to be behind the plan, because Republicans oppose it.
Influx of Medical School Students Could Overwhelm Montana Resources, Program Leaders Warn
Leaders of a regional medical school program in Montana say two proposed medical schools could create a flood of students they worry will strain the clinical faculty and resources in the state they use for training.
Can Biden’s Plan to Remove Urban Highways Improve the Health of American Cities?
Pollution and noise from urban highways intersect with illness for neighbors. But “green” developments that replace them can displace the very families harmed in the first place.
How ERs Fail Patients With Addiction: One Patient’s Tragic Death
Two intractable failings of the U.S. health care system — addiction treatment and medical costs — come to a head in the ER, where patients desperate for addiction treatment arrive, only to find the facility may not be equipped to deal with substance use or, if they are, treatment is prohibitively expensive.
Red State, Blue State, Twin Outbreak: Behind Wyoming and Colorado’s Anomalous Covid Spikes
Statistics show that Colorado residents are much more likely than Wyoming residents to be vaccinated against covid. Yet both Wyoming and Colorado were among the top 12 states with the highest covid case rates at the beginning of July. A closer look at a pair of similarly sized counties in those states helps explain why.
Dying Patients With Rare Diseases Struggle to Get Experimental Therapies
When patients with common terminal illnesses such as cancer seek permission for compassionate use of therapies in the testing stage, their requests often are approved. But those with more unusual illnesses say drug companies are rarely willing to provide access.
As Congress Wrestles With Plans to Expand Medicare, Becerra Says Any One Will Do
In an interview for KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra says the administration is eager for Congress to make changes to Medicare that will provide more benefits and make more older adults eligible for the program. He also said a priority will be making permanent the enhanced premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
