Category: Kaiser Health News

‘An Arm And A Leg’: Journalist Learns The Hard Way That CPAP Compliance Pays

Check the fine print. When you get a prescription for expensive medical equipment, you may need to follow the doctor’s orders — to the letter — to get your health insurance company to pay up.

As Temperatures Climb, A New Push To Keep Workers Safe

Over the past decade, more than 350 workers nationwide have died from heat-related illness, and tens of thousands have had heat-related problems serious enough that they missed at least one day of work. Proposed federal legislation, modeled on California regulations, would create the first national standards for protecting workers from heat-related stress.

Medicare Advantage Overbills Taxpayers By Billions A Year As Feds Struggle To Stop It

An enhanced government effort to catch insurers that overcharge Medicare faces resistance from the insurance industry.

Did Your Health Plan Deny You Care? Fight Back.

Most patients don’t argue when their health insurance won’t cover treatment or medication, but they should: Consumers win about half of their appeals. The process can sometimes be overwhelming, but there are ways to prepare and get help.

Even When HIV Prevention Drug Is Covered, Other Costs Block Treatment

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that people who are at high risk of contracting HIV take PrEP, a preventive treatment. The decision means most health plans will be required to cover the drugs without charging patients. But the recommendation doesn’t apply to the other clinical and lab services people need.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.

Listen: Young Undocumented Californians Cheer Promise Of Health Benefits

California is the first in the nation to expand Medicaid to young adults living there without legal permission.

DOJ Lawyers Try New Tricks To Undo Obamacare. Will It Work?

KHN consulted legal experts about some of the arguments advanced by Trump administration lawyers during the most recent round of oral arguments in the legal challenge brought by 18 “red” states to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

Hospitals Block ‘Surprise Billing’ Measure In California

California lawmakers on Wednesday pulled legislation that would have protected some patients from surprise medical bills for emergency care, citing opposition from hospitals. They vowed to resurrect the bill next year.