After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble traveled to Kansas and spent time with former hospital president Reta Baker and City Manager Dave Martin — to understand what their town lost.
Category: Multimedia
‘An Arm and a Leg’: TikTok Mom Takes On Medical Bills
Shaunna Burns went viral on TikTok, partly because of a series of videos dishing out real-talk advice on fighting outrageous medical bills.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Election Preview: What’s Next for Health?
How will health issues affect voter choices? What will happen if President Donald Trump is reelected or the White House goes to Joe Biden? In this special election preview episode, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
Listen to “Where It Hurts” on Tuesdays, Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
Heartbreaking Bills, Lawsuit and Bankruptcy — Even With Insurance
With health insurance that can leave him on the hook for more than a quarter of his salary every year, a Kentucky essential worker who has heart disease is one of millions of Americans who are functionally uninsured. At only 31, he has already been through bankruptcy and being sued by his hospital. This year, he faced a bill for more than $10,000.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: ACA in Peril With Ginsburg’s Seat in Play
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is giving new life to the latest constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act. It also places anti-abortion activists on the cusp of a court majority large enough to ensure the rollback of the right to abortion and, possibly, some types of birth control. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar tries to centralize power at the sprawling department plagued by miscommunications and scandals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Sarah Jane Tribble about her new podcast, “Where It Hurts,” debuting Sept. 29.
In Face of COVID Threat, More Dialysis Patients Bring Treatment Home
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, more patients are administering dialysis to themselves at home rather than receiving it in a clinic. Although home dialysis limits exposure to the virus, it comes with its own challenges.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: It’s Scandal Week
President Donald Trump this week issued a prescription drug pricing order unlikely to lower drug prices, and he contradicted comments by his director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the need for mask-wearing and predictions for vaccine availability. Meanwhile, scandals erupted at the CDC, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration. And the number of people without health insurance grew in 2019, reported the Census Bureau, even while the economy soared. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Lack of Antigen Test Reporting Leaves Country ‘Blind to the Pandemic’
A KHN review found more than 20 states either don’t count or have incomplete data on the use of COVID-19 antigen tests, leaving the public in the dark about the true scope of the pandemic.
Making Gyms Safer: Why the Virus Is Less Likely to Spread There Than in a Bar
Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there’s not much evidence, they say science is on their side.
