As a money-saving strategy, emergency rooms are turning to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other staffers who earn far less than physicians.
Category: Hospitals
Analysis: Inconsistencies Within Hospital Price Transparency Data Make Cost Comparisons Difficult
Since 2021, federal law has required hospitals to publicly post information about their standard prices and negotiated discount rates for common health services to encourage consumers to compare prices and to promote competition. To date, however, the …
Ongoing Challenges with Hospital Price Transparency
This analysis examines transparency data currently shared by hospitals to comply with federal law and finds that they are messy, inconsistent and confusing, making it challenging if not impossible for patients or researchers to use them to compare pric…
A Baby Spent 36 Days in an In-Network NICU. Why Did the Hospital Next Door Send a Bill?
A baby spent more than a month in a Chicago NICU. A big bill revealed she was treated by out-of-network doctors from the children’s hospital next door. Her parents were charged despite a state law protecting patients from such out-of-network billing — and sent to collections when they didn’t pay up.
How Has Health Care Utilization Changed Since the Pandemic?
This chart collection examines the latest available data on how health services utilization has changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As US Bumps Against Debt Ceiling, Medicare Becomes a Bargaining Chip
The debt ceiling crisis facing Washington puts Medicare and other popular entitlement programs squarely on the negotiating table this year as newly empowered Republicans demand spending cuts. Meanwhile, as more Americans than ever have health insurance, the nation’s health care workforce is straining under the load. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Readers and Tweeters Diagnose Greed and Chronic Pain Within US Health Care System
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Ending Involuntary Commitments Would Shift Burden of Dementia Care to Strapped Communities
Health department officials anticipate having to transfer two dozen patients from the Montana State Hospital to another state-run facility if a bill to end involuntary commitments passes.
Despite Doctors’ Concerns, University of California Renews Ties With Religious Affiliates
The public university’s health system is renewing contracts with outside hospitals and clinics even as some doctors and faculty say clearer language is needed to protect physicians performing abortions and gender-affirming treatments.
The Decision of Where to Seek Care Is Complicated by the Multitude of Options
The proliferation of care options — particularly urgent care centers and free-standing emergency departments — can make the head spin. Facilities have little incentive to clear up the confusion of where to go. But for patients, the wrong choice can mean big bills and possibly poor health outcomes.
